In a superbly played game today, the second win for France in the WC since 1998, Africans played a vital role in a stunning defeat over the under-dog, Croatia scoring 4-2.
But you have to take your hat off for Croatia: they played a good and valiant game. They truly gave sportsmanship a good name.
With players born in, or with roots in Mauritania, the DRC, Senegal, Nigeria, Guinea, Algeria, Congo, Cameroon and Angola, Africans shone like a bright star in a pitch black night leading France to with this year’s WC.
Whether this will tone down rising xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe, and in Trump’s America remains to be seen. I doubt it, but cooler heads will be forced to re-examine their racism.
France’s motto is liberte, egalite, fraternite. They might as well add DIVERSITE.
May be France should consider putting the map of Africa in the middle of their tricolor flag. I am just saying.
Considering decades of plundering Africa and their well documented human rights abuses in Africa (Algeria and Rwanda) to name but two, France has a lot to apologize for, then show some humility. And while they are at it, reform their racist immigration policies.
The same goes for the UK which had 11 players on their WC squad. Both countries have shocking records of abuses of Africans during the colonial period.
I know money has a lot to do with Africans being attracted to European teams. And who can blame them. But that is neither here nor there. Those who draft anti-immigrant policies should keep in mind that the world is becoming a global village, and migration is the way of the future. It is nothing new.
Inclusion of so many Africans on European teams should in the least remind Europeans that humanity is a good moral basis for policies. They should stop seeing Africans as trophies of humans that can be trained and used to do super-human marvels for their national glory.
This much I know : Donald Trump was not watching, not that he would understand the game. But if he were, he would realize that his racist and anti-immigrant policies are antiquated and have no place in 2018. He would to look at his administration, or NASA, and appreciate the fact that diversity is a good thing, and has made America a perfect Union.
Does Trump even know that the house he lives in was built, largely by slaves?
As an African, watching today’s WC game gave me goose bumps and made me appreciate, even more than ever before, the fact that we are talented people that should never be marginalized. All the more reason to put our houses in order.
