Tragedy in Angola
Mohamed Keita of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who I interviewed for FictionthatMatters.org, has reported that a sports journalist was killed in the ambush on the Togo national team at the African Nations Cup that left three dead in Cabinda, Angola. The African Nations Cup decides the strongest team on the continent, and is widely seen as a preview of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Togo’s national team has since withdrawn from the tournament.
I love soccer and I write about it in my own fiction. My grandfather was from Togo. And another journalist has been lost.
A sad confluence of events. My heart goes out to the national team and I hope for a constructive, peaceful resolution to the conflict over oil in Angola. The authorities in Angola still want to hold games in the Cabinda region. Here’s hoping for a peaceful tournament.
–Deji Olukotun
Photo of Togolese soccer player Emmanuel Adebayor, playing for Arsenal, by wonker on a CreativeCommons License.
