As a foreigner one has an outsiders point of view when it comes to domestic events. Come to think of it I’m also a foreigner in the country of my birth. As such I consider myself a citizen of the world much more than any one country. Within a country I am more of a resident with each country granting me different rights based upon the rules I’ve satisfied. These are privileges that endear us to a land with various degrees of nationalistic pride. 

It is a wonder then when certain stories come to light that show the contempt that governments have for their people. In an autocratic system that is almost expected as it’s a given that the ruler wields their power in order to hold onto it. It’s when stories in a democratic society hit the news that one should notice. They tell us something about the machinery of the system and how those in high positions squirm when their feet are close to the fire. 

There was a verdict reached yesterday after twenty-seven years of fighting that absolved the fans of any responsibility of their own deaths. Twenty-seven years ago there was a football match that turned tragic when the police opened up the turnstiles allowing a flood of people into a limited space. In that crush of people ninety-six people died and over seven hundred were injured. As people celebrated the victory of yesterday’s verdict there were interviews with people that lost their loved ones as well as some who survived the ordeal. One man spoke of how there was no place to go as he was stuck in that space. His ribs were crushed and his arm broken. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy the police blamed the fans saying they were drunk and that they broke through the barriers. This is a rumor that persists to this day, a slander that lives in the minds of some as this country has regional stereotypes and prejudices that are still alive to this day. The police feared the backlash and made a conscious effort to suppress the truth in order to divert the blame. 

It is also ninety-six days until we reunite. The time ticks at the speed of days and weeks and as it moves closer it will be counted in days and then in an unknown as she walks out the terminal into my arms. Something positive to look forward to. 

The video below is of an artist that I never heard of that popped into my weekly playlist. I’m trying to change the tune running in my head as the other performance that has been there since viewing it looked has been taken down by copyright. The artist from Nigeria is stillmalive although no longer a musician but a business man. According to the online encyclopedia he has never performed live and he recorded all his music in the late seventies and early eighties. There was a search for him by one of the online newsmagazines but to no avail I believe. It’s a great tune.