Racism In South Africa Essay

South Africa, a beautiful country located at the southern tip of the African continent with about 3000 kilometers of coastline, is the largest and most developed country in Africa. With eleven official languages and people from various ethnic backgrounds, South Africa is home to distinct cultures that coexist. Despite this diversity, South Africans faced one of the harshest racism in the world.

The Dutch first settled in South Africa in 1652 as a stopping point for ships on their way to the East Indies. However, it became a British colony in 1815 after the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch moved inland to escape the British but broke out into war against the Shaka tribe in the northern part of South Africa. The Dutch Boers won, and so they established an Afrikaner state in the north. In 1899, the British tried to annex this Afrikaner state resulting in the Boer Wars. Finally in 1910, the war ended in a coalition between the Afrikaner States and the British. During this period (1910-1948), the Union government enforced several laws that restricted the rights of the black people. They were denied job reservations, the right to form unions and equal citizenship. One Such law was the Pass Law, which required blacks to carry identification pass books with them at all times. In 1948, South Africa gained its independence from British rule, but this did not mean freedom in any shape or form for the indigenous South Africans. What this meant was that the Dutch settlers, the “Boers” now had full right to treat the blacks as they wished and they certainly did. Between 1948 and 1999, a harsh system of racial segregation called apartheid, or “apartness” in Afrikaans was practiced in the Republic of South Africa. Under this regime, the white minori...

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...ter testament to the basic dignity of ordinary people everywhere than the divestment movement of the 1980s.” (tutu, p.1).

Today, South Africa is a free nation and it enjoys democratic rights. However, life is still not good. “ It has changed for some people, not for others. Some people still have no jobs. People are hungry.” (Mpumalanga) Nonetheless, numerous NGOs and countries around the world are working towards providing a better life to Africans. Different organizations raise money to help African children receive better education and food. One example of such an organization is “World Vision Africa” that allows you to sponsor a child in Africa and also visit him/her. With organizations such as these, South Africa will hopefully emerge out of its apartheid shell. With more time, energy and love, we can live as a part of the world and not as a part of a race.