New York Times Not Happy about DR Congo TP Mazembe

Many Congolese in Kinshasa and Montreal were celebrating TP Mazembe’s success in Abu Dhabi though some newspapers around the globe were very critical of the club and its president. 

The New York Times wrote a piece about TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the team that has surpassed all expectations by reaching the Club World Cup competition in Abu Dhabi. In the article; “TP Mazembe surprises the World, Not Itself” Jack Bell criticises Moise Katumbi Chapwe, the governor of Katanga, TP Mazembe’s province as an ambitious politician who is a big spender of his own money that he earns through questionable mining ventures. Katumbi who is also TP Mazembe’s owner is described as a Congolese Jew who is capricious and cares only about winning. For the writer of the article, it seems like Katumbi should use his money on something else and not on football because TP Mazembe will go into oblivion as soon as their owner disappear; it is therefore a waste of resources and everybody’s time (especially the reporter’s).       

   

This is what is wrong with the Western media; thinking that Africa is doomed and nothing good comes from that continent. Africans are always underdogs in the eyes of many European and American journalists. Though TP Mazembe lost against Internazionale in the finals, it looked like the western press felt happy and relieved because the status quo was maintained.

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Congo Streets: Better than Cirque du Soleil in Montreal

Africans are very talented but simply lack the means of development. Growing in African countries I saw all types of acrobatics.One day while walking in Zambia, I remember seeing an acrobatic man licking his backbone to prove that he could curl his entire body like a tire. This is just of the many talented men and women from the African continent looking for a way to breakthrough in art, but sadly the people around these artists are busy looking for money to feed themselves and their own families before spending it on some street performer.

Acrobats in Lake Kivu, DR Congo

Montreal's Cirque du Soleil for years has been respected for its colourful and artistic shows around the world. Montreal has been the home of Cirque du Soleil for many years and has therefore contributed a lot to the company's success. If Cirque began in Congo Kinshasa, it could have been dead by now due to many factors including wars, insecurity, famine etc. I went to watch a few of their shows and in some instances I was impressed at what the human body can do!  As their latest show, Quidam opens tomorrow in Montreal, I think of the potential that Africa has. 

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Mazembe and the Unity of DR Congo

When hockey is on in Montreal, everything else is secondary.It is coomon knowledge that Canadians like ice hockey especially if they grew up in a place where the weather is cold.
It is not a secret that Africans love football. Though the (un)Democratic Republic of Congo has been ravaged by war and  poverty for decades, soccer has always been uniting and bonding. When the national Congolese football team plays in Africa, every citizen is behind them, even though they are from different tribes. In a way football has the power dig out and display the good in people and bury the bad feelings, even momentarily. It is calming to  think that at the moment that TP Mazembe will be playing in the final in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi; soldiers, rebels and even the president of the Congo will be glued to their televisions.

Not many from Lubumbashi thought that a glorious day like this would come for Tout Puissant Mazembe, the Almighty soccer club from D.R Congo. For years, the only trophies Mazembe could win was either regional or national.

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Montreal, Lubumbashi Club World Cup and Mazembe

Montreal is quiet and cold, while not many in the city are thinking about soccer, they are probably thinking about Wednesday's Montreal Canadiens game.
On the other hand, Lubumbashi in D.R Congo is probably the happiest and loudest city in Africa at this  moment. This is because TP Mazembe reached the final of the soccer Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
Tout-Puissant or Almighty Mazembe is the team that eliminated the American champions Pachuca and the Brazilians Intercional in the Club World  Cup in Abu Dhabi. Many considered them as underdogs because of their history and their performance in the past.  Surprisingly, by Tuesday evening, the Internet was abuzz from stories praising them on renowned websites like ESPN, the Washington Post, CNN and of course CBC.  During the days leading to the Final on the 18th of this month, they will be named by many more.
 This is a great achievement because having lived in Lubumbashi, I know how life must have been for some Mazembe players.   Lubumbashi has experienced some hard times especially under the authoritarian rule of Mobutu Sese Seko. Tribal wars, famine and violence is what many of those players have seen while growing up in the 80s and 90s. Reaching the final of the Champions League on the African and now on the World stage shows that TP Mazembe is really Almighty and can stand any kind of pressure even from the Italian favourites; Internazionale.

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