On the 5th of December 2013 the world lost a
truly great man. For generations the indigenous black population of South
Africa had been persecuted by the minority white population. In 1948, just
three years after WWII ended, a war in which South Africa fought against
countries that treated certain people as second-class citizens, the new
government began to institute a system of racial segregation called Apartheid.
Apartheid was a system in which races were separated in every aspect of life;
from education to public parks and from transport to housing. Four different
categories were created; white, black, coloured and Indian (the latter two had
other subcategories). BY 1970 only whites were allowed to vote and other races
were deprived of their citizenship! The treatment of the majority black
population resulted in the increasing ostracising of South Africa by the rest
of the world, particularly following the civil rights movements of the 1960s
and 1970s.
Yet it was the case of Nelson Mandela that would inspire
South Africa and the world to try and end Apartheid. Mandela was born in the
small village of Mvezo, Eastern Cape in 1918. As Mandela grew up he became in
anti-colonial politics and later the anti-Apartheid movement. Before the 1960s
Mandela was opposed to suing violence to end the horrific system of Apartheid.
Mandela finally turned to more violent tactics after several serious massacres
by the Apartheid government and the lack of progress that had been made trying
peaceful methods. After only a year of violent activity in which civilians of
any race were deliberately not
targeted, Mandela was arrested in August 1962. When Mandela was put on trial he
gave a three hour speech in his defence, which is regarded as one of the
greatest speeches ever made. Mandela’s imprisonment sparked uproar across the
globe.
The longer Mandela stayed in prison, the more support he
got from around the world. By the time Mandela was released from prison in 1990
he had spent 27 years behind bars. Mandela was passionate about making sure
that blacks would have equal rights. In 1985 the President of South Africa,
P.W. Botha, offered Mandela a deal: Botha would release Mandela from prison if he renounced his ways. Mandela
rejected the offer. As the years progressed even the white population began to
be opposed to Apartheid. After F.W. de Klerk rose to become President in
September 1989, everything began to change. In his first speech as leader of
the nation, de Klerk demanded an end to Apartheid through negotiations and went
on to free Mandela the following year. To show how ready South Africa was for
an end to Apartheid, in 1992 a referendum was held as to whether to continue
negotiations between the government and the African National Congress (ANC).
The referendum was overwhelmingly successful for the anti-Apartheid side, in
the white only election 67% of voters wished the negotiations to continue
whilst 31% demanded that they stop.
Eventually a new constitution was finalised and elections
were held in 1994. The elections became the first in the history of South
Africa in which everyone could vote.
Despite Mandela retiring in 1999 he has remained a
powerful figure in South African, and world, politics. He denounced America and
Britain’s invasion of Iraq as a War for oil. He was also an ardent opponent of
inequality and HIV/aids.
The world will forever mourn the loss of Mandela. His
courage, despite adversity, his willingness to forgive despite brutal treatment,
and his love of all people will forever have humans looking up to him. Mandela
will always be one of the greatest human beings to walk this earth.
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| Nelson Mandela source: Forbes |
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