The 2010 World Cup: A Movement For Reconciliation

By Dani Kreeft, Cape Town, South Africa

Today marks the official start of the first-ever African-hosted World Cup. And I am one of the lucky ones who gets to walk the streets while it plays out, who gets to take notes while Africa shows the rest of the world how its done.

And did they ever.

Before the sun had even broken over the continent, out came the foam fingers, boom boxes, multi-colored afros, giant sunglasses, the t-shirts declaring "it began in Africa", and the vuvuzelas...

O my word, the vuvuzelas. This South African blowing horn is the pride and joy of the street spectator. And I don't think there was a moment of my day where there wasn't one howling in and out with pride. South Africans blew on them as their bodies hung out of windows, as they jockeyed their lawn chairs into position, and as they crowded around appliance store windows for that one shot of the TV playing the game in the back.

They danced with them, pumped their fist with them, and played them quite happily as they waited in line to get into the pub.

All the noise upped the anty and as I wandered up and down Long Street, Cape Town's most well-known and infamous centre, I wondered just how hectic it was going to get. And to be honest, I knew it would get crazy. That it would get pretty mad. But nothing prepared me for what it actually became.

Screaming my lungs hoarse with hundreds of other people, getting completely engulfed in African fever when Bafana Bafana scored, impromptu dancing with a sea of Africans in a circle, singing, "make the circle bigger! make the circle bigger!"

And watching the faces of South Africans as their national anthem was sung...it's just, it was unreal.

But the part of this day that took the trophy happened right after Bafana Bafana scored their only goal against Mexico.

Check out the video:

As the street was erupting into absolute chaos, and as I was frantically trying to snap shots capturing it all, I came upon these two people. A black south African male beside himself with joy, fists wrapped so tightly in triumph, yelling out, "We scored!" as he crouched down on the street before this White South African girl. In their mutual delirious state, they went in for a hug.

An embrace.

There I was standing right next to them with a steak pie in one hand, camera in the other, eyes pooling with water, watching this little scene play out. This little scene that, even to me as an outsider, so obviously radiated symbolism.

I can't even imagine what they felt as South Africans, what emotion was felt in that embrace. As natives coming from a country that was once so torn up, that experienced a completely jagged past of separation and has only felt its renewed self for 16 years, it also symbolized the exact reason why they deserve to host the world's greatest sporting event. Why they deserve the stage they have been given, and have earned.

They have something to teach us.

About unity, about coming together, about learning from the ashes and building something better.

Because for all it took to bring reconciliation to their country and to get to this day, I felt honored just standing there. Taking notes. And being a part of their moment.

See more photos from Dani's day in Cape Town: