Could they be the Future Leaders of Africa?
Toronto Star>> JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — They have had a hand in changing national legislation in Kenya, built a school for refugees in Uganda and synthesized fuel from natural waste in South Africa — and they’re not even in university yet. This summer, they became the first graduates from the African Leadership Academy, which has drawn students from 33 African nations. ... Read More
South Africans Turn on Foreigners
Toronto Star >> JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Just past midnight, more than a dozen men poured out of the two pickup trucks that pulled up outside of Carlos Mambosassa’s wooden shack in Khayelitsha Township, near Cape Town. Wakened by the loud knock on the door, he says, he faced them on his doorstep. Read More Read More
Racial reconciliation and the World Cup
cbc.ca >> JOHANNESBURG — Seeing South Africa’s FIFA World Cup stadiums throb with fans of numerous nationalities makes it hard to imagine that sports in this country were once systematically divided along racial lines. Read More Read More
Rounded up and run out of town
Toronto Star >> DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA—With uniformed police officers standing over them, bleary-eyed boys and girls slowly get up from the sidewalk, throw their blankets over their shoulders and walk to the police truck, clearly knowing the drill. The officers herd them into the back of the wagon, where they will sit, looking out grilled windows as they’re taken to the... Read More
World Cup Crime: Hysteria vs. Reality
MEDIA-FUELLED HYSTERIA about crime in South Africa is scaring some tourists off from attending the World Cup, and prompting others to take unusual measures to ensure their safety. Of some 350,000 foreign fans expected to attend the 32-team tournament in June and July, those with the money to spend are hiring bodyguards, renting bullet-resistant vehicles, and packing GPS tracking... Read More
South Africa: the Fight to take down Apartheid-era Landmarks
Black South Africans are starting to dethrone Apartheid-era leaders, immortalised in statues and street signs. In these reports for CBC Radio and the Toronto Star, I uncover the quiet fight for South Africa’s landmarks. Activists and municipalities are starting to re-name them or take them down altogether. But some white South Africans are angry, and are not letting them... Read More
World Cup tickets too pricey for many
cbc.ca >> “This is total disorganization by FIFA. People were trying to storm the place.” – disgruntled fan JOHANNESBURG If it wasn’t clear before how seriously South Africans are taking the World Cup, it is now. Amid scenes of chaos, confusion and long lineups, FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, made tickets available over the counter last... Read More
‘Guys who killed him are our heroes’
Toronto Star >> VENTERSDORP, South Africa – Tensions flared as the two farm workers accused of killing South African white supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche were charged with four crimes, including murder and robbery. Chris Mahlangu, 28, and a 15-year-old boy appeared in court Tuesday, and were then whisked into a van and away from the courthouse, all to the cheers... Read More
Challenges as World Cup Approaches
Will S.A. be ready? cbc.ca >> DURBAN — “Here, ladies and gentlemen, the dream is now reality.” With these words, FIFA president Sepp Blatter did his best Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, to set the tone for the 100-day countdown to the World Cup opener in June. But this is South Africa, where the drama is invariably unscripted. Take the other night in Durban... Read More
Pro Wrestling: Pain. Drugs. Abuse.
CBC News: the fifth estate >> THE Dynamite Kid Anyone who saw Tom Billington’s very humble origins would have thought his nickname a cruel joke. Born in a room without heat in Wigan, a small mining town in Northern England, he was, nevertheless, likely to become a fighter. His father and uncle were professional boxers. He came from a tough family where a minor misdemeanor... Read More
