Strikes are Revolutionary and Inevitable

Those Hockey players are morons. It was reported that they are going to be banned for five years by the Kenya Hockey Union. This means that they will not be able to represent the country or play for any club events. NOt sure what happens if they move to another country are they still banned from playing for clubs that are members of the national federation?
kim

Halo halo Kim,

I know you love hockey (and cricket) too and that is why it has concerned you to follow its activities. You mentioned it before and now your fear is being confirmed that Kenya might be banned and fined by IHF. And one Kiruma is banning the players on behalf KHF! You called the young lads 'morons'.

I know you have more information about this perhaps more than me (I only know what you have written here so far) and therefore you could be in an informative situation to make that moronic conclusion. I bet you do not agree with the lads nor do you approve of their actions as my track of your sentiments suggests to me.

Because you once related it to Chess and the upcoming Olympiad we find a link to relate.

Kim I think it is about where the line between a Public citizen and a Private one is drawn. The extent to which one can push a national agenda under the strength of patriotism. When to sacrifice in hunger so that you do not become a slave of greed. It is an idiom for 'them' or 'us' or 'we' or 'they' rather than 'me'. Kim in my opinion it is about the descriptions of 'The country is bigger than....' or 'There comes a time....'.

Under what circumstances shall we do it for others, for the country, for patriotism, for the red,green, black and white flag? How far does it go and who is included in the doing team? Is it the time for a player to do it for country and country? Do they also play hockey for pleasure like you and me do chess? Any other sport for pleasure these days?

Lets get the basics. Four years ago KFF was wrangling and FIFA was about to ban them. Then Kipchoge Keino was drafted from Athletics to head a transitional committee and Patrick Naggi was the appointed Secretary General. He ran to my shop as an old friend and asked me to fix for the 'National Team' two pairs of uniform because while the ban was not yet announced, they were due to play Guinea Republic in Nairobi and the outgoing Joe Kadenge had locked th offices where the teams uniforms were. I know they also bought some white uniforms striped on the arms from NSH and Harambee Stars honoured the match despite the national confusion. It was 20% due to my patriotism.

My firm has never been paid that 90,000 since 2005 and every sports official know about it. I have since written it off as a bad debt. If you ask Keino he will tell you that all the expenses incurred during his time were settled. I also learnt that in sports managment in Kenya you never know who actually owes you - the sports council, the ministry, the federation, the secretary general, the chairman or the international federation?

The moral of the story is that 'they better finish with you before you finish with them' - the reason is that they tackle events and budget for the events - they do not have running expense accounts which can owe you!!!!! Two, is that you might not make the next under something team or the coutry might not even qualify for you to find a chance and logic to dun the past. The officials know this so they approach you as a 'use only once' material on its way to scrap bin.

Those who have been owed 'outstanding allowance' will tell you that you do not stand a chance of being paid unless you get another opportunity to hold the Federation (and country) at ransom at another time when they need your service. Depending on which sport you are in you have a choice to comply, strike or take the next flight back.

The problem is not with our country or players but with the officials we put to run our affairs. They have learnt the art and know they have to 'finish with themselves before they finish with the players and others'. No federation official has ever complained of outstanding dues. Fabisch through to Mulei and Lama in football all quit for that. Actually Mulei was still walking to Nyayo stadium in search of his past allowances long after he returned from APR. It is the officials who are morons and who should ne banned and the IHF step would be in the right direction.

The reason I supported Oliech on dissenting on his team at the penultimate hour once before is because they will use you in the slogan of 'the country' when they need you and noone will ever mention you sacrificed something to do it. A sportsman's life is just this limited and I'd rather I change my name and fly a Qatari flag that I know is not o my own rather than be met at the Airport by the likes of Okeyo or Kasuve.

If you want something from me why not give me what is due to me with the left hand and I honour you with the right? Is Kenya (the country) to which we should owe our talent, allegience and be ever patriotic too poor to pay young hockey players their allowance in full when MPs get theirs even before they attend parliamentary sessions? Or is it that they did not trust the players to keep their side of the bargain and had to make a 'downpayment pending...'

In summary Kim. If Ben Nguku qualifies ahead of other available Kenyans to represent the country in the next Olympiad and CK pledges allowances for his representation and speculated opportunities forgone by that commitment then he should be paid as agreed. Incase in the course of it he suspects that there a CK game play with his allowance, I will support him if he choses to think of 'himself' first before his country and if he withdraws and flies back to attend to his more profitable commitments (earlier forgone) that should be his right and CK can only but select another Kenyan who can fit in to take his place. It does not make Ben a moron - odawise how else would you refer to you and me who remained behind to pump our own selves?

The hockey players did the right thing if past experiences are anything to go by. KAAA has never succeeded in banning runaway athletes and I think KHF only has this little to manouver in the absence of the players' blessings.

So allow me to disagree with you on the condemnation of the Hockey players and the 'moron' term, to allege that you are aware how pathetic hockey players even at club level are suffering. I have a second-hand experience on that.

Let us impress upon sports officials to represent the country well by doing their work whether or not 'patriotism' is an element of consideration. Have a good look and review at CK and formerly at KCA and see if 'what you deserve is what you get in the absence of negotiation'.

Let justice be our shield and defender not mere slogans of patriotism!

Have a lengthy striking day won't you.

Soulman

Solman I actually managed to read your Tolstoyian length email...in your own strange convoluted way you make alot of sense

Thanks Mehul.

But my thinking is in line with Kim's that if you are a celebrity sportsmen than that aura of fame gives you rights, unwritten in the constitution but visible to everyone, to complain as you feel fit. If you aint up there what the hell are you crying for?

E.g if some weak player like Mathioya or Hesbom started making noise about allowances etc, assuming these weak guys actually made it to the team, then who are they to make noise. But if it were the Ben's and Peter G like guys they have bragging and noisemaking rights. It is very easy to be a weak player but very difficult to be a strong one.

Someone has hit Hesbon below the belt!!


My God this is serious....was this the title belt? And who hit him over the belt? Violence in any form off the chess board should not be tolerated. I suggest, Nguku as checkmates club chairman you petition the CK chairman to investigate into this matter.


I think maybe we should wait to see what the KHU say about the details. I think the problem in the hockey team shows up very clearly in the current riot in our school. Our social fabric has been worn out by the corruption in our leader and the ease at which drugs and alcohol are available. It is still a great shame for the country that our players boycotted the event. Why get on the plane then?????. In Elista chess players had been promised a lot more money than what the player got but hey nobody went on strke.

I just feel sorry for my tax payers money going down the tube sending these pathetic ungrateful hockey players to Cairo. I wish that $400 had been used to buy malaria medicine in our hospital at least 5 babies would not need to die from malaria. Over to you Soulman........... how about that.............

One good thing might come out of this. The Kenya Universities Sports Association intends to run a hockey league. This is great news for the grass root development of the game. Perhaps CK could link up with the KUSA to set up a uni league??!!
kim

KIM: I just feel sorry for my tax payers money going down the tube sending these pathetic ungrateful hockey players to Cairo. I wish that $400 had been used to buy malaria medicine in our hospital at least 5 babies would not need to die from malaria. Over to you Soulman........... how about that.............

MYSELF: All these are matters of opinions. None of us is wrong. But I think if we really looked at the root causes of these things then we can face the future with calm. Strikes for any sake is always an end result to a very bad thing which has not got a solution - a disagreement where nobody wants to compromise with the other. Yet in some instances from such strikes solutions are got. Kim the adage that 'some people work best under pressure' is true. If you suddenly misplace/lose money you start slotting all manner of use you could have put it into. These is because anything for that money would be better than the zero in your pockets.

There is usually just 'this much' that one can disagree with but still take but beyond which he will do otherwise. I know you have been in such situations before. Whether you take it or not depends on the BIGGER PICTURE. My question is whether the BIGGER PICTURE, say Kenya/Country looks to everyone the same size? And from experience is it really big? Whatever KHF decides to do is 'up on them'. The players must be ready to live with the results of their actions and KHF has the opportunity to draft in 'other' Kenyans to consider the big picture.

I would like to see malaria medicine in hospitals but I think it should not be the burden of the hockey players accepting oppression, abuse and misuse to have Kenya by them. That it might not be true that the players went to Cairo solely to strike and come back. Standing up to defend your rights by refusing to do what is expected of you does not make you weak. It is the right thing. Someone once said 'Give me liberty or give me death'.

Lastly Kim old boy, Kenyan sportsmen especially those in hockey are already pathetic, what can they be grateful about? Let us change our country by asking people to do what they ought to do. Your old man did the right thing to stand up against what he disagreed with by flinging that chair!

MAGANA: You sound horribly hurt and its like you looked around for appropriate 'throw back at'. Luckily I got nine lives and you only caught a lesser package. I suspected the 'convolusion' in that typical paragragh needed a second check - actually if you do that you will realize that it is neither condemning, accusing, attacking or ridiculing you. It does not paint you with any dirt or bad picture. Sorry I used you as a live and active example - but only that Mehul set it off earlier.

I do not want to approve or disapprove your immense (insert space here) to chess in Kenya. Actually you are already in the Kenya Chess history books. Only one thing. Nobody has done anything to chess in this country and if you doubt the correctness of my assertion then give me a single line of fact t counter it. Because Chess in Kenya has gone nowhere.

The BIG PICTURE is true in caps. But it depends on who is looking at it. The real size is tested by time and by how many are seeing a common size.

What I may need to repeat is that when an individual (or a group) decide to 'play ball' it depends on how big the picture is to them.

Lastly, while chess is an individual game by its nature, progress in it require that it be a team game.