Sacha Baron Cohen‘s 2006 film Borat enraged people in Kazakhstan to the point the film was banned in the country and Baron Cohen was threatened with legal action. So, just imagine you’re gold medalist Maria Dmitrienko and after you win the 10th Arab Shooting Championship held in Kuwait and take the podium, instead of hearing the Kazakhstan National Anthem, honoring you and your victory, you hear the highly offensive version Baron Cohen used in Borat.
It would never happen you say? Oh, but it would, and it did…
As you can see in the video included here that’s exactly what happened. As it turns out, the event organizers not only played the wrong Kazakh anthem, but also the wrong Serbian anthem just before that. Dmitrienko’s coach, Anvar Yunusmetov, told the BBC, “Then Maria Dmitrienko’s turn came… She got up on to the pedestal and they played a completely different anthem, offensive to Kazakhstan.”
It’s a bit hard to understand the words watching the video, but perhaps you can get on track with the lyrics, which I’ve included below. As offensive as it may be to play the wrong anthem due to a clear lack of attention to detail, to play these lyrics is rather astonishing.
Kazakhstan greatest country in the world.
All other countries are run by little girls.
Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium.
Other countries have inferior potassium.Kazakhstan home of Tinshein swimming pool.
It’s length thirty meter and width six meter.
Filtration system a marvel to behold.
It remove 80 percent of human solid waste.Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan you very nice place.
From Plains of Tarashek to Norther fence of Jewtown.
Kazakhstan friend of all except Uzbekistan.
They very nosy people with bone in their brain.Kazakhstan industry best in the world.
We invented toffee and trouser belt.
Kazakhstan’s prostitutes cleanest in the region.
Except of course Turkmenistan’sKazakhstan, Kazakhstan you very nice place.
From Plains of Tarashek to Norther fence of Jewtown.
Come grasp the might penis of our leader.
From junction with the testes to tip of its face!
