On 27 April, South Africa celebrated Freedom Day, commemorating the country’s first democratic elections, which were held thirty years ago on 27 April, 1994. Although South Africa is a multicultural nation, until 1994 it was controlled by a white racist government that made sure that the nation’s white minority held all the political, social and economic power. The rest of the population, mostly blacks, was discriminated against and kept in poverty. The law not only denied black people the right to vote, but also, among other things, determined where they could live, what employment they could have, where they could go on any given day and who they could marry. This racist system was called apartheid.

Internal opposition to apartheid

South Africa’s black majority fought against this state-sanctioned racism. Organizations such as the African National Congress (ANC) opposed the system with strikes, boycotts and acts of civil disobedience. Even though these acts were nonviolent, they were nevertheless brutally repressed. Thousands of people were arrested, many were killed by the white police, and political parties such as the ANC were banned. One of the most prominent and tireless leaders of the freedom movement was a charismatic lawyer, Nelson Mandela. Although he was mostly committed to nonviolent resistance, he eventually engaged in sabotage operations aimed at damaging government property and infrastructure. Because of this, he was arrested in 1964.

International opposition to apartheid

The international community took notice of the dreadful human rights violations of the apartheid system. In 1960, the United Nations called upon South Africa to end its policies of racial discrimination. Governments, organizations and prominent figures around the world demanded the dismantling of apartheid and the release of political prisoners, especially Mandela who had become a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. During the 1970s and 1980s, international pressure increased in the form of cultural and sporting boycotts (for example, South Africa was expelled from the Olympic Games), trade embargoes and economic sanctions. By the late 1980s, South Africa had become a pariah state.

Free elections and national reconciliation

Finally, because of the mounting domestic and international pressure, the leaders of South Africa capitulated. In 1990, President F.W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and other organizations, and freed political activists, including Nelson Mandela. Collaborating with Mandela, de Klerk worked to dismantle apartheid and prepare for the free elections of 1994. Twenty million South Africans cast their ballots, up from the three million white voters of the previous election. The ANC won a majority, and Mandela was elected president. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to investigate crimes committed under apartheid. The Commission was revolutionary because it sought forgiveness over prosecution and reparation over revenge, believing this to be the best way to foster national reconciliation. Victims could speak out and were given financial reparations, while perpetrators could confess their crimes and ask for amnesty.

South Africa today

Today, South Africa is a different country, a ‘rainbow nation’, once again part of the international community. However, not all problems have been resolved. The black majority is still disproportionally affected by extreme poverty. Many black people still live in run-down neighbourhoods and are affected by high rates of unemployment. Inevitably, South Africa is still repairing the harm caused by decades of apartheid. But there has been progress. Current president Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the ANC and former anti-apartheid activist, pointed to the work done so far: “our task over the last 30 years has been to bridge the huge divides of wealth and opportunity in our country – between black and white, between men and women, between urban and rural dwellers […] It is only those who willfully will not see, who shut their eyes to progress, who will deny that South Africa today is an infinitely better place than it was thirty years ago.”

(Carlo Dellonte)
(Image: JOHANNESBURG, AUGUST 21: Apartheid Museum Entrance on August 21, 2014 in Johannesburg. The Apartheid Museum is dedicated to illustrating apartheid and the 20th century history of South Africa, Shutterstock)