I was stunned to read that a week after the Beijing Games, the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, had presented his country’s swimming gold medallist, Kirsty Coventry, with a special award of US$100,000 in Harare for her effort in single-handedly raising the Zimbabwean flag three times in the Water Cube!
If it escaped your notice during Fiji TV’s TVNZ-sourced coverage of the games, Kirsty Coventry is white; one of only 30,000 in a nation of 13-million, still trying to make a living in Zimbabwe under Mugabe’s regime which has generally been very unkind to its white citizens.
Yet thousands of flag-waving mainly black Zimbabweans turned out to greet Kirsty Coventry when the plane returning her home to Zimbabwe, for a short break before she resumes university studies in the USA, landed at Harare International Airport.
Zimbabwe’s main hospital reports many new-born babies being named “Kirsty”, “Coventry” or “Kirsty Gold Medals”!
Her family still lives just outside Harare and if Mugabe calling Coventry “a daughter of the nation” and “a special jewel of Zimbabwe”, offers a ray of hope for the future of Zimbabwe then that is absolutely fantastic news that we can all only thank sport and Kirsty Coventry for.
-CULDEN KAMEA
Fiji
I wonder if the millions of starving Zimbabweans share your view – what would be good is if Kirsty put that money back into Zimbabwe by helping those suffering at the moment – after all it is from Zimbabweans that this money was taken by mugabe and I am sure the starving and sick could really use a helping hand now. What are your thoughts Kirsty?
you are dem ass nigga why dont u want to give her credit,wat is us100 000 gona do for zimbabweans we need a lot of cash ther buddy! wat bob gave to her its just nothing it wont even be enough for her to survive long with her familly.You got that right ? please note that im not fighting with you its just a fact.
We know Bob praises white sport persons more than blacks.Moses Chunga and Peter Ndlovu were icons in soccer but during those days Mugabe was for the Byron Black and the Black family for tennis! Do not forget .But think of where the money suddenly came from when the country is dry of forex???