http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42942

Foreigners in Germany Dejected by Country's Euro Performance

Foreigners in Germany Dejected by Country's Euro Performance
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Ballack's stunning free-kick was the only highlight of an otherwise dull game
Foreigners in Germany were left disappointed on Monday night after the Germany national soccer team put up a lackluster performance in its 1-0 win over Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria.

Most of these foreign nationals from Asia and Africa had joined Germans in various parts of the country's many outdoor soccer viewing spots, hoping to get a taste of what it feels to belong to a winning team in a major tournament since their adopted country enjoyed a pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites to land the title.



They had hoped that for once, they would be able to celebrate a major international tournament victory since most of them come from small countries unlikely to entertain any hopes of winning a major soccer tournament. In Germany, they had a realistic chance of such a celebration but were left a little disappointed by Germany's performance on Monday night.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Some Germany fans didn't seem too upset by their side's insipid performance
"There is not much to celebrate, because the real test of character starts in the next round when we will face Portugal. I guess we lost the plot when we lost to Croatia, it might just be the end of the road because it is going to be a really tough game against Portugal, we might just need something special or we kiss good buy to this tournament," said a Germany soccer fan from Asia in a neighborhood in the northern part of the western German city of Bonn.



Another Germany supporter, originally from Ghana, had a different view.



"The match was not bad at all, these guys played very well considering what was at stake, I guess they have a chance to go far," said Kwaku Tchite, a Ghanaian national living in Bonn.



Luck and drama



Others pointed out the game certainly contained enough drama to make up for the poor quality of the soccer.



"I have never seen so much football drama in my life," said Menzi Dlamini, a journalist from Swaziland currently living in Berlin. Dlamini was referring to the referee's decision to give send off both the Germany and Austrian soccer coaches to the stands for arguing with the assistant referee.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Austria coach Hickersberger, left, and Germany's Loew created a stir at the game
For Sharma Sharirriff, who comes from Yemen but currently in Bonn where is studying medicinal sciences, it all had to do with how the Germany team reacted to pressure and tried to absorb it.



"I think the team just failed to handle the pressure that comes with such a big game with huge expectations from fans," Sharirriff said. "This was evident when the Germany coach failed to handle the pressure from the Austrian coach who was clearly playing mind games."



Kumbirai Mafunda, a Zimbabwean student in Berlin, said the German side were lucky to have made it to the quarterfinals.



"The Germany team could have wrapped up the game in the first half but missed several chances and that proved to be their undoing," Mafunda said.



"In matches like these you don't miss so many chances and expect to win, they should just count themselves lucky."





Stanley Kwenda

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3420531,00.html

Links to Stanley's DW-WORLD Articles

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3439010,00.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3441808,00.html

Life in Zimbabwe during election time

MEDIAWATCH: Life in election-time Zimbabwe 26 Mar 2008 08:16:00 GMT

Written by: Joanne Tomkinson
A Zimbabwean street kid receives Zimbabwe dollar Z$200,000 notes, which ceased to be legal, in downtown Harare, December 20, 2007.
REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
In the midst of an economic meltdown, Zimbabwe will hold elections on March 29. Most press attention is focused on the likely outcome of the poll, but some reporters are talking about what conditions are like for people living in a country gripped by its worst humanitarian crisis since independence.

Sky-rocketing inflation of 100,000 percent a year has left few people able to afford even the most basic goods, according to Boston-based newspaper Christian Science Monitor.

The causes of the downturn are hotly contested, but the hardship of ordinary Zimbabweans is unmistakable, the paper writes.

"In the last eight years, the economy has contracted to 60 percent of what it was before," Paul Siwela, an economist in Zimabwe's second city Bulawayo told the Monitor.

The most troubling part of this downturn is Zimbabwe's inability to feed itself and its neighbours, the Monitor writes. In 1979 the country managed to grow enough food feed itself and export around the region. Now the country has a maize shortfall of 360,000 tons, and a wheat shortfall of 255,000 tons. Food aid will only fend off starvation for a while.

The paper tells of shops stacked with food and clothes - all too expensive for ordinary Zimbabweans' pockets. Gas stations have entirely closed, and a loaf of bread is now beyond the reach of most people.

All this is especially shocking since 20 years ago the country was hailed as an African success story. Now Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world - just 36 years - and at the start of the year around 4 million people were receiving food aid.

Britain's Guardian news website quotes a central bank governor comparing spiralling inflation to "economic HIV". Half the population now live on 50p ($1) a day, 80 percent are unemployed, and 45 percent are malnourished, the site says.

Both maternal mortality rates and the death rate for children under five in Zimbabwe have almost doubled in the past decade. There is a desperate shortage of vaccines to help protect children against measles and other diseases.

For Sarah Chekani, whose daughter died last year from diarrhoea and fever, the worsening situation in Zimbabwe leaves her with the fear that more desperation and death will follow.

"I don't know what to do if my other children get sick. Where can we go? The hospital tells you to buy the drugs yourself, but where do I get the money?" she said to the Guardian. "Some people say this election will change things. I don't know. I don't have hope. It will not bring back the dead."

For Hope, a blogger at This is Zimbabwe, a website run by the Sokwanele - Zvakwana peoples' movement, Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has left most Zimbabweans wanting drastic change after destroying the country's economy, schooling and health care system.

"The one thing I know is that Zimbabweans are tired, so tired, of struggling to get through to the next day. "

"We want to move on and have a normal life. We know what happened in the past, but it's the future we're concerned with now," Hope writes.

The Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) news website writes that with the economy at its lowest ever ebb, and Zimbabwe's infrastructure collapsing, many people are too preoccupied with food shortages to get excited by the poll.

"(The price of) food is going up every single day. Meat is now beyond the reach of the majority of people. Many people cannot afford cooking oil, margarine, soft drinks and beer. Imagine - even tomatoes and onions have become unaffordable. So have green vegetables, which were sustaining many families," Harare resident Amos Chigwida told IWPR.

"So tell me, what is there to get excited about? I have too many things to worry about than to spend time following rallies or listening to political speeches."

But not everyone feels so apathetic about the elections. Struggling single mother of three Christine Makumbe told the IWPR that her vote will make a difference.

"I pray that Zimbabweans have registered and will go and vote. I don't agree with those that have already given up - every vote counts and each of us can play our part in choosing which direction Zimbabwe should go."

South Africa's Daily Nation newspaper writes of fears that the country might plunge further into crisis if President Robert Mugabe's hardline supporters don't agree with the election result.

The paper reports predictions by International Crisis Group that the outcome is likely to be challenged, triggering mass violence and perpetuating the economic crisis. The Belgian-based think tank urges the African Union to start planning how to deal with it if things get even worse in Zimbabwe, especially in the event of Mugabe losing the election.

But there are some stories of hope among the hardship.

ZimOnline reports that some people are managing to make the most of opportunities presented by the economic downturn.

In Bulawayo, there is money to be made from collecting waster paper from the piles of litter left there since the city council stopped collecting rubbish.

With six grandsons and daughters to feed, clothe, and educate, women like Liz Dhumela can make enough money to survive by selling the paper she collects to a waste paper company, according to ZimOnline.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean artists are finding inspiration in their feelings of disillusionment and frustration about the situation in the country.

Musician Samm Farai Munro, better known as Fatso, released a CD this month called "House of Hunger". As you can see from Fatso's blog he doesn't shy away from themes like corruption, hunger, fear, and violence.

He's just one of dozens of Zimbabwean artists creatively expressing their discontent with the economic and political crisis through poetry, theatre and music. Rather than quelling their creativity, hardship seems to help stir the imagination.
Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Key facts on Zimbabwe

Hit by drought, HIV/AIDS and economic meltdown, Zimbabwe is in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since independence.

Average life expectancy 43.5 years
Agriculture devastated
World's highest inflation

Twenty years ago the country was hailed as an African success story and dubbed the "breadbasket" of southern Africa. Now it has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world, according to the World Health Organisation.

Several million were receiving food aid at the start of 2008 after yet another year of severe drought.

Farming is the backbone of Zimbabwe's economy, but agriculture has been crippled by the combined effects of drought, HIV/AIDS and controversial government land reforms.

Unemployment is sky-high and galloping inflation has made basic foodstuffs, fuel, health and school unaffordable for many. Millions of Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries.

Zimbabwe's crisis has escalated since elections in March 2008. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change won a majority in parliament and their leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe in the presidential vote but not by enough to avoid a run-off election set for June 27.

Less than a week before the vote, Tsvangirai pulled out following widespread violence against his supporters. The bloodshed has attracted international criticism and unprecedented condemnation by the U.N. Security Council. Mugabe, in power since 1980, has refused to call off the vote.

Key facts

Estimated life expectancy in 2006 43 years (women), 44 years (men)
( WHO 2008)
Percentage of population malnourished 45 percent ( WFP)
No. displaced 570,000 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2007)
No. who lost incomes/homes in 2005 state crackdown on shantytowns 700,000 (Source: U.N.)
Percentage of people living on less than $2 a day 83 percent (WFP)


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Soccer | 17.06.2008
Foreigners in Germany Dejected by Country's Euro Performance
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Ballack's stunning free-kick was the only highlight of an otherwise dull game
Foreigners in Germany were left disappointed on Monday night after the Germany national soccer team put up a lackluster performance in its 1-0 win over Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria.

Most of these foreign nationals from Asia and Africa had joined Germans in various parts of the country's many outdoor soccer viewing spots, hoping to get a taste of what it feels to belong to a winning team in a major tournament since their adopted country enjoyed a pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites to land the title.



They had hoped that for once, they would be able to celebrate a major international tournament victory since most of them come from small countries unlikely to entertain any hopes of winning a major soccer tournament. In Germany, they had a realistic chance of such a celebration but were left a little disappointed by Germany's performance on Monday night.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Some Germany fans didn't seem too upset by their side's insipid performance
"There is not much to celebrate, because the real test of character starts in the next round when we will face Portugal. I guess we lost the plot when we lost to Croatia, it might just be the end of the road because it is going to be a really tough game against Portugal, we might just need something special or we kiss good buy to this tournament," said a Germany soccer fan from Asia in a neighborhood in the northern part of the western German city of Bonn.



Another Germany supporter, originally from Ghana, had a different view.



"The match was not bad at all, these guys played very well considering what was at stake, I guess they have a chance to go far," said Kwaku Tchite, a Ghanaian national living in Bonn.



Luck and drama



Others pointed out the game certainly contained enough drama to make up for the poor quality of the soccer.



"I have never seen so much football drama in my life," said Menzi Dlamini, a journalist from Swaziland currently living in Berlin. Dlamini was referring to the referee's decision to give send off both the Germany and Austrian soccer coaches to the stands for arguing with the assistant referee.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Austria coach Hickersberger, left, and Germany's Loew created a stir at the game
For Sharma Sharirriff, who comes from Yemen but currently in Bonn where is studying medicinal sciences, it all had to do with how the Germany team reacted to pressure and tried to absorb it.



"I think the team just failed to handle the pressure that comes with such a big game with huge expectations from fans," Sharirriff said. "This was evident when the Germany coach failed to handle the pressure from the Austrian coach who was clearly playing mind games."



Kumbirai Mafunda, a Zimbabwean student in Berlin, said the German side were lucky to have made it to the quarterfinals.



"The Germany team could have wrapped up the game in the first half but missed several chances and that proved to be their undoing," Mafunda said.



"In matches like these you don't miss so many chances and expect to win, they should just count themselves lucky."





Stanley Kwenda

Share this article

Soccer | 17.06.2008
Foreigners in Germany Dejected by Country's Euro Performance
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Ballack's stunning free-kick was the only highlight of an otherwise dull game
Foreigners in Germany were left disappointed on Monday night after the Germany national soccer team put up a lackluster performance in its 1-0 win over Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria.

Most of these foreign nationals from Asia and Africa had joined Germans in various parts of the country's many outdoor soccer viewing spots, hoping to get a taste of what it feels to belong to a winning team in a major tournament since their adopted country enjoyed a pre-tournament billing as one of the favorites to land the title.



They had hoped that for once, they would be able to celebrate a major international tournament victory since most of them come from small countries unlikely to entertain any hopes of winning a major soccer tournament. In Germany, they had a realistic chance of such a celebration but were left a little disappointed by Germany's performance on Monday night.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Some Germany fans didn't seem too upset by their side's insipid performance
"There is not much to celebrate, because the real test of character starts in the next round when we will face Portugal. I guess we lost the plot when we lost to Croatia, it might just be the end of the road because it is going to be a really tough game against Portugal, we might just need something special or we kiss good buy to this tournament," said a Germany soccer fan from Asia in a neighborhood in the northern part of the western German city of Bonn.



Another Germany supporter, originally from Ghana, had a different view.



"The match was not bad at all, these guys played very well considering what was at stake, I guess they have a chance to go far," said Kwaku Tchite, a Ghanaian national living in Bonn.



Luck and drama



Others pointed out the game certainly contained enough drama to make up for the poor quality of the soccer.



"I have never seen so much football drama in my life," said Menzi Dlamini, a journalist from Swaziland currently living in Berlin. Dlamini was referring to the referee's decision to give send off both the Germany and Austrian soccer coaches to the stands for arguing with the assistant referee.




Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Austria coach Hickersberger, left, and Germany's Loew created a stir at the game
For Sharma Sharirriff, who comes from Yemen but currently in Bonn where is studying medicinal sciences, it all had to do with how the Germany team reacted to pressure and tried to absorb it.



"I think the team just failed to handle the pressure that comes with such a big game with huge expectations from fans," Sharirriff said. "This was evident when the Germany coach failed to handle the pressure from the Austrian coach who was clearly playing mind games."



Kumbirai Mafunda, a Zimbabwean student in Berlin, said the German side were lucky to have made it to the quarterfinals.



"The Germany team could have wrapped up the game in the first half but missed several chances and that proved to be their undoing," Mafunda said.



"In matches like these you don't miss so many chances and expect to win, they should just count themselves lucky."





Stanley Kwenda

Share this article

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE:
"Dictatorship Is Temporary"
Interview with Nelson Chamisa, Zimbabwean Member of Parliament

Nelson Chamisa

HARARE, Jun 5 (IPS) - Fourteen members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise, a Bulawayo-based human rights organisation, are being held in two prisons in the capital Harare. They were arrested while marching to demand that the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) intervene to end post-election violence; their case is just one illustration of escalating human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

A leading human rights lawyer, Andrew Makoni, has fled to South Africa after receiving credible warnings of a plan to murder at least one lawyer to deter others from publicising abuses and defending victims of state-sponsored violence. According to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, four of Makoni's clients have been murdered in the past two weeks.

Since elections on March 29, at least 22 people have been killed in a campaign of torture, beatings and destruction of homes that the Solidarity Peace Trust reports has been carried out by supporters of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) supporters -- including war veterans, the party's youth wing and serving members of the Zimbabwe's security services.

IPS reporter Tonderai Kwidini spoke with Nelson Chamisa, a Movement for Democratic Change party spokesperson and member of parliament, who was himself attacked at the Harare International Airport last year, while on his way to an international meeting of parliamentarians in Brussels. And last week four of his family members were also severely assaulted by soldiers and suspected ZANU-PF militias.

IPS: What impact the violence has had on campaigning for the June 27 run-off elections?

NELSON CHAMISA: This is the worst political environment we have ever experienced in the history of our party. We are fighting a regime that is staring defeat in the face but is determined to stay in power and has become desperate. Our supporters are being maimed, tortured and killed and no one has been arrested. This is a situation you can only expect to get from a barbaric state.

IPS: How is the ongoing violence affecting or changing the political landscape in Zimbabwe?

NC: The violence has displaced voters. Remember we are going to be using a ward-based system and lot of our supporters have been forced out of their homesteads as a result of the violence. It has not just displaced voters, it has eliminated the electorate. We have over 50 supporters who have been killed since March 29.

IPS: A recent report from Solidarity Peace Trust describes this repression in painful detail. The report also recommends further mediation and the establishment of a transitional government. The International Crisis Group has made a similar recommendation: what is your response to this suggestion?

NC: It's simple: no one is against the idea of a government of national unity, because Zimbabwe will need one as it shapes up its nation-building efforts. But that government can only be chosen by the party that wins the elections because only then will it have the mandate of the people.

We are calling on the international community, SADC, the African Union and the United Nations to deploy peace keeping forces as well as monitors to come to Zimbabwe and save the people from ZANU-PF.

IPS: What is the message you are giving to MDC supporters in the face of this extreme violence?

We are just telling them that this is the last hurdle and it is going to be painful, but it will come to pass. We are telling them to vote with their conscience -- they have to be strong. This is the end: we spoke on 29 March and we have to speak again on 27 June.

IPS: We understand that your political party has been prevented from holding rallies in certain parts of the country. What has been the effect of these bans on your political activities?

NC: You don't have to talk about those bans alone as we have some rural areas that have been declared by ZANU-PF as no-go areas for the opposition. Those bans have not only managed to disrupt our campaign strategies but have given the ZANU-PF regime an edge against us. The whole idea is to render our party comatose.

IPS: Can you describe how you are campaigning in this environment?

NC: Our rallies have been banned, so we are now resorting to doing door to door campaigns.

IPS: What needs to be done to make the June 27 elections a free and fair contest?

NC: Firstly, there is a need to de-politicise the police force as it has become partisan in favour of the incumbent. Then there is a need to create conditions in which all political parties are covered fairly in both public and private media.

I was in Rwanda recently and I have learnt a lot about how the media can be used as a tool to fan violence. The ZANU-PF campaigns on national radio and television are genocidal and have to be stopped before it's too late.

IPS: Have you at any time felt a threat to your life as a result of the crackdown on political freedoms?

NC: Everyone within the party's leadership is living in constant fear of being abducted, tortured before being killed. We are now security animals and we have to be careful. We are dealing with a vampire regime. But remember: dictatorship is temporary and we are witnessing the end of Robert Mugabe's tyranny. (END/2008)

Bob is the boss (POEM)

B.O.B
I am the ‘bhoza’ of Zimbabwe
I am the bomb
Born of Bona
I am Bob the boss
My people love me
Whether they like it or know it

I am the first and best secretary
Unbeaten in eight major elections
Whether Blair or Brown calls them
Feja feja or feya feya
I am Bob the boss

The commander in chief
The commissar in chief
The secretary in chief
The liberator in chief
The war vet in chief
The intellectual in chief
The warrior in chief
The minister in chief
The governor in chief
The president in chief
Yes, I am Bob
The boss in chief

Triumph after triumph
Since 1980
I came, I saw, I conquered
In Mozambique,
There was Samora Machel
Then came Chissano
Then Guebuza,
I am still Bob the boss!

In Namibia there were the boers
Then came Nujoma
Then came Pohamba
In Zambia, there was Kaunda
Then came Chiluba
Then Mwanawasa
I am still Bob the man!

In South Africa there was Botha
Then came de Klerk
Then Madiba
Then Thabo Mbeki
I am still the boss

In Botswana
There was Khama
Then came Masire
Then Mogae
Now Khama
I am still……

In Malawi there was Banda
Then came Muluzi
Then came
WaMutharika
I am still….

In Tanzania there was Nyerere
Then came Mwinyi
Then came Mukapa
Then came Kikwete
I am still……

The Mois have gone
The Jerry Rawlings have gone
The Abachas,Babangidas
Obasanjos , Eyademas have gone
The Mobutus have died
The Kabilas have gone!
I am still around
As Bob the boss!

Margaret Thatcher came
John Major left
Ronald Reagan was there
George Bush snr left
Bill Clinton left
Dubya found me around
Tony Blair resigned
Gordon Brown has arrived
Who am I ?

I formed SADCC
I was there when we removed the other C
OAU I joined
AU I joined
The Commonwealth I joined, chaired and left
27 UN General Assemblies
I have addressed
Butros Butros Ghali I saw
Kofi Annan I saw
Ban ki-Moon I have seen
I am Bob the boss

My ideology is the ideology
Bobocracy is the name of the game
Bobism the sine qua non

I died for this country
I am Bob the boss
2008 is Bob’s year
One president, one people
One party, one ideology
I am Bob the boss

My people love me
Whether they like it or know it
I am the main man

I am Bob the boss in chief!!!

When the toll gets the most of an individual

It has been a long time since i last had a dance with this blog which i created after strenuous studies in technolodgy at the Rhodes University in South Africa, thanks to Chris Kabwato and his team, now i am a blogger.
It a passion that has taken the world by storm and has given previously maginalised citizens of the world the will power to speak out on injustices. A good example is the cyber activists in Asia. For me the toll has been too much that i even couldn't take my daily commentaries on thsi blog. For a start the internet at my office in Zimbabwe is just not receptive to this kind of information revolution, many IT specialist Zeb can explain better. This coupled with the spectre of becoming a father and all the other responsibilities that comes with such a new title, this noble exercise became a nuisance. Thank God i am back and can still blog on.

Mugabe's health

I am not one who rejoice on a person's demise because i grew up being told that its kind of taboo in our African tradition, but to hear that Mugabe's health is failing him brings a bit of joy to my heart considering that he has just shown that he is callousness and does not care a hoot to people's human life. I saw a picture of his leg published on the Zimbabwe Times website in June, At first it really looked to me like a cobra snake waiting to strike but after taking a second i realised it was his swollen leg. This was just days after he came back from a trip in China where he had reportedly gone to seek medical attention. For once i closed my eyes and thought, hey man what the hey is this man still wanting to fight for at the expense of his health and let alone his young wife and kids. For God's sake why can't he just take a rest and let the young turks take over. I guess his death will bring a lot of joy to many Zimbabweans but should it be like that really? During the past week he showed his sadist side, ordering his man to arrest MDC secreatry general Tendai Biti as he made his way through immigration at the Harare International Airport upon his arrival from South Africa where he had stayed for a month in a bid to try and evade harrassment at home. At first, i thought to my self that the learned lawyer was foolish to return home under the set conditions since the police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri had already indicated that he was salivating for his arrest. But after an after thought i thought there was no way he could avoid going back home and it was not going to be politically correct for him to remain holed up in Johannesburg when his followers where being butchered in streets and villages of Zi´mbabwe he had to come back and share the pain with the rest. I feel the same as i write thsi article in my temporary refugee country, Germany. How i wish i was home to face the same music as my family, as my friends, as ´my workmates, as my wife, as my yet to be born son. Only if Mugabe's health continue to fail him, maybe we might be free at last.