[We were not born to suffer, neither Argentines, nor French, nor
any other human being on this earth. We were born precisely for the
opposite, to free ourselves increasingly from all pain and suffering
by humanising the world, which should be the central goal of our
existence.]
[[link removed]]

THE JOY OF THE SOUTH: WE WERE NOT BORN TO SUFFER  
[[link removed]]


 

Javier Tolcachier
December 21, 2022
Pressenza
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ We were not born to suffer, neither Argentines, nor French, nor any
other human being on this earth. We were born precisely for the
opposite, to free ourselves increasingly from all pain and suffering
by humanising the world, which should be the central goal of our
existence. _

Celebrating at the Obelisco after the Argentine national team won the
World Cup at the Qatar 2022 World Cup (Image by GCBA via Wikimedia
Commons, (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5)

 

Argentina’s football team defeated France in the final of the 2022
World Cup. In an electrifying match, which was full of talent and
emotions, the Albicelestes got a well-deserved victory against a team
that, a priori, was one of the main candidates to be crowned champion.
But the passion and concerted effort of the eleven coached by Leonel
Scaloni off the pitch and led by Lionel Messi on the pitch was more
than enough.

Likewise, the overwhelming support of those present in the stadium and
of a large part of the inhabitants of the global South, provided the
necessary popular energy for Argentina to lift the golden trophy in
the name of the impoverished and humiliated, the plundered and
discriminated against of the world.

Multiculturalism or colonial immigration?

As a symbol of the paradoxes to which we are accustomed today, it was
those who wore the French jersey who best represent, by their
appearance and memory, the past (and present) of colonial plundering.

After the changes made by their coach, with a few exceptions, the
players on the field displayed on their skin their condition as
children of the profuse immigration from territories formerly under
the yoke of French imperialism.

Unlike previous times, when economically powerful countries recruited
talented players from the South for their national teams by giving
them an identity card, in this World Cup, the players who wore the
blue jersey were almost all born in France. That’s right, in a
France on the periphery, charged with poverty and discrimination.

A condition not dissimilar to that of many of their Argentine rivals,
who in their dreams of glory climbed the steep ladder from the slums
or lower middle class to the football elite.

As for the French team, is its integration a sign of the
multiculturalism that today extends to the entire planet or is it
still a reminder of the painful biography of those who forcibly
emigrated from their places of origin in search of better living
conditions? Or is it perhaps both? What is certain is that it is
possibly a sign of the resistance that exists in the look itself to
accept that young people with black skin today sing the once
revolutionary anthem La Marseillaise with an emotion close to that of
their white-skinned fellow countrymen.

Possibly also, if one manages to transcend the boundaries of mere
perception, one can intuit a similar cultural mix in Argentine
players. Or are not haughtiness and unity a legacy of our native
peoples and passion and dramatism a contribution of those
long-suffering Italian immigrants in the twilight of the 19th century?
Is not technique and planning an important legacy of our fellow
countrymen of Nordic origin, while tenacity and a certain stubbornness
are undeniable traces of the Spanish coat of arms? While nobility and
loyalty are undeniably characteristics of Arab culture in these lands,
the love of knowledge and a certain messianic spirit are part of what
Jewish immigration gave to the Argentine people, just as picaresque is
part of the heritage of the Andalusians who came to settle in this
territory.

If there is something that can be considered “typically
Argentine”, it is not the mate or the custom of roasting meat, but
the combination of all these virtues and skills, forging an
inventiveness and a remarkable variety of options capable of
overcoming adversity, which was once again demonstrated by their
footballers.

We were not born to suffer

The variations in the circumstances of the game sent Argentina’s
fans on a merry-go-round of emotions. From the anguish of the initial
unthinkable defeat against the Saudi Arabian team to the imperious
need for victories against Mexico and Poland to avoid being eliminated
from the tournament, passing through the triumph against Australia,
the agonising victory over the Netherlands and the somewhat more
relaxed scoring against Croatia, the shared faith in the footballing
abilities of the national team was at times the mast that held the
shaken hearts in the midst of the storm of goals for and against.

And what can we say about the defining match against France, in which
twice the result seemed to be a foregone conclusion! Ten minutes
before the end first, when the two-goal lead was apparently enough to
crown them champions, and three minutes before the end of extra time,
when no one believed it possible that France could even the elusive
three to two. Late in the game, a dangerous attack in which a striker
came face to face with the Argentine goalkeeper stopped everyone’s
heart for a moment, bringing Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez’s
incredible save into the penalty shoot-out phase.

The prayer card of “San Dibu, protector of the goal”, which went
viral on social media shortly before the final kicks, was the most
complete demonstration of the religiosity present in the town. Far
beyond the frameworks dictated by the formal confessions or their
secularism, millions of Argentines lit candles, burnt incense,
repeated mantras, labelled a former president as the main bearer of
bad luck (“mufa”, “yeta”, in Buenos Aires slang) and turned to
the most diverse cabals and promises to pray for Argentina’s
triumph.

Finally, the cherished dream came true, paying tribute to popular
fervour and the inner faith and skills of a young man unconcerned with
conventions, brazen and insolent with hierarchies, who displayed his
individual award for best goalkeeper of the tournament like an erect
phallus, before the looks of sheikhs, emirs and other excellencies.

Argentina had been crowned champions of the 2022 World Cup. Despite
the indescribable happiness, perhaps overwhelmed by the emotional
storm they had to go through, also experienced by millions of their
fellow countrymen, many managed to explain: “We were born to
suffer”, concentrating in that phrase the very history of a
territory torn apart by multiple forms of violence.

Despite the joy, recognition and gratitude for the football result, we
do not agree with this unfortunate sentence. Moreover, we consider
this aphorism as a precedent for future and recurrent defeats, a true
amulet of misfortune.

Or will we have to continue to accept that so many people fall below
standards of existence worthy of the human condition? Repeating the
slogan that suffering is connatural to life represents an affront to
the possibility of transforming the given conditions, of rebelling
against the naturalisation of inherited precepts that do nothing to
improve our lives and those of our peoples.

We were not born to suffer, neither Argentines, nor French, nor any
other human being on this earth. We were born precisely for the
opposite, to free ourselves increasingly from all pain and suffering
by humanising the world, which should be the central goal of our
existence.

Let us hope that everyone’s contribution will bring us closer to
this achievement of the species, so that together we can all raise the
glass.

_Javier Tolcachier is a researcher from the World Centre of Humanist
Studies, an organism of the Humanist Movement. Mail:
[email protected] Twitter: @jtolcachier_

_Pressenza is a space open to the expression of the social base. We
endorse a universalist humanist perspective and actively promote
cooperation agreements and partnerships with other agencies, as well
as reciprocal links with portals, platforms, news and communications
media of specific communities and cultures. Pressenza is part of an
extensive network of new media that achieves global reach for local
proposals while they are supplied information with the material
provided by the agency._

_Pressenza consists of volunteers with extensive experience in
communication, social activism, cultural and academic fields. The
agency is independent from any economic interest, the basic condition
for its autonomy. We are columnists, reporters, photographers, graphic
designers, videographers and translators on five continents who
contribute our professional work without financial compensation._

* World Cup
[[link removed]]
* Argentina
[[link removed]]
* colonialism
[[link removed]]
* humanism
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]