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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Don’t travel alone in South Africa…
03:25 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
… Dutch football fans warned…
By Adriana Stuijt, writing on http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267804
All of Adriana’s stories on Digital Journal can be seen on http://www.digitaljournal.com/user/257733/news
February 21, 2009. De Telegraaf newspaper reports from AMSTERDAM. The Dutch football fans are getting special police protection for the FIFA World Cup 2010 finals to protect them from armed, criminal gangs. The "Orange Legion" will be housed at campings and travel in a long, protected column from city to city.
It was reported by Dutch sports journalist Harrie Nijen Twilhaar in the largest daily De Telegraaf that Dutch football fans were warned not to travel through the country on their own - but to join the secure columns and stay in specially-protected "Orange campings" around all the stadia, instead.
The South Africans have promised to assign special police units during negotiations with the Dutch foreign affairs officials in South Africa. These special-protection plans will take effect as soon as the "Orange team" reaches the finals, and the fans are expected to buy tickets for the games.
The Dutch fans would be encouraged to stay in protected groups at campings and university campuses near the football stadia -- referred to as the “Orange Legions” by the local news media; and then travel together from venue to venue, pretty much like one long orange column.
And at all times, they would be protected by specially-trained police units to guard the fans from the country's often very well-organised, heavily-armed gangs, writes Nijen Twilhaar.
South Africa has the largest number of murders, rapes and armed robberies in the world. A daily 50 murders and 40 culpible homicides take place there, with knives, handguns and AK47s the weapons of choice. The country also has become infamous for having the largest number of child-rapes in the world.
The Dutch Central Information Point for Football Vandalism also will be bringing their own patrol units along, with a minimum of eight specially-trained Dutch police officers who are very familiar with their own supporters' culture and know most of the groups of fans who are liable to create problems.
The Dutch Royal Football League (KNVB) spokesman Renske Bruinsma said that if the Dutch team places in the FIFA WC2010 finals, they will have to house the fans very differently there than they did in Switserland, when they had also special ' supporters squares', where fans without tickets could watch the games on giant screens.
"We wouldn't dare to that in South Africa,' said Bruinsma, "the situation (in South Africa) is different than in West European countries'.
Do not travel in South Africa alone
Okko de Wit, director of Club Travel, which organises the Orange Supporters' Campings, also issued a stern warning via the newspaper to Dutch supporters 'not to travel through South Africa alone. South Africa is a dangerous country. We have been guaranteed protection by the national police service.'
Meanwhile a South African police team has already paid a visit to The Netherlands to study the Dutch supporters' often very rambunctious, but usualy rather benign, crowd-behaviour. Things can get pretty nasty and rowdy among specific clubs here in The Netherlands, however: during this month's Feyenoord-Ajax annual clash, there were so many antisemitic and racist chanting-choirs that the Dutch football league has banned Feyenoord and Ajax fans from all the two clubs' out-games for the rest of the year.
De Wit says some 5,000 Dutch tourists also plan to combine the World Cup with a vacation in South Africa. Ticket sales started on Saturday.The exact schedule for the 64 games will only become known on December 4 in Cape Town.
Too dangerous to party, sorry:
Supporters' Club spokesman Lloyd Vandenberg was 'reticent' about any plans for big supporters' parties after the games, too. That's where the Dutch fans usually let it all hang out in one huge all-night party.
"The biggest drawbacks to those (parties) are the long distances between all the venues, and the very dangerous situation in South Africa. One is forced to work with an entirely different scenario than we did in Switzerland,' he concluded. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267804
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