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Gabrielle Fontenot

Phillips

8 May 2017

English 3 honors

South African Government and Athletics

Athletics in South Africa have always been to the extreme and is almost seen as a religion by

many of the South Africans. South Africa has also been fighting serious poverty and

segregation, and the fight has intensified over the years. South Africa is not considered a

country in poverty, yet the overall population of South Africa is 54 million (Bottom of the

class, Economist). This means that there are 13 million unemployed and 18 million living in

poverty (Bottom of the class, Economist 2). The country is really struggling with providing

the proper utilities to the population as a whole. Sports is helping the country manage this

crisis. Rugby and cricket are extremely popular in South Africa and is widely celebrated.

(Dunn, Kate) Nonetheless, running has made economic and social changes for the better in

South Africa. Many athletes are faced with discrimination in South Africa. For example,

Caster Semenya is being tried for her gender and is being discriminated by many of the

citizens in South Africa for running with more testosterone than other female athletes. Their

president, Jacob Zuma is being tried for fraud and helping retired colleges. (Perry Alex) This

fact is a good representation of how corrupt the government is and degree of discrimination

in South Africa and how track and field really does affect the county in a positive fashion.

The President of South Africa has caused an insane amount of problems. In 2015,

South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma was tried for helping his retired colleges pay for their

taxes with the government money, a rape charge and taxpayer-funded upgrades to his private
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estate (Perry Alex 2). In sports, many teams and sports are facing discrimination and racism.

With cricket and rugby, fans and team players are refusing to allow negroes to participate

(Dunn, Kate 2). To add to this, the South African citizens are highly racist to this day in that

they have videos that contrast black rioters and black criminals paired with their president,

Jacob Zuma. While there are other photos of white families in South Africa that are positive

and happy. Eventually, with all of the crime and criminals, South Africa ended up leaving the

ICC (International Criminal Court) because of the cases with the President Zuma. For quite a

while, South Africa usually has been supportive in human rights but lately that has changed

because of the new president's mortality and actions (Massoud Mark F). Their president,

President Jacob Zuma has even been on trial for being accused of fraud, credibility gap, a

rape charge and paying retired colleges. This is a clear sign of corrupt and crude government.

Drinking has always been a problem for almost all adults. Payday for millions of

South Africans equals binge drinking and what follows drinking is always violence. (Imray

Gerald)Rape and domestic violence rates have been hard to measure for obvious reasons in

that victims often tend to suffer in silence and do not come forward. The situation in South

Africa amounts to an emergency in international relations and it is clear that action is

necessary for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States. Ever since

Oscar Pistorius incident, the government has slowly gone downhill as far as the athletic

department and public safety goes.(Fairbanks Eve)The government is trying more people for

their gender and loyalty. The government has been constantly changing and never secure, so

that the crime in South Africa has continued to be in an awful place for such a long time.

There is a new South Africa- a sort of African Brazil, ridden by class and racial differences,

a country with a murder rate nine times that of New York, yet a country full of hope and
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hilarity as well as cynicism. (RW, Jackson) There are even investigations against record

breaking hurdlers who are fighting for bragging rights about their achievements in 1995.

These hurdlers have even began bringing this issue to the public to generate more attention.

This needs to change because South Africa because it's causing segregation of sides and

between the people and causing a high amount of people to move the out of South Africa.

Running and athletics have impacted South African government in many different

areas including the economy. The schools in South Africa have been in a constant decline

which is a signal that the government is not putting the right amount of money into the

correct places. In fact a shocking 27% of pupils who have attended school for six years

cannot read, compared with 4% in Tanzania and 19% in Zimbabwe. (economist) With this

statistic, it's clear that an insane amount of South Africans cannot read yet they are spending

taxpayer money on schooling. This is a good representation of the flaws with the way the

government is run. The people in South Africa have a low economy so that, in the entire

world the average person is $15,800 GDP per capita but in South Africa the average is

$13,200 GDP per capita. (Reg Caldecott) GDP per capita is an approximation of about the

value of good that is produced by a single person.

Although running and track has a lot of positive things to contribute to the South African

country, there are some down turns. Caster Semenya is a middle-distance runner and a

2016 Olympic gold medalist for the 800 meter event for track. She is being tried for

her gender by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for her

affiliation with her ancestors tribe. (Alex Perry) When Semenya won the 800 by

more than two seconds in 2009, her competitors called her a man. This of course was

incorrect but the IAAF said, She is a woman, but maybe not 100 percent. Semenya
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has a condition called hyperandrogenism which the restricted levels of testosterone

are higher than a normal woman. Although this did not keep Semenya from

competing, she was confronted with an intense amount of insensitivity. All

Olympians have some exceptional traits. That is why they are elite athletes. A level

playing field for everyone remains elusive, perhaps unattainable. (Longman, Jere)

The public should not be attacking Semenya like this, for she has no control and there

is no way to make everything completely equal.

South Africa is going through some serious financial and social problems yet running

has always been a constant. With both Oscar Pistorius and Caster Semenya, South

Africa has always been ahead with track. (Eastmond Dean) Caster Semenya

constantly sticking up for herself and rising above is showing great strength for both

her and the country. Running has given South Africa a great outlet to celebrate for

them.

Work Cited
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