The past two weeks have been a tense time in South Africa with two main stories making the headlines. On the one hand, several historic statues have been either removed or defaced and on the other are the xenophobic attacks.
Incidentally, Trace Sports Stars elected April as their “Peace Month” and in hind-sight, their crystal ball was on the money because peace is what South Africa desperately needs right now.
Presenting the peace-related sports shows is a sports enthusiast, Roxy Burger, a crossfit trainer when she’s not shooting for TV.
“I really enjoyed shooting with Trace. With the number of talented presenters they could have gone with, I am humbled that they went with me,” she said.
Burger is happy with the message Trace Sports Stars is sending out considering what is going on in the country.
“The theme of Peace Month is actually quite cool with everything that is going on right now. It has come at quite poignant time when we are dealing with xenophobia. Any platform to spread a message about peace is never a bad thing. Everything happens for a reason and we did not shoot knowing that we’d air at this time,” she said.
Coming to the content that you will see on Trace Sports Stars this month, Burger illustrated how sport is closely linked to politics.
“A lot of the shows are based on the sports people who have been in turbulent situations which they have had to overcome. The history of certain countries is strongly linked to sport and we cover that. So that’s how we incorporate Peace Month,” she said.
The bubbly presenter has also learnt a lot while working on the show, and she wishes more people would be just as enlightened.
“I have learnt a lot on the show. I think we live a sheltered life and don’t know what happens beyond our borders. I think that’s why Trace Sports Stars is a brilliant platform to be doing this because they represent the continent so well. I think it’s important that we learn about other people and cultures and what they have gone through. This will make us realise how we came into a democracy fairly and I use the word ‘fairly’ in relation to how other countries fared to achieve the same. We did have a lot of violence, but in comparison to other places, Madiba brought us to democracy in a much quieter fashion. We were on the verge of a civil war and it could have turned really really ugly and it didn’t. That’s why I feel we were really lucky,” she said.
“People underestimate how complicated our past is. I think we are still hurting and I don’t think we have dealt with our past 100 percent. I think that’s on a black and a white perspective. I think there are different struggles for different people. For example, with the statues issue, a number of South African people were quick to say ‘get over it’, but it’s not that simple. On the other hand, no-one is saying those statues should still be up, but there are ways of dealing with such cases without violence. I think it’s so complicated, but what’s important is to realise that every-one’s feelings are valid.”
• Catch Roxy Burger on Trace Sports Stars this month at 9pm (channel 188).