Africa comes `alive' for three Bangla scribes

Africa comes `alive' for three Bangla scribes

The African Safari turned out to be quite a nightmare for three Bangladeshi scribes, who thought they were lucky to have lived for another day and seen the Monday morning after their ``brush with death last evening.''

Sunday was just another day for Mustafa Mamun, Sheikh Safur Rehman and Saif-ur-Rehman Khokhon, perhaps more relaxed and they were looking forward to a nice evening. An offer of a lift from the media centre boss Faizal Mamon was a blessing but barely had their car moved out of the Nairobi Gymkhana (an area terribly deserted once the sun goes down) six ``well-built'' people stopped them and two pistol guns came flashing out. ``They placed it on Faizal and my forehead and barged into the car. They said they would kill us and asked Faizal to drive on. Since it was dark, we couldn't find any help,'' recounts Mustafa. ``They robbed us of all that we had.''

Besides driving away with the car, the muggers took away cash the Bangladesh journos were carrying with them. Collectively, the three lost nearly 30,000 Kenyan Shillings but they are more worried at having lost their passports. That spells more trouble for the three as they were to fly to South Africa, where Bangladesh will play a series, right after the tourney here. Faizal thinks ``it's a miracle our lives were spared.'' Saifur doesn't even want to remember the incident. ``I saw death from close quarters.'' The organisers, Kenya Cricket Association and the International Cricket Council took a while to wake up. After the Indian media troupe bombarded the event manager Mark Hodgson, he took the victims to a police station and helped them lodge complaint.

Of course, the damage was done already, and as the Bangladeshis showed their bitterness, the ICC was found wanting here too. First it were the telephone lines here which do not work, then the power-breakdowns as frequent as the sight of a wicket falling and now the lax security. One has to thank his stars to ensure that stories reach the newspaper office in time. And, more importantly, that one reaches the hotel room without meeting a pistol-wielding mugger on the way! Tell me, tell me ICC, where will the next Knock-Out Cup be played?