The surreptitious departure of seven Cameroon delegation athletes will hardly be among the most memorable events of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Yet through the shared lens of a familiar, world-stage event, this odd twist amid stories of competion lets us look at a country that is quite different from the U.S. Point of reference: With a population of about 20 million, Cameroon has about the same area-size as California and is situated on the Western coast of Africa. (CIA Factbook, 2012).
Recapping
To recap, the athletes -- five boxers, a swimmer (all men) and a soccer player (a woman) -- apparently took their belongings and left the Olympic Village last weekend. By Monday, they were gone. Sources interviewed by CNN and NBC describe the departures as intentional, with no suggestion of foul play.
Apparently, this has happened before -- and while the folks back home in Cameroon are still hoping for their athletes' return, interviewed third-parties say that's not likely.
Economic and well-being comparisons
Initial speculation had the athletes leaving for "economic reasons," which if you look at some of the available data on Cameroon, is not hard to believe:
-- Out of 169 nations, Cameroon ranks 131st on the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI, 2010). The U.S. ranks 4th, with Norway at the top. The HDI is widely used as an indicator of quality-of-life.
-- Gross domestic product per capita (GDP) in Cameroon is $1,115 vs. $46,381 in the U.S.
-- Cameroon is a stage-1 economy, which means it relies solely on unskilled labor and natural resources as a basis for business competition. The U.S. is a stage-3 economy, competing on the basis of innovation and the development of new and unique products (World Economic Forum, 2010).
-- Corruption is the most problematic factor for doing business in Cameroon, while in the U.S., corruption ranks 11th on the same indicator. (WEF, 2010).
-- Average life expectancy at birth in Cameroon is only 54.7 compared with 75.8 in the U.S. (CIA Factbook, 2012).
-- Gender inequality in Cameroon is charactized as "appalling... on multiple dimensions," with maternal mortality and adolescent fertility being the strongest contributors (HDI, 2010). Cameroon ranks 129th out of 148 countries on this indicator, with the U.S. 4th from the top. Cameroon's maternal mortality is a staggering 690 deaths out of every 100,000 mothers giving birth to live babies, compared with 21 out of 100,00 in the U.S. (CIA Factbook, 2012).
Maybe it's really about the Olympics
If all the above is not reason enough to leave a country that you call home, CNN is reporting that the athletes' departure may have had more to do with lack of government resources for proper training. In a story published today, CNN quoted Aka Amuam Joseph, a member of Cameroon's Olympic committee: "Back home, they aren't giving the proper training. They know if they are well trained, they could beat the person from another country... It pains them to be here and see people beat them, who they can beat if they are well taken care of."
Also, according to the report, the athletes have visas (the work permit not the credit card) that allow them to remain in the U.K. until Nov. 8. Further speculation, based on lack of training support at home, has centered on intention to defect. Consider it sort of an international free-agency, where the athletes could be "picked up" by a country that does invest in the training of its Olympians.
Again, quoting Aka Amuam Joseph from today's CNN story:
"Why do Nigerians not flee away? Why do people from South Africa not flee away? When you go there, you see infrastructure of the highest level," Joseph said. "Why don't they flee? They know that what they find in Europe, they find back home."
Who flees, who stays
In fairness to Cameroon, South Africa -- even black South Africa -- is not a valid comparison. Project GLOBE data, if you crunch the numbers, show black South Africans to be among the least dissatisfied respondents among all 62 countries studied. Presumably, this has something to do with advances against apartheid. Nigeria on the other hand seems to be a fairer comparison. Its 2010 HDI rank is 142, even lower than Cameroon's. Its GDP -- at $1,1,42 -- is simlar as well.
Part 2: Cameroon's poor support of its Olympians is consistent with low Mastery values
No comments:
Post a Comment