Nelson+Mandela



Born on July 18, 1918, Mandela was the most prominent figure in bringing democracy to South Africa. He was against the apartheid regime that only came to an end when he became the president of South Africa in 1994. It was this pro-apartheid government that had imprisoned him for 27 years prior.

__APARTHEID AND THE NATIONAL PARTY GOVERNMENTS__

Apartheid is racial segregation, the separation of racial groups, that was enforced by the National Party government in South Africa. This government ruled the country from 1948 until 1994; 46 years. Apartheid was an official policy of the National Party, which was a Republic, and previous to their rule numerous segregation policies had already been introduced. In 1951 they continued to secure their position by introducing the Separate Representation of Voters Act, which would prevent Africans from voting. They had a goal of relocating all of the blacks to homelands, which took up 13% of South African land. They wanted to relocate 10 different African tribes to these lands, which would be like independant nations that still worked for South Africa. The National Party passed legislation in 1959 called the Bantu Self-Government Act to enforce this, ultimately giving the whites a legal majority (without this they were quite a minority). The National Party's majority in parliament steadily increased until 1977. There was, in fact, a growing resistance against the unfair government that the Dutch immigrants (not the British) had imposed on the natives of South Africa, and the National Party finally accepted that they simply could not keep power with such a majority against them. The UN and other nations finally intervened, and this combined with internal resistance spelled the end for Apartheid in South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC) came into power and met with Mandela to discuss a new democratic government, free of segregation. Mandela was to become president. For things to work under Mandela's newfound leadership, the whites would have to swallow their pride and give up their status, while the blacks would have to swallow their resentment and accept peaceful coexistence as a triumph.

__LIFE UP TO 1994__

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born 93 years ago in the village of Mvezo, a part of the Umtata district in Transkei that runs along the Mbashe River. His father was Chief Henry of the Mvezo, which was part of the Thembu tribe, and so he had a royal bloodline. One of 13 children, Mandela could have possibly become a royal advisor, but he decided to take after his mother. Her name was Noqaphi Nosekeni, and she was a Methodist with the church.

Unfortunately, when Mandela was only 12 years old, his father died and he was sent to live under the guardianship of head chief of the Thembu tribe, Jongintaba Dalindyebo. From there he went to Methodist college and then entered the first black univeristy in South Africa, the University of Fort Hare. He was expelled in1940 for practicing political activism. He moved to Johannesburg to live with his mother while he completed his degree at the University of South Africa, then completed his law degree at the University of Witwatersrand. In 1944 he married Evelyn Mase and joined the African National Congress political party. He created the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) along with some colleagues and ended up becoming an executive of the ANC in Transvaal shortly afterwards. The National Party was elected in 1948, and three years later Mandela became president of the ANCYL. The next year he progressed to become president of the Transvaal ANC.

When Mandela became president of the ANC, the National Party used the Suppression of Communism Act to prevent him from taking part in any ANC politics, and he was restricted to staying around Johannesburg. The M-Plan (Mandela Plan) was then devised in secret by the ANC, which would keep Mandela in contact with them. The ANC would operate in multiple groups and they'd always be prepared to go underground. By now it is 1955, and his wife divorces him because of his devotion to the anti-Apartheid movement.

December 5, 1956, Mandela gets arrested along with most of the ANC executives for, "high treason and a countrywide conspiracy to use violence to overthrow the present government and replace it with a communist state" (Boddy-Evans), but was acquitted in 1961. During this trial period he married his second wife, Nomzamo Madikizela. Also by this time, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) had formed, after breaking off of the ANC and they had become enemies. Both created military groups, and Mandela was the first commander of the ANC Umkhonto we Sizwe (the MK); both military groups were then outlawed under the Unlawful Organisations Act of 1961.

Mandela was smuggled out of South Africa in 1962 to attend the Pan-African Freedom Movement, then to Algeria for guerilla warfare training. Here, it is important to note the following information:

"Nelson Mandela was the head of UmKhonto we Sizwe, (MK), the terrorist wing of the ANC and South African Communist Party. He had pleaded guilty to 156 acts of public violence including mobilizing terrorist bombing campaigns, which planted bombs in public places, including the Johannesburg railway station. Many innocent people, including women and children, were killed by Nelson Mandela’s MK terrorists.

South African President P.W. Botha had, on a number of occasions, offered Nelson Mandela freedom from prison, if he would only renounce terrorist violence. This Mandela refused to do" (Invictus Idolatry) This is important to note, because many people know only of Mandela's good deeds. Anyway, after training in Algeria, he flew to London to talk politics. Upon returning to South Africa, he was sentenced to jail for 5 years for "incitement and illegally leaving the country" (Boddy-Evans). He was then charged for "sabotage, preparing for guerilla warfare in SA, and for preparing an armed invasion of SA" (Boddy-Evans), after the ANC military headquarters was invaded by the National Party. Mandela was sentenced to life and had this to say:

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Mandela was offered release if he would give up his political fight, but he refused. In 1989 the new leader of the Apartheid regime was De Klerk, and Mandela met with him. Their position had been greatly weakened in the face of so much opposition. As a result, De Klerk unbanned political parties and ordered the release of political prisoners (except people guilty of bad crimes), and Mandela walked free on February 11, 1990. The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) was set up to negotiate a shift in the South African constitution. Both Mandela and De Klerk received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their involvement in CODESA. Things were finally working out for Mandela.

__LIFE AFTER 1994__

In 1994, the ANC won a 62% majority. The Government of National Unity was temporarily set up for 5 years while the consitution was rewritten and a democracy was formed. The blacks now had a majority, and the GNU helped to give the whites a slight peace of mind after the sudden shift of power. In 1995, Mandela turned to Rugby in hopes that it would help unite his country. The Springboks were a favourite of the whites, but the blacks would rather support any other team. Mandela showed tons of support for the Springboks, and they ended up winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup in their own country, against the New Zealand All Blacks. This was considered a huge moment in bringing the country together. The movie "Invictus" is all about Mandela and the Springboks.

Mandela worked not only to unify his people, but also improve the economy. He formed a Reconstruction and Development Plan, funding jobs, housing, and health care. By 1996 the constitution was finished, guaranteeing many freedoms for everybody.

In 1996 Mandela divorced his current wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and began another relationship with Graca Machel. The next year, Mandela's goal finally achieved, he stepped down from his leadership position in the ANC and gave it to Thabo Mbeki.The year after, he married Graca Machel on his eightieth birthday. The year after that, in 1999, he handed the presidency over to Mbeki.

Even after he retired, Mandela stayed busy. He raised money for the Mandela Foundation which would build schools and clinics in rural areas, and published several books. He joined together with other world leaders to form "The Elders", who would help work towards peace internationally. His health is deteriorating, and he has been spending the past few years relaxing. People are trying to get "Mandela Day" established in his honour (on his birthday) to recognize everything he did to achieve peace and equality.

by Bronwen Pollock

__BIBLIOGRAPHY__ @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africa @http://africanhistory.about.com/od/mandelanelson/a/bio_mandela.htm @http://www.biography.com/people/nelson-mandela-9397017 (by Alistair Boddy-Evans)

__PICTURE LINKS__ @http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&rlz=1T4ADFA_enCA467CA467&biw=1920&bih=868&tbm=isch&tbnid=of6YhVgRgbPh2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.bewajah.com/2012/03/14/top-ten-little-known-nelson-mandela-facts/nelson-mandela-in-prison/&docid=5QLES9Tvu2tPzM&imgurl=http://www.bewajah.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Nelson-Mandela-in-Prison.jpg&w=400&h=269&ei=KIXZT4r7G-OC2AXrt8jVBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=147&vpy=171&dur=968&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=144&ty=112&sig=101963836985255224201&page=1&tbnh=99&tbnw=132&start=0&ndsp=60&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:85 @http://oafworldwide.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/pan-african-of-the-week-nelson-mandela/ @http://forevernokia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/nelson-mandela-with-nobel-peace-prize.jpg @http://www.vview.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ANCyouthleague_logo2.gif @http://www.fotw.net/images/z/za%7Danc.gif @http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256425/Nelson-Mandelas-ex-wife-accuses-President-betraying-blacks-South-Africa.html @http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/Maps_Of_South_Africa/images/south_africa_1500.jpg @http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_full_article/photogallery/gallery_5610061/126Intro3edited.jpg