Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and comes from a Xhosa royal family. In 1944, he joined the ANC (African National Congress) while a law student. In 1948, it’s the beginning of Apartheid (segregationist legislation). In 1952, he opened the first black cabinet of the country, not without difficulties. Mandela was arrested many times but, he continued his activities. After long hesitations, Mandela advocates the armed struggle against the Pretoria regime. But, after a trial, which he will lose, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and he will be locked up in Robben Island Prison. During his imprisonment, Mandela continued his fight for the equality of blacks and whites. Mandela became a world icon in the struggle for racial equality, and in the 1980s, he became a speaker to end the turmoil in the country. In February 1990, Mandela was released, and lead the ANC to negotiate for the  fall of Apartheid. With the number of conflicts, and under international pressure, the government had no choice to legalize Anti-Apartheid parties. After that, Mandela became president in 1994. But, the national party kept a part of power in the economy of the country. Moreover, to have a social peace with the other communities, Mandela paid the leaders of these communities. Despite this social peace, the country rest unequal, and it’s one of the main goals of the new President. In fact, whites earn about ten times more than blacks, and Mandela wants to reduce that, and that's why he announces a new development program. There will be free care for all pregnant women and for children  under  six,  and Mandela gives a portion of his salary to poor children. In addition to that, water and electricity will be distributed to many of homes, which, unfortunately, will always be insufficient in the number of requests.
Mandela's second main goal is to reconcile his country. For many years he fights with Desmond Tutu, an old friend. Thesy want to reconcile the country, for the well-being of all, but unfortunately, the blacks are always badly inserted in the society where before only reigned just the whites, we can see it in big cities like Cape Town. To conclude, we can say that Mandela played an important role in the history of South Africa, but that unfortunately, despite his ambition, racial inequalities remain important.

Nelson Mandela dies on december 5, 2013 in his home in Johannesburg in South Africa at 95 years old.

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