On Sunday (July 13, 2008) is for 10 days after Bad Karlshafen (near Kassel) to our preparation seminar.
First, we had a report on a regional studies Present topic. I chose the topic of "apartheid in South Africa".
In this blog post I will now publish this report.
We also had a summary of the report in the local language (in my case English) to write, but I will not do that to you here!
Both reports you can but for me to receive, as a PDF file if you are interested because (-> see contact). Read
So, have fun:
______________________________________________________
THE APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA
apartheid is to Afrikaans separated "," individually "or" very . It is the term for the racial segregation that has taken place in South Africa from 1948 to 1990-94.
originally lived in the region south of the Zambezi, the tribal people of the San . In the 17th and 18 Century penetrated Bantu-speaking groups from the North a majority in the settlement area, and displaced the San.
mid-15 Century established the first European settlements on the coast sailors. Over 200 years later at the Cape of Good Hope established a supply station, the merchant ships supplied with food. This led to today's city of Cape Town (Cape Town ).
The Dutch, mostly farmers (from the 18th century they were known for their profession as Buren), settled in large numbers in the area and farmed and traded with the locals. In exploration they found coming from the north Xhosa .
followed wars with the Xhosa in which the Boers were victorious. Later also attacked the British a warlike and presented their own demands.
British apartheid
At the start of the 20th Century began an ethnic separation in the wake of the newly formed Union of South Africa . These formed a government, the South African from the four Provinces Natal, Cape Colony , Orange Free State and Transvaal was formed. Black, Coloured and Asians but did not get a vote. Sexual contact between the races was prohibited under penalty. This "segregation policy " was supported by the whites with a variety of laws.
In many other laws (Acts ) was tightened this policy. It was forbidden to non-whites to live outside of demarcated reserves. The so-called homelands included but only about 7% of South African territory, where almost the entire population of South Africa was not white.
Boer apartheid
During the Second World War took part in South Africa alongside the British in military conflicts. But the (Boer) nationalists, like the majority of the voting population were against a military intervention in the affairs and openly sympathized with the German Nazi regime. So it happened in 1948, a transfer of power, of the Afrikaner Party (National Party ) helped to power. They ruled until 1989. The Dutch-born
Boers were influenced by Calvinism, which John Calvin's doctrine of predestination "( the doctrine of the predetermined fate of the human ) Advanced. From this tradition, the segregation was justified.
Through the power of the Boers was aggravated racial segregation in South Africa significantly. Although before 1948 were excluded from the mostly black politics and economics, so there were some who were still living outside the reserves, their farms there cultivated or offering for sale goods and trade.
These "holes" were closed by the new government piece by piece.
It follows an ethnic division of the South African population into four groups: White, Black , Colored (mixed blood) and Asians . The criteria were very flimsy and did a lot of room for arbitrariness. From then determined the racial order, the entire life. In public places, a strict separation of whites and non-whites were required. Mixed marriages were forbidden.
The Group Areas Act of 13 June 1950 was enshrined the separation of residential areas. In urban areas, separate living areas (townships ) for the various breeds have been created, the training also depends on the appropriate race. Black had a pass out of their reserves with them. So in urban areas should be tolerated only those blacks who worked there also.
The apartheid was created.
nevertheless was the standard of living, educational opportunities through schools and universities as well as medical care and thus the life expectancy of blacks is higher than in all other African countries, which is why South Africa was confronted during the apartheid with illegal immigration from the northern coastal states.
The small and the large apartheid
were distinguished during apartheid, two essential aspects of racial politics: The
small apartheid was the daily discrimination and isolation of non-whites that was apartheid large spatial separation in the large Scale, the actual segregation or homeland politics. The small
apartheid was seen in the racial segregation in the public sector: There were separate toilets, separate compartments in public transport, various inputs in public buildings for whites and non-whites, etc. Some tested the limits of the acceptance of whites. Most however, were afraid to leave their safe area. Thus they lived quietly and were not driven out or reviewed by the police.
The great apartheid was far more ideological than the small ones. The legally prescribed membership of a racial category (in identity documents by letter codes, for example - C - registered for Coloureds,) had many disadvantages for the population, according to their skin color:
The residential areas of the white population were consistently in the geographically and structurally the most pleasant districts of each town. Have the designated area for the whites too tight, had to admit the colored parts of their neighborhoods and build new in newly designated areas. A famous example of the evacuation of the District Six in the heart of Cape Town and the forced resettlement of about 60,000 people in the 20 km distant sandy Khayelitsha was [where I'm going to live the way the year!].
banished so far outside in the secluded residential areas, often behind natural or artificial hills and dumps, the black population was not considered part of the community.
the different school systems and content, each graded qualifications of teachers and facilities, were partly responsible for unequal career opportunities. Even today, estimated more than two-thirds of the residents of Khayelitsha are unemployed. To implement
the pillars of apartheid to a huge bureaucracy was necessary. Approximately four million blacks were arrested for lack of residence permits, which called itself an enormous administrative burden. Furthermore, million blacks had to be resettled. Overall, some 3.5 million blacks had to give up their existing homes. This was not without protests, which led to numerous arrests. The government destroyed entire settlements, so as to force the blacks to resettle.
resistance of the black
Shortly after the formation of the South African Union of the African National Congress (ANC) was founded. This organization was basically open to all, regardless of skin color, and accepted both Christianity and the English language. The ANC saw itself as a black opposition party, which demanded full civil rights. For a long time he was peacefully through boycotts and strikes against the state policy.
Over time, the ANC was increasingly becoming one of a mass organization. It has been demonstrated, for example, against the poor working conditions of miners or against the pass laws, but also against the homeland policy and the electoral law. But not all joined the ANC, many non-whites saw segregation a chance to calm the racial hatred of whites and live the way back to their tradition.
Above all, because of disputes within the many tribes in South Africa there have been repeated wars, which cost the ANC's unity and credibility. The government tried to Human rights activists of the ANC again and again to frustrate its work.
Since some members of the ANC, the most peaceful actions do not go far enough, they founded a militant resistance organization, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Unlike the ANC was the attitude of this pure black-organization clearly against the apartheid regime and against the white population. But the ANC even established an armed wing. Nelson Mandela led this wing with the name Umkonto we Sizwe, which translated means "Spear of the Nation" means. Umkonto we Sizwe committed in the following years, in particular acts of sabotage.
followed many demonstrations and riots, which were bloodily suppressed by the government. In the course of which was banned the ANC and the PAC. Both organizations had now operate in the underground. Leading resistance fighters, including Nelson Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964.
from 1960 took the self-confidence of black people too much. They were no longer tries to copy the culture of the whites but lifted out of their own values. Influenced by the Black Power movement in the United States originated in South Africa, the Black Consciousness Movement , founded by the celebrated resistance fighter Steve Biko. The consequences of the new self-confidence were partly violent student unrest, the equality demanded. On 16
June 1976 boycotted school in the Johannesburg township of Soweto teaching. This was in connection with the forced introduction of the hated among blacks Afrikaans language . lost by brutal police operations in a few days, nearly a thousand black lives and many children and young people were detained. World famous is the photo of the dying 12-year old Hector Pieterson in the arms of a fellow student. Thereafter, the armed resistance was increased sharply and the resulting riots destabilized the entire country.
But there were also supporters of the South African government. For example, the USA used 21 times in the Security Council to veto resolutions against South Africa. Companies such as IBM have helped with logistical and technological resources to the regime. Furthermore, Israel has carried out during the arms embargo, weapons trade with the regime. The importance of South Africa for the United States was among others in the uranium deposits in the country.
Even German companies currently are accused of having participated in the apartheid in South Africa. In October 2007 procedures, inter alia, the German bank, Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank, DaimlerChrysler, and Rheinmetall been opened.
have also Swiss banks and industrial companies repeatedly and massively ignored the UN sanctions and prolonged the existence of the apartheid regime. The wide
Consensus, however, was directed from abroad against the apartheid regime.
Thus, as from world-wide boycott call against South African fruit and protested against the large German commercial banks with South Africa. Iran banned its citizens even to South Africa to enter and Paul Simon did with his 1986 album "Graceland " many people to the attention of apartheid. Thus, the apartheid was still more enemies.
The end of apartheid
The protests of blacks and other factors made the apartheid from 1974 to crumble more and more. In various UN general assembly has been started to stop and take action against apartheid. Thus, the apartheid a "crime against humanity "classified. With this convention, a" criminal liability under international law to be justified.
The Boer government approached only very slowly to the idea of blacks. Although the most famous leaders were in prison, was the opposition more and more. Many brutal rebellions the government had to deal with emergency procedures, which, however, blasted the state capacity. The costs of apartheid were no longer viable.
was during the Cold War, the white apartheid regime (in spite of some sanctions) for the U.S. and Western Europe as a bulwark against Communism, also because South Africa has significant uranium reserves. After Mozambique and Angola received its independence and the scene of bloody wars have been released, support for South Africa even more important. After the Cold War the United States and Western Europe lost interest in the land and dropped the old regime.
As the increasingly improved organization of non-white opposition, which took over in fact in the 80 years the management of the township, led to the permanent state of emergency began, at first secret negotiations with the leaders of the ANC in exile.
1989 took Frederik Willem de Klerk succeeds Pieter Willem Botha as South African president. De Klerk was at once negotiations with the still always imprisoned ANC leader Mandela. He placed the immediate release of Mandela in view on the condition that he renounce the armed resistance. Mandela was not into it.
De Klerk found himself now so much pressure that he released Mandela, together with the other political prisoners in 1990 had. The two opposition parties, ANC and PAC were re-legalized.
Because this is so important factors of resistance of black people, international pressure, the economic crisis (fall in the gold price), the change of governance of Botha to de Klerk and the steadfastness of Mandela in the negotiations with de Klerk broke the white authority in the early 90s, step by step together. In a referendum in March 1992 from 68.7 percent of whites said the abolition of racial segregation.
The transition from apartheid to legal equality lasted from 1990 to 1994. During this time, the remaining laws of segregation were eliminated. All residents of South Africa, people could move freely without any restrictions. Many blacks took advantage of this opportunity and moved to cities, which caused a flooding of the townships. Today, living in Khayelitsha Township, that was scheduled to start for 40,000 people, nearly 2.5 million people.
Some tribal leaders were, however, during the Transition period their power threatened. In the ensuing riots and tribal clashes killed thousands of people.
1994 it came to the first general elections in South Africa. The ANC won 62.6 percent of outstanding and Mandela became the first president appointed the new system. He is supported by two popular Vice-President de Klerk of the National Party (NP) and Thabo Mbeki were from the ANC.
The previous riots had plunged South Africa into an economic crisis, which brought a large national debt with it. The final elimination of inequality between the races and building a better school system, and improved basic services for blacks caused horrendous Costs. Also there were many disputes between blacks who have been displaced from their land in the homelands and the whites who had purchased this land at that time lawfully by the former government - similar to the abolition of intra-German border.
1999 Mbeki elected president. He tightened his tenure, the privatization of state enterprises. This led to job cuts and more expensive electricity and water rates. More and more black people, who suffer particularly under these measures are increasingly dissatisfied with the policies of the ANC. They accuse him that the ANC had been elected from the left while working class, but in the interests of right " bourgeoisie 'reign.
In this context, perhaps the recent unrest in South Africa against immigrants from Zimbabwe and other neighboring countries to see: The poverty within the black population has become so great that people are afraid to lose from the increase are new immigrants, their existence .
Half of the South African black population lives below the poverty line, a quarter even in complete poverty!
Mandela and de Klerk received for her efforts against apartheid in 1993 the Nobel Peace Prize.
In line with the South African regime today a systematic racial discrimination, referred in particular by a government apparatus, as apartheid. In Orania
there is still a small community of Boers, who see themselves as the new nucleus of a South African Boer state and openly stand for the restoration of apartheid.
0 comments:
Post a Comment