Category: human rights

True colors of our society uncovered by a yellow card

Shame on FIFA – Shame on us (?)

Red Card to society

The precious FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) decided to have the World Championships of Football in Qatar. A lot of documentaries have been made and a lot of ink has been spilled on the stadium slavery in Qatar, the hundreds of people that died in the process, and the large-scale corruption that was somehow still allowed in this 21st century.

There was no worldwide boycott, no clear signal that we are not tolerating these malpractices, this indirect genocide. The show must go on, FIFA-steamrollers flattened hundreds of people to make this happen, with the labels of many multinationals shining on their hoods.

This weekend that same organization decided that captains of football teams wearing a rainbow bracelet get a yellow card. FIFA no longer surprises me here. What strikes me and millions of people is that all of a sudden a yellow card in a (with all respect and written with some contradictory feeling as I was born with a football at my feet) stupid game is enough to throw all values we are supposed to stand for overboard.

A yellow card.

Photo by Yoav Hornung on Unsplash

National football associations claim that the sportive risk is too big to take. Are they kidding us? They should walk on that pitch with eleven players wearing that bracelet. Referees should wear it. All the instances shouting out loud that we are all equal are now given the choice to stand up, speak up or lose their credibility in any future ethics discussion.

Sponsors, tv-stations, and any other party supporting the national teams should withdraw if their countries decide to take part in this hypocrisy. For their colleagues, their partners, their teammates, their kids, their countrymen, and -women in the LGBTQ community.

If this is ok, none of these organizations should comment on the corruption and credibility of FIFA as they did. If this is ok, they all became part of it (as far as we/they weren’t yet).

This World Cup surfaces many shortcomings of our society. It is holding out a mirror for all of us to look into. I can only hope we take the opportunity FIFA offers us to look at that mirror and act.

If we don’t, we all deserve a red card, and hope for a better world will be the one suspended by us.

Please Lionel wear that rainbow bracelet. Wear it for the LGBTQ-community, wear it for hope.

آزادی – Freedom – Liberté – 自由

While working on the PIM to help people to find their way in the world of passive income to obtain freedom, I am these days constantly struck by the relativity of that fight for freedom.

When I look around me, I see sad friends, emotionally wrecked people. I see proudness when schoolgirls take off their scarfs and stand together for the future of their country. I see strong, persistent people that are fighting worldwide to bring attention to their country. I see anger, fear and frustration being altered by hope and sparkling eyes when an Iranian athlete is in competition without hijab.

Source Iran International

Normal for most of us… but an historical event for people that have been suppressed for more 43 years. People that were imprisoned for having an opinion. Who were sentenced to death without fair trial. Who have been raped, tortured, beaten and killed just because they looked at life in a different way. Or just because they didn’t dress the way “they were supposed to” – #mahsa_amini. These days Iran is revolting. Women, kids, men all literally fight for their lives and freedom in the streets of Iran. Fearless, because they are prisoners of a regime… because they have nothing more to lose, only something to fight for.

Image source – Freedom House

For the “green” people (see map above) this might be hard to relate to. But in order to create a different, free world, without dictatorships and suppression, we all need to contribute to color the purple and orange areas into green. Everybody has the right to be free.

I stated before that the purpose of my blog is for sure not a political one, but this is a fight for freedom that goes beyond Iran and needs worldwide attention and help. It is a signal we need to give to the world. A signal that change is needed. A signal that a lot of “ants” together can lift the world to another level.

Feel free to share this blog or to sign a supporting petition on change.org: https://chng.it/y6VJ85cZ

Thanks a lot for reading!