Pakistani diplomats and misplaced priorities
Every year one or two groups representing the German Journalists Centre visit Pakistan on a trip sponsored by the Pakistan Embassy. Information such as the aim of the visit, its outcome and the selection criteria is, however, kept confidential. Before their departure, the group is introduced to the history and culture of Pakistan, along with the ongoing developments in the country, the serious challenges they can face while there and ways to handle them. Recently, Mr Mazhar Javed, the acting ambassador of Pakistan in Germany, accompanied by Mr Ghulam Haider, Press Counselor Pakistan Embassy Berlin, briefed a group of such journalists who ...
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Danke Deutschland, for the love
Stereotypes have always existed; while modern pluralistic societies do condemn them, certain events leave marks that often lead to prejudice and bigotry. There was a time that Jews were associated with ‘Bolshevik’. Today, the word ‘Muslim’ is unfortunately associated with ‘terrorist’. So before I left for Germany on a study trip, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and arranged by the German Academic Exchange Services (Daad), I had a preconceived idea about the country. While my perceptions about Germans were varied and complex, during my two week journey from Munich to Berlin, with the breathtaking scenery of Heidelberg and the Cologne ...
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Muslim immigrants: A cold shoulder for a bad reputation
After the great Messina, another tsunami has embarked on the shores of Italy. But this time, it is not water that is causing problems. 26,000 immigrants belonging mainly to Tunisia and Libya have arrived on the island of Lampedusa – a number larger than the total population of the island. Earlier, Italy had taken responsibility for 20,000 immigrants. As the immigrants keep pouring onto the shores of Italy, it is looking towards neighbouring Schengen countries to lend a helping hand. The Italian government has decided to issue a six month Schengen visa to these immigrants, a move that has given jitters to the ...
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Does Maradona deserve a second chance?
Diego Maradona would rather the world stop turning if he weren’t the center of the universe for Argentinian football. The buzz on the streets of Buenos Aires has come full circle since the start of the World Cup. Everyone seems to be talking about Diego Maradona yet again. A country obsessed with one man who won them a World Cup. Were I president of the AFA (Argentine Football Association) I wouldn’t be getting such great sleep these days with the impending choice of choosing a new manager for the national side. Remember that Diego Maradona was denied a ...
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Pakistan’s begging bowl runs deep
Allah Ditta hurriedly hides his ration and relief packets under the shabby rug which adorns his clumsy tent dwelling as he sees a TV team approaching his relief tent. His wife Naseera has now joined the queue to get another packet or two of the relief goods containing pulses, cooked rice, mineral water and biscuits. The anchor person along with his cameraman stops in front of his camp as the latter fixes his shot and peeps inside through the lens to see if the shot is worth taking. The camera is now rolling and anchor person asks a few ...
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All eyes on the octopus
The Fifa world cup has ended with a bang. As always, there was plenty of drama, tears, joy and action… along with a fair share of conspiracy theories and side stories. The most famous of course involves Paul – the octopus who had a 100 per cent prediction record this time. (It had an 86 per cent record in the Euro2008). While many are calling it a ‘psychic’ creature and are still astonished over its ‘powers’, others have called it a conspiracy of the bookies. There has been much talk that the mussels fed to the octopus had a certain ...
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Spain’s semi-final victory, via Paris
Spain vs Germany? As I head towards the semi final match to be telecast on an open air screen in the centre of Paris, I mull over the track record of the formidable Germans who are known to never ever give up. Despite all odds being on a German win, I can’t help rooting for the underdogs. The location of the arena is superb, because the television screen has been set up parallel to the majestic Eiffel Tower. The field is crowded with supporters of both sides adorned in Spanish and German colours, waving flags and vociferously chanting slogans. There is a smattering ...
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Multi-Culti Mundial?
The 2010 World Cup officially began two weeks ago, but in reality had begun for South Africa since 2004. There are six different (language) versions of the official world cup anthem ‘wave your flag.’ They all feature K’naan and have the same cheering crowds, bright colours, contagious excitement, obligatory celebration of nationalism and of course, all celebrate the flag. They all sell patriotic pride K’naan collaborates with Nancy Ajram to produce the Arabic version, with David Bisbal to produce the Spanish version, with Jacky Cheung and Jane Zhang for the Chinese version, with Féfé for the French version. Skank did ...
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Kicking off the World Cup: The contenders, part II
So much has been written and said about the World Cup already that this latest blog post may seem an unnecessary addition; then again, not everyone obsessively follows football and for the sake of the average non-footie-mad person, let’s try to recap the events of the past week. Continuing with the theme of describing how pre-tournament favorites have fared so far, we come first to Italy, a team that seems to be stuck in 2006. Not only for its persistence with players who have long since faded and a coach asked to repeat the ultimate in footballing success, Italy’s whole ...
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Group stage deciders: Matches to watch and matches to miss
In case you didn’t know, the last games for each group will be played simultaneously. Therefore, unless you have your two TV’s set up side by side you need to make a decision on which matches to concentrate on and which matches to occasionally flip to. Group A Match to Watch: Uruguay v Mexico (initially at least) Unfortunately for South Africa, if Uruguay and Mexico draw they both go through. There is a tradition of this in the World Cup. In 1982, West Germany and Austria essentially had a training session for 80 minutes to ensure they both qualified at the expense ...
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