When the Game Turns to Tragedy

As Salvador Cabañas lays in a hospital bed with a bullet lodged in his skull, the mystery as to his shooting continues to travel through the press. First was the report of an attempted robbery, which was ruled out by Mexic’s Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera.

In a city filled with violence, in a country mired by ever increasing violence it may seem a stretch to add significance to what may very well be a random act. However, it seems to linger on many people’s mind that the shooting of one of the Mexican Soccer League’s biggest stars is somehow linked to the sport.

Cabanas was happily married. He was not known for wild ‘partying’ or extravagant spending. He was come on and off the field. For years, he carried Football Club America on his back and was the leading scorer of Paraguay’s National Squad: what could have incited someone to target him?

No sport seems to be haunted by violence as much as soccer, as the World Cup approaches and questions about South Africa’s security preparations continue, events like this (If it DOES turn out to be related to the game) is bound to not only affect fan’s attendance but also  put athlete’s own participation in question.

Cabanas is now in stable but critical condition. Doctors hope that due to his being young and healthy he will be able to recover but he is yet to pass the critical hours

The Politics of Poverty

 

However insensitive it may seem to some to make politics of the horrible tragedy that has occurred in haiti, leaving almost 200,000 dead, the disaster that targeted the nation of haiti was not a natural disaster—it was a disaster of apathy and neglect.

 

Haiti is the poorest nation in the western Hemisphere. The same nation was shaken last year by a tropical storm and hurricane. 

 

The problem was the infrastructure. The problem is that any natural ‘disaster’ that strikes this poor island is bound to be catastrophic due to the faulted foundations.

 

The nation has not only been mired by financial and developmental it has also been haunted by political turmoil with both being intrinsically linked.

 

In the immigration debate, at least in Florida, there has been a low, growing murmur seeking to fight for the Haitians in the state. For years, the discussion has been for one of economic refuge, much as the Cubans seeking political refuge in the states.

 

The South Florida government must live with the fact of the thousands of people dead today that had attempted to migrate here and were turned back upon arrival while Cuban (and at times South American) citizens were allowed to stay, immediately welcomed and aided in becoming integral parts of this country.

 

 

In the day of Genoa treaties and globalization which is more dangerous: being the poorest country in the hemisphere or being the only communist country in the western hemisphere?