That groaning sound you just heard was South African officials envisioning their worst nightmare. South Africa wants the world to come this summer, and they hope that among those who come will be Africans. But they want the world, including (and I hate to say it, but maybe especially) the Africans, to go back home when it is all done.
Recent news out of Ethiopia thus represents the nightmare scenario for South Africans who hope the country benefits from the World Cup but who know that unemployment and poverty are not going away with the wave of FIFA’s magic wand. According to an IRIN news report:
Human traffickers and smugglers in Ethiopia have taken advantage of the upcoming World Cup, duping victims into believing that South Africa has created huge employment opportunities, says a government report, Illegal Migration: Causes, Consequences and Solutions to human trafficking and smuggling in Ethiopia.
South Africa has the most progressive constitution on earth, one that demands respect for people and that cracks down on racism, sexism, and pretty much all forms of discrimination. But on the ground xenophobia has proven to be a consistent problem. Violence against Zimbabwean immigrants a couple of years back gave the lie to some of the ideals in the constitution. Assuming that the story from Ethiopia is not an isolated one, the aftermath of the World Cup might well see tensions arise between South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens and Africans from abroad who have been sold a bill of goods about what the World Cup will bring to South Africa.
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