Liam Berry

Ms.DAmato
Humanities 9
3/5/15

Effects of the Anti-Apartheid movement on South Africa

Imagine this: you live in your own country, ruled by no one, you are part of a
peaceful tribe, you live off the land and you are content. Now imagine that while in this
tranquil state, strange people with guns come to your land and try to claim it as their own.
Fast forward fifty years, your once peaceful country has now become another place that
these strange men own, completely transformed from its original state to fit the needs of
these new people. These new people also now regard you as lesser and not as good as
them, discriminating against you and your people. Fast forward another fifty years, the
hate and discrimination has gotten to a level of severity where your new rulers humiliate,
antagonize, torture, and even kill you at every chance they get. What was described to you
actually happened. The previous anecdote was a basic description of the colonization of
Africa by the British and Dutch and the life of an average black South African during
Apartheid. When Africa was colonized, many of the colonials had racist values and
opinions and acted harshly against the native population of Africa. In 1948 there was a law
that officialized the racism and added segregation, called the Apartheid (which literally
means to be apart). Most blacks were discriminated against by their British and Dutch
rulers, and public places and areas were segregated by race. Blacks were forced to carry
passbooks everywhere with them and if caught without them they were arrested. Blacks
also had poor wages and terrible living conditions. Around the mid 1940s, the AntiApartheid/Colonialism movement started to take shape. The Anti-Apartheid was a country
wide movement that encouraged people to protest for equal rights, led mainly by the ANC
(the African National Congress, an organization created as a result of the injustices in

South Africa in 1910). It was only twenty years ago that racial equality was achieved in
South Africas laws and the Apartheid was lifted. The Anti-Apartheid movement had lots of
effects on South Africa and its people. The Anti-Apartheid movement both failed and
succeeded, had substantial effects on the people of South Africa, and had many lessons to
be learned from it.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement was a very large movement, and made changes in
many lives. Looking at some national statistics, it is clear those changes were not all for
the better. Since the ANC has become South Africas government, crime rates have
spiked, the unemployment rate has risen substantially, and the wealth distribution is very
uneven. In 1980 the unemployment rate was eight percent, in 2014, this number has risen
to 25.2%, five times larger than the rate in the United States and around three times larger
than it was thirty years ago. This means that around one in every four South Africans are
unemployed, or around fourteen and a half million people. The cause of this
unemployment cannot be pinpointed on one source. The weakened education system in
South Africa certainly has a role in this picture. Since the school system is not as strong as
it should be, and people are not getting the proper education needed to work most jobs,
South Africa is producing more individuals incapable of working and contributing to society.
The school system is not helped by the fact that many government officials are using
South Africas education money for personal use. In addition, South Africa does not have
proper training facilities to train workers, making it difficult for many to be able to perform
specialized tasks required by some jobs. In the modern world, you must have knowledge
to contribute to society and to keep your own community healthy. But from these numbers,
it can be clearly seen that South Africas education system isnt stable or effective, and
because of the neglect going on, South Africa is hurting itself. The more people left
unemployed the less South Africa will grow and the poorer it becomes, because of the lack
of revenue going through the country.

South Africas crime and homicide rates have skyrocketed since the 2000s. In 1980 the
homicide ratio was sixty people out of every 100,000; in 2003 that number rose to around
one hundred and thirty people per 100,000, an increase of around one hundred and six
percent. These numbers are believed to be this high because of the racism in South
Africas police system. A rich white South African is more likely to have a case investigated
rather than a poorer black South African, leaving many criminals preying on poor blacks
,proceeding with their actions. In addition policemen sometimes alter crime statistics at
their will. As a result, the number of crimes documented for South Africa is actually much
smaller than the number actually occurring, and the true statistic is not known. It is also
believed that many black South African children are growing up, seeing whites with their
high class products and envy them. Since the education system and the unemployment
rate makes it so that these people cannot obtain these items through honest methods, the
only way poor people can see to get luxury items is to steal them. In addition, many black
South Africans have lost respect for the law and the government, because of the Apartheid
and how they were treated and the way they continue to be treated. It will take time for
them to gain respect for their government and law.
The average black South African makes around $4,000 a year while the average
white South African makes around $100,000 a year. It is obvious that the wealth ratio is
way out of proportion. In the times of Apartheid there was major lack in blacks wages while
whites made top dollar. When the Apartheid ended, the wealth was never redistributed
evenly among all ethnicities, making it so that today, many black South Africans are at a
major disadvantage financially, compared to the rest of the country. This causes many
financial problems like not having enough money to pay rent, and/or not being able to pay
for food, leading to starvation and homelessness. Health care is also an issue, with
poverty leading to not being able to pay for medicine or vaccines. This ultimately leads to
results like; not being able to pay for a special surgery, extreme sickness and death.

People shouldnt lose their loved ones just because the government chooses not to make
any change in South Africas wealth distribution. Change needs to happen, or else the
white supremacy will stay true and alive in South Africa. It should also be taken into
consideration that a people would rather live in poor conditions and be free than to be in
better conditions and under someone elses rule. Some of these points are valid. Many
would rather be free than to be under anothers rule, but what is the point of being free if
you are still treated as if you are still under another persons rule. To conclude South Africa
is not in the best state that it could be in and its being shown that the wounds of Apartheid
will take time to heal.
While the Anti-Apartheid movement had many obstacles and difficulties along the
way to independence, there were many ways in which the movement was effective and
succeeded. For example, in 1994 the Anti-Apartheid movement created true democracy
and legal equality in Africa, increasing modernization as well as public services by a great
deal, and improved medicine and mortality rates among the young. Since the end of
Apartheid, South Africas modern development has progressed a very great deal. After
Apartheid was lifted in 1990 by president F.W. De Klerk, it was put into the South African
Bill of Rights that, through the eyes of the law, all men and women are created equal, and
that citizens have the right to equality as well as freedom from discrimination. These
changes in the law, and the lifting of the Apartheid, were the main goals of the ANC when it
first started. Around a century later, those goals were achieved, showing that the ANC had
succeeded in what they originally set out to do in 1910. The Anti-Apartheid movement
affected South Africas public services for the better. The amount of people who now have
access to potable water has increased from sixty two percent, to eighty nine percent, an
increase of around 14.2 million people. The amount of people in South Africa who now
have cell phones has also increased more than fifty percent since 1994. Welfare grants
have been extended to senior citizens,the disabled, and children, and the amount of

homes that now have electricity in South Africa has also doubled. Because of these
statistics we can see that the ANC is in some regards making good choices. The large
number of people being helped shows us these arent just minor changes being made;
things are being changed and fixed on a national level, which is what South Africa needs
right now. All of these services help contribute to the people of South Africa, aiding them
one way or another. One of the many harsh facts about South Africa was that they had a
high mortality rate and poor progression in modern medicine. In the past five years, South
Africa achieved one of the fastest mortality reduction rates the world has ever seen, as
well as treating many more tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS patients successfully. Both South
Africas mortality rate and medicine progression are headed in the right direction for the
future. South Africas public and communal services are improving incredibly, racism in
their laws has been virtually eliminated and their progression in medicine is evident. With
time and effort, South Africa may one day be able to step out of its third world shell and
house a happy, healthy community.
Since Apartheid in South Africa, many things have gotten better. However, many of South
Africas dilemmas and issues, fought for in the Anti-Apartheid movement, are still yet to be
solved. Since 1990, there is still prominent racism and Neo-Apartheid groups and ideals in
South Africa. Education is still a huge issue that desperately needs to be fixed, and there is
still corruption within and throughout South Africas government, even though the
government is run by the ANC. Racism in South Africa is still very much alive and
prominent. One act of racism seen most often in South Africa is segregation. In the town of
Orania, the population is entirely white and if a person of color wanted to stay in this
town,he or she would have to stay in the guesthouse. To live there you have to be
approved by a managing body. The premier of Western Cape (a South African province
populated mostly by whites) used racist wording when talking about how refugees
(blacks) flooded Cape Town schools. Alot of ethnical seperation doesnt happen forcibly.

Around fifty seven percent of all South Africans do not converse or socialize beyond their
race, and forty one percent of all South Africans find it hard to understand others religions
and customs. Much of the racism in South Africa is undocumented and is sometimes only
in mind and out of body. But these examples show racism still exists and that, even after
all the progress Nelson Mandela and the ANC have made, their work is far from over.
Another major challenge South Africa faces is the corruption of their government. In
August 2012, miners of the Lonmin mine (the worlds richest platinum mine) went on strike
protesting for better wages. The strike went on until heavily armed police forces sent by
President Zuma, ordered the strikers to go back to work. After the strikers did not obey, the
police officers opened fire at the strikers. The massacre left around thirty six dead, eighty
mortally wounded, and two hundred fifty six arrested for rioting. It was later found out that
the police were instructed by the president to open fire if they were threatened. Police
officials claim that they were attacked by some of the men on strike with knives and
machetes, while mourners and witnesses say that the police just opened fire. The
president is also being accused of stealing South Africas money via taxes and the
treasury, when he spent the equivalent of twenty four million dollars on his private home in
Nkandla. A court case was put against him for this, but the charges were dropped in 2009
for unknown reasons right before his election. For years, the ANC worked to provide a
better, honest government that gave equality to all, but when the time has finally come,
members of the ANC have become guilty of the same corruption that they fought not so
long ago. Because of the many allegations of corruption on the part of the president of
South Africa, the ANC and the government are now seen as untrustworthy and unreliable.
South Africas education system has been slowly eroding and is too weak today to
be effective. South Africa has been rated one hundred thirty three out of one hundred forty
four in terms of ranking in quality of teaching per country by the WEF (World Economic
Forum). Surveys and interviews also found out that some of the teachers could not even

solve some of the sixth grade math problems that they were teaching. In addition, South
Africas colleges are being paid so little, teachers are quitting by the thousands. The
current education system is producing uneducated individuals and putting them into
society with no knowledge on how to contribute to society and/or how to get a job,
increasing the unemployment rate by a substantial amount. The weak education system
really leaves long lasting impacts on South Africa and its people.
Among the many successes and failures of the ANCs and Anti-Apartheid
movements struggle for independence, there are many lessons that can be learned.
Wheres the line between living freely in poverty and being ruled by your poverty, the
effects of oppression include; anger, depression and mental as well as physical harming,
and how long does it take for the mind to become decolonized after such intense
colonization for so many years? Damaging someone on a racial level hurts not only their
pride, but their identity and spirit, and the restoration process for a wound like that
understandably takes a long time. South Africans were racially hurt and damaged for three
hundred years through oppression and discrimination, and it has only been a few years
since the situation in South Africa started getting better. Such a situation is likely to never
be forgotten. Such acts also cause tension and negativity between those two groups,
forming grudges that could last long periods of time. The colonization of the mind had
native South Africans mentally doubting their worth, reinforcing white supremacy in their
minds. It had them fighting against themselves and welcoming the colonizers, changing
their own religion and faith. It has already been two decades since the end of this law of
degradation, and it may take many more to fully get rid of a mindset like this. Poverty is not
uncommon in South Africa, eighty percent of the population is being paid around three
dollars an hour. The total amount of money you are making, compared to other ethnic
groups in South Africa, is infinitesimally small. At this point you are either managing with
what you have, with little leeway in what you chose to do, or struggling to make it, day by

day forced to make certain decisions because of your wealth. There is a fine line between
these two and the difference could deicide your freedom as an individual. To finalize,
oppression and discrimination make deep wounds in a groups social make up. How long
does it take to decolonize a mind that has been colonized for three hundred years? Where
is the line between being free and in poverty and being ruled by your poverty?
To conclude, the Anti-Apartheid movement had a variety of effects on South Africa.
The movement both failed and succeeded in different ways. The movement affected South
Africas people in negative ways. Finally there are many lessons to be learned about the
oppression that happened in and still happening in South Africa. You may be thinking,
what does any of this have to do with or affect me? This is a reasonable question. Many
have noticed that history repeats itself, and there are definitely some events in history, (like
the Apartheid) that are best left unrepeated because of all the damage and hurt they did to
the world. Since we are all in control of the future of our human kind, we have to make
sure those events in history stay in history. To do so, we must first understand the events.
World peace and the equality and respect of one another as a whole, rely on this.

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