Is it safe to watch football in South Africa?

Not safe. . I will give you evidence and suggestions

Sina Sports News Before arriving in South Africa, and after arriving in South Africa, the most talked about topic among relatives and friends in the country, and what attracted the most attention to them was not the result of the game, but a topic that cannot be avoided. :Safety.

Officials from the South African World Cup Organizing Committee have repeatedly stated that crime exists in every country in the World Cup. The local police confidently stated that the World Cup in South Africa will be the safest in history. So before the safest World Cup is held, please take a look at some unpleasant things that have happened in South Africa recently. The incomplete robbery materials we have compiled include the following:

On June 3, an SBS television staff member was robbed in a grocery store in Johannesburg. At that time, three robbers suddenly attacked and stole the valuables from him (Associated Press).

On June 6, a South Korean reporter was robbed in the coastal city of Durban. The location was on the streets of Durban (AP).

On June 8, two Portuguese reporters and a Spanish reporter were robbed in Magaliesburg, near the Portuguese team’s training ground. The place was outside Johannesburg. The method of committing the crime was housebreaking and robbery. The time was at 4 a.m. and the tool of the crime was a pistol. Portuguese journalist Simons said that the robber warned him to shut up. When the gun was pressed against his chest for the second time, he thought he was dead (AFP, Lusa).

Many other Chinese journalists came to South Africa in various ways, but soon they also became victims of the poor local security situation in South Africa.

On June 8, the movie "The World Cup" co-starring Li Chengpeng, Xie Hui, Zhang Xuan and others was being filmed in South Africa. However, around 16:00 on the 8th, the crew was filming in the slums of Soweto. At that time, they were robbed at gunpoint by local black gangsters, and all the crew's recording equipment was robbed. In addition, the gangsters also stole many mobile phones and cameras, but fortunately, no one was injured.

At around 3:40 pm local time on June 8, Anhui's "Xin'an Evening News", which had just arrived in South Africa, interviewed three World Cup correspondents, An Yu and Pan Yan, in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. Driving to the Football City Stadium, I was unfortunately robbed by local robbers. It should be said that this is the most worrying of the several robbed incidents, because it happened on the only way to the most important venue, Football City.

There is also news that a reporter from a Beijing TV station was robbed when he was out alone. He was armed with a heavy weapon. The news now is that he was only robbed of property and was not physically harmed.

If the above is true, there would have been six robberies in six days just against reporters, not including other unreported incidents. I feel so much sympathy for these fellow travelers because I know how scary this place can be at times. For example, a few days ago I was watching a North Korean team match in a very poor area. I was kicked out of the press studio at night (the locals said they had to get off work), so I met several foreign reporters in the aisle outside the main stadium gate. I was waiting for the rental car to pick me up. But there were black people coming and going outside constantly, pointing at us. It was already 7 o'clock in the evening, and it was completely dark. I couldn't enter the stadium and had to wait at the door. There were so many black people staring at me with unfriendly eyes. At that time, I thought that as long as I dared to carry the box of photographic equipment out of the stadium gate and hit the street, it would take less than 5 minutes. I guess I will become a refugee.

How chaotic is South Africa? The BBC has previously reported that 50 people are murdered every day in South Africa, and 18,000 people die every year. In the UK, the number is 662. There are also 18,000 people trying to kill people. Of the 15,000 carjackings, half occurred in Gauteng Province, where Johannesburg is located. Dr. Borg believes that South Africa has a high unemployment rate and a huge gap between rich and poor, which has led to distortion of the entire society.

At first people would think it was due to lax gun control and visa-free access to neighboring countries. These people (South African locals think they are mainly Zimbabweans) ran away after robbing, and came again when they had no money, becoming a social Stubborn illness.

In fact, these are indeed important reasons, but judging from conversations with many people, South Africa’s security has problems in all aspects, not only for reporters, but also for the team. arrive.

Yu Hang, the head of Sina’s front-line reporting team, revealed that when he went to the FIFA hotel to attend a meeting, no one seriously checked his ID, and no one conducted necessary security checks. He was very worried, "If a terrorist comes in, with just a small explosive pack, Blatter, Beckenbauer and others will be finished in an instant."

Sina Frontline Reporting Team reporter Liu Feng said that in theory, the security level of the Portuguese team’s hotel should be very strict, but what is surprising is that he can enter casually by flashing his press card. It was very easy to enter the pre-match meeting room of the Portuguese national team and watch Queiroz explaining tactics to the team. "It's incredible."

I personally went to the team camp and found that security is often ineffective. The main problem is that grassroots staff not only do not have good pre-job training, but also do not have the necessary professional qualities. For example, when the German team held its first public training, it was unimaginable that the security personnel were lax. If terrorists had sneaked in and wanted to do bad things, they could easily have threatened the safety of the German team players.

The above details are enough to explain the key reason for South Africa’s poor security work. It is not that the top management cannot make correct decisions, but that the middle and grassroots levels have no execution ability at all. Basically, government orders cannot leave the presidential palace. When I was applying for a press pass, I asked where the press center at the Soccer City Stadium was, and four staff members pointed to four different places.

A local driver who has been driving for the Sina reporting team said that the problem in South Africa is that the policy cannot be implemented. "Prostitution is illegal in our country, but red light districts like this are everywhere here. Why? Police I don’t want to take care of it, and I’m too lazy to take care of it.”

In fact, it is fair to say that security at World Cup venues in many cities in South Africa is extremely strict. When I was covering the Confederations Cup in Pretoria last year, the driver and I had to fill in the form before entering the stadium. There are a lot of forms, and after the search, you have to be "interrogated" with a lot of questions. The car must be scanned three times from top to bottom with human eyes, instruments and wolf dogs, and then someone will be responsible for leading the way to the designated place. This is the first time I have seen such strict security in my sports reporting.

But the problem is that South Africa can only ensure that the stadium and a few important areas or major teams strive to be trouble-free, but they cannot cover other areas. In fact, I don’t think anything will really happen in England’s group match against the United States. One day ago, a drunk driving policeman in South Africa accidentally drove his car the wrong way within one kilometer of the England team’s station. He was immediately surrounded by multiple police officers and fired shots. Warnings were issued and people were arrested. This shows that the real potential danger is not in areas heavily guarded by the police.

ANYWAY, you are already here, and you must persist in completing the World Cup reporting task no matter what. However, I would like to share some suggestions from local crime research reporter Hosken in Pretoria. How to Keep yourself safe and refer to it as appropriate.

The following contents include:

1. Doors and windows must be closed tightly when driving

2. Don’t stop when a stranger suddenly comes over

3. Wear a blue uniform It may not be the police

4. If you are carjacked, don’t resist

5. Don’t show off, don’t show your valuables