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opinion
Also in this section: Sirias, "Folklore" that Panama can live without Acknowledging prejudiceby Silvio Sirias
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices --- just recognize them. Edward R. Murrow
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experiences of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. Douglas Adams
En Panamá es folclórico decir “negro de mierda”. Franz Wever, President of Panama’s Baseball Federation
The afternoon of Friday, March 10, the telephone lines of RPC radio were jammed --- it seemed that everyone in the country wanted to discuss Panama’s 10-0 loss to Holland in the first World Baseball Classic. The overwhelming majority of callers were bitterly disillusioned, and they pointed their fingers at everyone --- from the President of the Republic to the batboy --- while trying to pin down the culprit of the team’s poor performance.
But what astounded me was
something that was never mentioned. Not once. It was something that, only
a few days earlier, had stunned me to the core. Yet on the afternoon of
Panama’s loss, it didn’t seem to be on anyone’s mind.
On Monday, March 6, in La Prensa, Guido Bilbao reported that last December several Panamanian provincial league presidents and Roberto Kelly --- a former major league player and then manager of the national team --- had a heated argument over the formers’ refusal to allow their players to adhere to Kelly’s proposed practice schedule. In frustration, Kelly called their decision hypocritical, particularly in light of their condemnation of Mariano Rivera --- the Yankee ace reliever --- who opted to rest during the off-season.
According to the article, one of the provincial bosses --- who still remains unidentified --- after listening to Kelly’s remarks, turned to Franz Wever, the president of Panama’s federation, and said, “Esto te pasa por contratar a negros de mierda.”
Within a few weeks of that meeting, Roberto Kelly resigned.
In the United States, baseball has been a remarkable forum for challenging racism. The signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers helped open doors for African-Americans not only in sports, but in all professions. And, without question, Latin Americans who reside in the US have benefited as well --- particularly baseball players who, at present, are prominently represented in the sport.
What’s more, in the ensuing years, major league team owners and executives have been suspended, fined, or fired for making racist remarks.
Those of us who live in Latin America need to realize that such comments severely damage our collective soul. These remarks strike at the heart of our humanity and of our oneness. And in glossing over what was said about Roberto Kelly’s heritage, we are ignoring one of the more serious issues confronting the world today: how to deal with she or he who is different from you or me.
When we allow racist discourse to go unchallenged, we condemn the embattled ethnic groups to sit on the margins of their nation’s development. And this, in the case of Panama, condemns large numbers of people of African and indigenous descent to remain underfed, uneducated, and unemployed.
Silvio Sirias is a writer who resides in Panama. His novel, Bernardo and the Virgin, is available at Exedra Books. For more information, visit his website at http://www.silviosirias.com
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