From the perspective of Donis Escober

Now that I have arrived to South Africa, I hope that all the practicing my team and I have been doing will pay off. South Africa is a very interesting place. It's actually not like it is presented in the history books. History books tell us about what has happened in the past and that may not be the same as what it is now. In 1948 a law was passed in South Africa that allowed racial discrimination. In 1950 all South Africans were required to be placed into a category of black, colored, or white. These events increased "apartheid"(segregation) in South Africa. Black people were designated in poor homelands that they could not leave. They also had many other rules. Failure to obey these rules or even protest, would give them serious consequences. Many were jailed or beaten to death. If I were to go to South Africa 60 years ago, that is what would have happened to me. Today is a whole different story. People from all over the world visit South Africa without going through segregation. In a few days there will be a soccer competition for the World Cup. This is just a friendly worldwide soccer game that people train hard for. This is a huge change in what South Africa used to be. Just think of it . . . it went from not being able to go anywhere or you will get beaten - to playing a worldwide soccer game in which everyone is happy and not discriminated. If a team doesn't win, there won't be any conflict either because this is just a way for people to have fun competing or watching the games. There will just be more practicing for next year's tournament. :)