"The truth, unlike lies, require no embellishment." - Michael Mencias

On Thursday, Lucky Dube, a popular South African musician, was dropping off his son in Johannesburg: South Africa's most populous city. He was carjacked. With his child, powerless to do anything, just a little ways away, armed thugs shot Dube dead.

Also this past week, Jane's (the woman I live with) daughter was leaving a friend's flat in JoBurg when armed men came up to them demanding the car. They gave the gun toting men the car, as well as their wallet and phone. They're likely a bit shaken over the entire incident, but they're alive.

Lucky Dube is dead, a victim of this senseless crime. Jane's daughter gave them what they wanted-and is still alive, but still, undeniably, a victim.

Their stories are not unique. While studying at Rhodes, a friend's uncle was shot and killed for his car in Johannesburg. Another friend who lives in Durban left the gate open in front of their home--armed men came onto the property and forced his mother and brother into a bathroom while they robbed the place.

Why am I saying all this? South Africa is to be the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. In Port Elizabeth, an electronic sign proclaims "Port Elizabeth: a FIFA 2010 World Cup Host City. Welcome to Port Elizabeth." In O.R. Tambo Johannesburg International, huge billboards advertise the upcoming event saying "We'll be ready. Preparing for 2010 and beyond," and "The Gautrain, connecting O.R. Tambo with Sandton with Pretoria: we'll be ready for 2010."

I'm sorry South Africa--but you're not ready. You're incredibly unprepared, and, in fact, a danger to the potentially thousands of tourists who will be arriving in 2010. The World Cup that you're so eager to host could turn into a blood bath with eager sports fans being robbed, raped or shot dead. People will come. People will die.

You are powerless to control the crime you've got now. Nearly 1 in 3 of Johannesburg's residents report having been robbed. The U.N. says your murder rate, per capita, is one of the highest on the planet with around 50 people per day being murdered on your streets. Reports CNN.com, "South Africa is one of the most dangerous societies in the world. Figures from the South African Police Service show that from April 2006 to March 2007, more than 19,000 South Africans were murdered, more than 52,600 people were raped, and nearly 13,600 people were carjacked."

Furthermore, the infrastructure to host an event like the World Cup is simply not existent. Mass transit in South Africa's major cities does not exist in the same way as it does in the rest of the developed world. It is not safe for visitors to be cruising around your cities in rental cars, or to walk out of Johannesburg's Park Station with luggage. It is not safe for people to take the trains into central business districts. In some city centers, it is not even advisable for visitors to take out cameras or cell phones.

South Africa, you're a beautiful place that's come so far since apartheid. South Africa, you're proof that blacks and whites can, indeed, live together. South Africa, you're a forward-looking land of friendly people, beautiful countrysides--and that's why I love you. But South Africa, you've got a huge problem with violent crime.

I hope that one day you'll be ready to host the World Cup. I hope that one day you'll be able to show the world all that you have to offer--and you do, indeed, have a lot to offer the world and to be proud of. But I'm sorry South Africa, you're just not there yet and you won't be by 2010.