22 August 2008
opinion
Beijing — Travelling long distances has always been a nightmare for me. I have travelled between Gaborone and Port Elizabeth between the years 2001 and 2005 while studying Journalism at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. About three to four days prior to hitting the road by bus either from Port Elizabeth to Gaborone or the other way around, I have always had sleepless nights.
But little did I know that in a few years' time, I would be embarking on a journey of thousands of kilometres to China to cover the biggest sporting event in the world - the Olympics. I became excited the moment my editor told me that they were looking for a sponsor and that if they succeeded, I and my colleague, Moreri Sejakgomo, would go and witness as well give daily reports on athletes in Beijing. The moment I realised the company had succeeded in getting a sponsor for air tickets, I developed mixed feelings and a lot of questions started to flood my mind.
Are the reports that I have been reading in the media what China really is? If they are true, do I have the guts and mental strength to be able to stay for close to two weeks there? What about the language? Are we going to get any assistance since many Chinese are said to be struggling with the English language? What about the earthquakes and the tropical storms that had recently hit some areas of the country? What about the food? Will I be able to fast for two weeks if the food is not ageeable? What about the safety of the Games themselves and the airplanes from terrorist attacks? Which prominent sporting personalities will I get the chance to see and talk to?
The 29th Olympics in Beijing had attracted considerably negative international press even before they started. The Tibet issue became a major topic and a rallying point on a global scale, with protests everywhere, especially when the Olympic torch began its journey around the world. The issue of air-pollution in Beijing and whether foreign journalists would have sufficient access to the Internet soon jostled for space with older ones in the western media.
But inspite of all these issues and the doubts in my mind, when the day for my departure came, I had no choice but to embark on what could possibly be the experience of a lifetime for me. It was August 6 when my colleague and I caught the 40-minute flight from the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gabrone to the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. On the plane, I sat next to a young woman who said she was a student in Malaysia. To my relief, our conversation revealed that language was often a problem even in Malaysia as most people there do not speak English, but that international cuisine is not much of a problem as different restaurants cater for different tastes. My fellow traveller added that I should be able to find suitable restaurants in China.
It was not until about three hours at OR Tambo that we boarded an Emirates flight for an eight-hour journey to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). My neighbour on Emirates a young man of Arabian extraction. The entertainment and music section on Emirates was a bit disappointing because no reggae, no hip-hop and no Rhumba or Kwasa Kwasa, but there were at about eight songs that I could listen to. My neighbour proves to be a movie fanatic. After about four hours, I realise that he has been watching action movies some of whose plots involve planes being hijacked. I also realise that we have not talked to each other since OR Tambo.
Am I about to fall victim to a terrorist attack en route to Beijing? I have an urge to start a conversation in order to distract his attention from 'hijacking', but we have not even greeted each other!
With about an hour before we land in Dubai, the young man unfastens his seat belt and heads for the toilet where he is gone for no less than a gruelling eight minutes. He finally emerges to continue watching his movies. And our plane finally touches down in Dubai and my neighbour collects his hand luggage and follows other passengers in to the terminal building. I am relieved, I also feel bad that I had thought this innocent young man capable of perpetrating unspeakable horror.
It is about midnight, and two hours later we are on another Emirates flight to Shanghai. But unlike the cosmopolitan makeup of passengers in the earlier Emirates flight, here the passengers are mostly Chinese, despite the long nine hours of the journey.
When we finally arrive at Pudong International Airport, one thing is for sure: security is very tight. It is around 3:30pm and we head straight to the security checks where it is very clear that the officials are not taking any chances. They take their time scanning your passport and ensure that the portrait matches your face. My colleague is ahead of me while I and a Kenyan fellow are told to stay behind while our passports are passed on to other officials before we are finally allowed to pass. A security woman had earlier told me that since my passport looked old, they had to do a more thorough examination to ensure its authenticity.
By now, I can feel that we have reached our destination, although we still have another two hours' flight to Beijing. I try to call the woman who has been helping us find accommodation, but the response is not encouraging. "I am sorry I have not received the fax that shows that indeed, your accommodation has been paid for."
Fortunately, I had proof of booking and while we are still trying to figure out what to do, some Chinese woman in a jewellery shop at the airport comes to the rescue. A woman immediately calls to say that she has received the fax and that our accommodation has been confirmed.
We rush to the boarding gate and immediately we are on Air China to Beijing. After just two hours we have reached our destination. We do not know where our hotel is, but the lady had told us to call her immediately we got into a taxi so that she may give the driver the directions. But before we are in the taxi, Beijing gives us a hint of what to expect during our stay: flashes of cameras are everywhere and I realise that the centre of attraction was none other than the recently confirmed number one tennis star, Rafael Nadal. He is surrounded by bodyguards and my colleague does not get a chance to photograph him.
We eventually check in to our hotel at around 11pm, and we immediately head for our rooms to rest. It is supposed to be a two-star hotel, but everything looks very fine, though I realise I will only be able to watch CCTV channels in my room. I console myself with the fact that out of about 40 CCTV channels, at least But there is one channel broadcasting in English, CCTV International on Channel 9. We do not know what the next day will have in store for us, but if only we could get accreditation first thing in the morning.
But we get the shock of lives the next day at the Beijing International Media Centre (BIMC). We are told that BIMC accreditations will not let us into the Games, let alone entry into the Olympic Village where athletes are housed.
"But you do not have to worry because BIMC will be organising some press conferences and events that might be of interest to you and your readers," a volunteer tells us in consolation. BIMC will also try and organise you some group interviews of sporting personalities that you want to talk to."
Fortunately, I managed to get the contact numbers of one of the officials of the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC), Martin Mokgwathi, who travelled with the team and a few updates on our athletes on an hourly basis. Still at BIMC, we meet journalists from different countries, including Kenya, Brazil, Zambia and Nigeria.
But even without getting to the Games and the Olympic Village, the experience and the opportunity were more than worth it. Though we lacked full accreditation, not many have had the chance to cover the biggest sporting event in the world. To be among thousands of foreign journalists covering the event is something to be proud of. Getting the chance to field questions to one of the most popular film directors in the world, Zhang Yomou, has been an experience of a lifetime. He is currently a hero in China after directing the opening ceremony, which many regard as the best ever.
China is a very developed country. The buildings and the roads are world class. One interesting fact is that for the two weeks we were in Beijing, I have not seen a single road accident. And although I found almost every make of car in the Chinese capital, bicycles remain the city's main mode of transport.
While it is true that not many are fluent in English, that does not diminish Chinese people's capacity to welcome visitors with kindness and thoughtfulness. On the street, at the media centre and at the Games, there are volunteers on hand ready to help. I struck a conversation with a Chinese journalist who asked me what I thought of the Beijing Olympics and about China hosting the event. I told Bridget Duan of Global Times that I was very impressed and that this was the first time I covered the Olympics.
"We needed to show the world that we can host this event and host it very well," she says. Reacting to the negative reports by the Western media, she says that people will always have their opinions. "Some foreign media have different opinions about us and we also have our own opinions. But people should always strive to make balanced reports so that readers can judge for themselves."
My colleague and I also had the opportunity to visit one of the shopping markets called the Hongqiao Pearl Market. Though there are other shops around the city, this market had become a hit with Olympic shoppers, especially the foreign visitors from countries like South Africa, Spain, the US and Brazil. We realise that what makes the market popular is that although the items are clearly priced in the stalls, there is still room for haggling. After some serious negotiating between buyer and seller, it's a done deal with a significant discount if you take more than one item.
The Beijing Olympics will go down in history as one of the most successful ever. While the western media always fabricated stories introducing doubt about China's ability to host the Olympics, many people have come to realise that the stories were mere hocus-pocus meant to mislead. While the Chinese people deserve credit for proving their detractors wrong, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also deserves credit for having faith in China.
It is time to return to Botswana, and although, I had hoped to meet and do an interview with one of my favourite sporting personalities in the likes of Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, USA's basketball stars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, as well as the American 400m runner, Sanya Richards, I am very proud of the exposure and the experience I gained in Beijing.
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