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I was sunday watching the elimination match between Angola-Ghana.

In a bar, with other persons i felt the absurd, as i already explained, of this CAN...and of this CAN in Angola.

What is that disturb me?

Not just in the money spent to build the football fields; or having good and modern transmissions of the match in the national TV when the normal transmission -the civil one- is still difficult, if not impossible, in many parts of the country; neither the contradiction of this funny nice event with the disaster of many floods occurred in different areas of the country -many displaced persons, deaths and injured-...no, it was something more...

In fact, in that “rich” bar, many persons had t-shirt, scarfs, trumpets of the national team....many money, looking at prices here, wasted in buying gadgets while, I'm sure, if i had asked “do you have a mosquito net?”, they will have answered: “No”.

It is a common absurd thing that i often had to face.

Having a role in a “malaria project” many came to me asking for a free mosquito net.

“Ok” i say, but why don't you buy one?

Because “i have no money”, many answer.

And for many it is true, for other it isn't. For others it is not a priority, even if the malaria is the first killer or cause of disease in Angola, but still it is not a priority to have one (the mosquito net is the first form of malaria prevention).

So i ask more...Why do u have every 2 weeks a new hair style? Why don't you think to save money in the aim to buy one mosquito net? Why are you waiting for “me” -meaning “one for free-”? Why don't you take care of your child?

I'm sure many of us will do just the same, everyone is waiting for the free ride, isn't it?

So they are waiting for the free mosquito net while they are daily risking to get the strong malaria that will kill them -or someone closed to them-.

Anyway, think that everyone will make the same, these answer are still hard to understand for me.

Yesterday I went to visit my Nuns friends, they lead a Nursery and assist in giving birth and sick pregnant women.

One of them told me that she thinks always that African people receive sufferance from the beginning, in fact she had just assisted the birth of a baby, that was already infected with malaria (there is a prevention treatment for pregnant woman with malaria but many don't do it). A child already infected of a disease that could be avoided. A child probably birth just to soon die for this disease.

Nevertheless another frequent answer is: “I don't like/use it because makes the bed hotter”.

And that is...it makes “hotter”(meaning “stop the air circulation”, not true) and so they don't use, until arriving in the hospital when it is too late.

Thinking about development...

Working as volunteer in an NGO, I'm living the nightmare of whom is always criticizing the development field.

Many say that the development is just an other, new, way to occupy and colonize new countries.

Ah my God, the development is really a 2 sides story, a lot of money go having a small small effect in the development process of the country, if not, sometimes, having bigger side effects than benefits.

Of course we can not generalize, not all the NGOs are “bad”.

An analyse of every NGOs will be impossible, i think that each of us have some good and bad example of NGOs to think about.

The main question is for me how many big Organization (as UN,UE, UNICEF, USAID, etc.) don't control better where their money -hmm sorry, our money- go and if the project -wonderful in the paper- has a real result in the community/society.

So why they control just the paper and make small field visiting, always organized before with the NGOs, instead of “surprise” visits, to see the reality and not the theatre that is made for them?

Is it me the first that think something like this?

I think not.

I think that sometimes, many times, who gain the partnership is the one that gives more visibility to the sponsor in the country or internationally.

So better for the Big Organizations to have visibility than results...so sad but so true.

Otherwise they will say something when the account paper for a project give the biggest amount of money to the administrative part instead of the field and operational part; should analyse the results making private investigations instead of just analysing “well packed” numbers and phrases in an nice annual report.

But this is my opinion, and the opinion of whom is really interested in development and not just in new way of international political influence.

Angola and the CAN 2010

In Angola is already started the CAN, the African Coup of Nations (or Copa africana das Naciones, Coppa Africana delle Nazioni).

For 10 days of football matches the Country developed football fields and infrastructures, as in Italy for the World Coup of 1990. The situation is the same, here like in Italy, the country received money from outside (sponsor, other countries, organisations...), invest its own money in infrastructures that will have not function at the end of the event (the same was in Portugal for the European Coup of 2004, after the championship the Country had not enough teams to use all the stadium and many just closed).

The TV is invaded of spot related to the event, songs, and the sellers at the coin of the streets sell flags, scarf, balls, shoes, etc. all with the national colours and the national symbol of the team (the animal Palanca Negra).

It seems to me a contradiction all this use of money for an event that makes happy the citizens, that's true, but doesn't cause a real development of the country.

The problems will be there after the CAN.. no electricity, no water, no health assistance, high child mortality, etc.

Otherwise it seems like in the Roman's time...panem et circenses... “bread and games”, before was the Colosseum and the gladiators now is the football, at least it seems to be less violent.

So, for me, this event is full of contradictions, as to make Olympic games in a China not in 2008.

Even more after that the epiphany of CAN had been spotted by a violent events, in Cabinda (Angola's enclave in RDC) the National team of Togo was attached by the FLEC.

So which are the events?

The FLEC is the Liberation Front of the Enclave of Cabinda (Fronte de Liberaçao da Enclave de Cabinda). This militia is fighting from the 1975, year in which Angola obtained the independence from Portugal and occupied Cabinda that just that moment was just a divided colony of Portugal, for its independence from Angola.

The territory is in completely in RDC, and the local population claim an ethnic autonomy from the Angola's one.

The problem?

Cabinda is the most rich part of Angola in oil...so, no way, they will not have the independence.

The recent attack was against the Angola's soldier escorting the Togo's team, so the target were not the football players but instead the soldier to escort them. Anyway the team loss 3 persons and the battle was in full city centre.

Now the question is: an International event, peaceful event, has to be completely free from other question or not?

An the International Community, clearly knowing the Cabinda question, has to be considered as a part of this tragedy?

And even more....which is the paradox of having this event in Angola, spending money for hostels, residences, stadium, airport instead of developing other useful infrastructures?

The paradox is, for me, enormous.

It is enough to watch the local TV to understand how the country is developing in 2 different velocity, one is the official one, coloured and “Brazilian looking”, full of food and machine (as fridge, TV, furnitures,...); the other one is just a local one, the one of the Bairros/Aldeias (localities/quarters) where the water is not inside the houses, but just in a public fountain , when there is one; the health assistance is not good at all, and the electricity doesn't exist...where you still die for malaria and typhus fever, or just giving birth to your child.

After that I look at how they are happy and I ask myself if I can judge all that just with my occidental eyes or I have to look forward to a country that it is training to build up a peaceful situation after years and years (more than 30) of bloody civil war and that with these football matches found it self in a national joyful atmosphere, make everyone proud of it national football team and country -Nationalism? Populism? Maybe but who better than us (Italians) know how football can build National spirit even more than the National Day of Republic creation?!-.

These are 2 faces of the same coin, the positive one linked with the process of National Concordia and the other one linked with the interest of whom, from the necessity and the game, make a private business and a waste of money in a field that is not the first one in fight-line against starving and diseases.