KGB Reports

Kyle G. Brown Articles

On Paper and On Air

You'll be able to read recent articles and listen to reports and documentaries by Kyle G. Brown, which have gone out in the Canadian, US and UK media, right here.

You will find older reports in the ARCHIVES.

 

Racial reconciliation and the World Cup

June 30, 2010
cbc.ca

SA Fans by KGBSeeing South Africa's FIFA World Cup stadiums throb with fans of numerous nationalities makes it hard to imagine that sports in this country were once systematically divided along racial lines.

While apartheid's demise in 1994 led to little immediate change among fans — whites still tend to favour rugby and cricket, while soccer remains a largely black sport — the almost tribal lines dividing sports are fading.

Headphones kgb
Listen to the report that aired on CBC Radio June 19, 2010

 

Rounded up and run out of town

June 10, 2010
Toronto Star

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

StreetboyAndBaby by Kyle G. BrownWith uniformed police officers standing over them, bleary-eyed boys and girls slowly get up from the sidewalk, throw their blankets over their shoulders and walk to the police truck, clearly knowing the drill.

The officers herd them into the back of the wagon, where they will sit, looking out grilled windows as they’re taken to the police station.

Listen Kyle G. Brown

Listen to the documentary that aired on CBC Radio June 9, 2010

 

 

World Cup Crime: Hysteria vs. Reality

June 1, 2010
cbc.caSAPS Kyle G. Brown

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Media-fuelld hysteria about crime in South Africa is scaring some tourists off from attending the World Cup, and prompting others to take unusual measures to ensure their safety.

Of some 350,000 foreign fans expected to attend the 32-team tournament in June and July, those with the money to spend are hiring bodyguards, renting bullet-resistant vehicles, and packing GPS tracking devices in their cars and handbags.

 

South Africa's street signs, place names lead to more struggle

May 28, 2010
Toronto Star

JOHANNESBURG

StreetSign by Kyle G. Brown

BLOCK BY BLOCK, South Africa's street signs are changing. Afrikaans and European names like Verwoerd and Gardiner are making way for Malibongwe and KaSeme.

Busts and statues of colonial and apartheid-era leaders are being replaced with the likes of those who resisted them, or died trying.

 

Radio by Kyle G. Brown

The radio feature on South Africa's place names aired on PRI, on June 8, 2010

 

‘Guys who killed him are our heroes’

April 07, 2010
Toronto Star

VENTERSDORP, South Africa

Terreblanche by Kyle G. BrownTensions flared as the two farm workers accused of killing South African white supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche were charged with four crimes, including murder and robbery.

Chris Mahlangu, 28, and a 15-year-old boy appeared in court Tuesday, and were then whisked into a van and away from the courthouse, all to the cheers of dozens of local black residents. They chanted "Hero! Hero!" as the police van sped away.

 

 

World Cup tickets too pricey

April 22, 2010
cbc.ca

Tickets by Kyle G. BrownJOHANNESBURG

If it wasn't clear before how seriously South Africans are taking the World Cup, it is now.

Amid scenes of chaos, confusion and long lineups, FIFA, soccer's world governing body, made tickets available over the counter last week for the first time. It's the last phase of ticket sales, in which 500,000 tickets were released.

Fans had been camping out overnight, some waiting as long as 24 hours. Scuffles broke out in queues and a pensioner died after collapsing in a crowded lineup of more than 500 people, outside Cape Town.

 

Challenges as World Cup Approaches

March 2, 2010
cbc.ca

BafanaMzion by KGBDURBAN

"Here, ladies and gentlemen, the dream is now reality."

With these words, FIFA president Sepp Blatter did his best Tuesday in Durban, South Africa, to set the tone for the 100-day countdown to the World Cup opener in June. But this is South Africa, where the drama is invariably unscripted.