As you know, Peru has made its first World Cup appearance in 35 years, so the country is pretty excited. I have mixed feelings about professional sports in general, but I almost cried when I read this e-mail from one of our Peace Corps Peru doctors, Dr. Jorge Bazan, to all the American Peace Corps Peru volunteers. I wanted to share it here because it gives a personal perspective on the recent history of Peru, how it impacted his life, and how international sport can be related to domestic issues and can unite a divided country.
(Note that he uses the world “football”, for what most Americans know as “soccer”, as the official name across the world for the sport is football. )
This is only the opinion of one Peruvian, so it doesn’t represent the opinions of all Peruvians, but I am sure that it captures some of the feelings of many. Enjoy.
So why is the Football world cup such a big deal if it’s just a sport competition? What’s going on?
I remember reading once that when France won the world cup in 1998 and the country went crazy with happiness and celebration…that it was only comparable to when world war II was finished. So why did they go so crazy if they won just a sport competition?
The answer is that the football world cup is NOT just a sport competition in which countries send their best football players to see which team has the best team. No. In the case of the World Cup, this is not really about only a competition, it’s about countries all over the world trying to demonstrate that they are present and that they are the best. It’s countries all over the world trying to show who they are and how great they are.
Since World War II finished we haven’t had a world war again, thankfully, but now, every 4 years, there is a “Peaceful World War” in which most countries in the world get super excited and try to demonstrate who they are and that they can be the best. In this “War” there are no weapons, just football, the most popular sport in the world, and it’s used by everyone to show who we are. Everyone is watching, everyone wants to win, everyone wants to show everybody else that that they are the best.
There are no political differences, religious or cultural within each country during the world cup. Everyone is united during the games, all wearing the same t-shirt, one huge group of people wanting to show how great they are. That’s why players play as hard as they do, fight for winning each game as if it was a final, and get so emotional when they hear their national anthem because they know that they are fighting for their country, and their victory is a whole country’s victory and can bring happiness for so many people. And that’s why tears come out when they lose, because they know that there is a whole country sharing their sadness and loss. Every game is like a small battle to see who is the final winner, and there is a whole country waiting to see if they will survive or not.
For Peru, going to the world cup after 36 years is like telling the whole world that we are back after so many years of suffering and sadness. Since the last world cup in which we participated in 1982, everything went horrible for Peru. Huge economic crisis in which it was difficult to have money just for buying food or any basic needs. The el Niño current came in 1983 and destroyed the country in a time when there was no way to send help or money, so everyone had to deal with their family’s death and destruction on their own, and then the el Niño came back in 1998. And worse of all, terrorism appeared. Worst time ever…people being killed every day, being scared every day for so many years, living with curfew…horrible times. The internal war destroyed the country and people’s souls.
There was a time, where I used to say, out of all countries in the world, why was I born here? There was no hope. I felt so unlucky, with a difficult, or no future.
Most of my friends from school and university left Peru to work and study somewhere else, but I decided to stay.
But suddenly terrorism ended, terror stopped, Peru started doing well economically and things got better and better and better. Peace was back and money was back, and people started investing in Peru again. Things got better, Peace Corps came back and I’m here with you working for PC for already 13 years.
So, Peru being back in the world cup after 36 years is for us, telling the world that WE ARE BACK and that We are again part of the world, that we are here, and we want everyone to know that Peru is a Wonderful country with Great People.
Now I’m so happy to be Peruvian and everyone wants to wear a Peruvian T-shirt. Incredible. It’s like a dream, yes, it’s like a dream that once I thought would never happen. Peru being good and healthy again, still with problems such as political issues, corruption, poverty, but we are alive again. We have hope again for a better life.
We are already out of the world cup, but everyone is proud of our team. All the world is talking about Peru and how so many Peruvians went to Russia and cheered so much for our country. We are all again so proud to be Peruvian.
The US is a beautiful, huge country with lots of diversity and great things. Because it’s so big, in a way it has created its own world which includes sports. That’s why Football (soccer for you) is not yet a huge deal as it is for the rest of the world, and you have your own sports such as American Football and others.
So now that you (Peace Corps volunteers) are out of the US, being part of the world cup in Peru, don’t forget to see Peru vs. Australia tomorrow. Since we have already been eliminated, tomorrow’s game won’t be so exciting, but Peru will play for its honor, and Australia which still has a chance, will play to survive. Wear your Peruvian T-shirt, and if you don’t have one yet, ask yourself why and then go buy one.
Many Peruvians don’t like football, but since the world cup is not about football, but about our countries fighting to show who we are, everyone is watching the games. And since you (Peace Corps Volunteers) are here, it doesn’t matter if you like football or hate it, that doesn’t matter. Just enjoy being here, participate in the world cup, and be part of Peru, a country that will be part of you forever.
Take care and
ARRIBA PERU!!!
Here’s another fun perspective on Peru’s World Cup appearance (thanks Dave!): https://slate.com/culture/2018/06/peru-2018-world-cup-why-you-should-root-for-la-blanquirroja.html
And some more fun propaganda for Peru: A letter from Peru to Australia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yycqyMhr47Q