Dear Editor,
As the world celebrated the World Cup finals I took the opportunity to reflect on my journey through Germany (2006), South Africa (2010), and Brazil (2014) and my fortunate experience being at the last three World Cups. Besides learning about the cultures of the host nations from observing the vuvuzela to moving to the samba drums, the lesson I would like to share began in Germany.
I travelled to Germany to support Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), the country closest culturally to Guyana. I went to the three T&T games and also went to other games to support Brazil and Ghana. For each game I would travel to Germany from Geneva where I stayed during the 2006 World Cup. For the first game, I and my good friend Linden Morrison, who initiated this World Cup tradition, drove over to Germany for the game. During a gas stop before progressing to the autobahn we were immediately struck with the warmth and hospitality of the Germans at the petrol station. We met a group of bikers whose look fitted the worst stereotype of Germans. To our surprise, the meeting was friendly, brotherly, warm and very welcoming. We took photos together and had a good conversation. Most of our experiences in Germany were similarly enjoyable.
Unfortunately, my worst encounters with racism have been in Switzerland and primarily at the hands of the German Swiss. Every time I attempted to enter Switzerland upon leaving Germany I experienced harassment – like being detained at the border for hours with no reason or having to remove my shoes to be searched while on the train ride from Germany to Switzerland.
My observations are not enough to be considered scientific, but I do hope that it can lead to introspection, research and action. I believe the different attitudes of the Germans and the German Swiss might be explained by the way they have had to confront the bigotry of the past. I suspect that Germany has an important lesson to teach the rest of the world about how to learn from our mistakes. The German response to the Holocaust and Nazism was comprehensive.
Atonement began with accepting responsibility (reparations), lasting acknowledgement of the wrongs, collective determination to learn from history, and a commitment through education to ensuring that the history – though nothing to be proud of – contributes to strengthening the German ethos. Importantly, the commitment to confronting the ills of German past atrocities is enshrined in their constitution and the German psyche. The owning of their shame somehow seems to complement the many proud elements of German history. Given that few nations can match their contribution to moral and philosophical achievement, industrial, scientific and political excellence, it should come as no surprise that they have an enviable record in sports culminating in their breathtaking legacy emerging as Football World Cup champions 2014.
The important historic lesson is that confronting our failures as failures is our best chance of not repeating the same mistakes.
The other World Cup host countries since Germany – South Africa and Brazil – and indeed much of the world has a lot to learn from the German experience.
South Africa the other home of the worst crimes against humanity in the last century probably has the most to benefit from the Germany lesson. It is essential that South Africa more assertively confront the worst legacies of apartheid. Land redistribution and economic empowerment form only a part of the solution. Facing uncomfortable truths through education, as was done in Germany, and strong institutions that will facilitate good governance are needed to arrest the corruption and inequality that prolong the legacy of suffering from the apartheid era.
And then there is Brazil. Unlike the other recent World Cup host nations, Brazil is better known for its ‘Redemption of Ham’ painting than for crimes against humanity. Yet there were probably more internal objections to the country playing host to the games – and rightly so. Brazil has a ministry dedicated to racial justice but judging from the kind of logic I used to arrive at my German assessment – my experience while visiting during the World Cup finals – it is clear that the nation is far from serious about confronting its race problems, poverty and severe inequality.
As the Germans celebrate this World Cup triumph, they too must ensure that the elements of society that represent bigotry and superiority are continuously taught the truth. But with all the work that needs to be done we hope that the schooling that the Germans inflicted on the proud Brazilians on the field will result in a rebuilding – a re-education. South Africa should take note that they were absent from the field of play. The lesson extends beyond these three countries and demands that the rest of us be honest in recognizing our failures as just that – failures that duty demands we confront and correct. Some of us include – but do not limit ourselves to – the Middle East (hello Israel), much of Africa (hello Sudan), much of Asia (hello Japan), much of Latin America and the Caribbean (hello Dominican Republic), much of Europe (hello France), the United States and sadly, my native Guyana.
At present, Guyanese are like the German-Swiss. The dangers of our race-driven political dynamic increasingly used as a scare tactic to prevent the population from interrogating issues and voting their interest is too costly. To date it has allowed for a level of bare-faced corruption, lawlessness and selfishness that can poison the best of spirits. That we must be honest about the roles our officials have played in misleading us is harsh but necessary. Part of the process of developing Guyana will involve a radical change in our approach to how we examine our political history and deconstruct our political economy. Duty obligates that those in authority act against inclinations when carrying out their responsibilities. However, with the will to meet our challenges through deep listening and impatiently confronting ignorance to demystify stereotypes, maybe we can take a page or two from the Germans and build a Nationalmannschaft (a national team).
Yours faithfully,
Selwin Asafa George
