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.