South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

From colonial times until nowadays, a deeply divided society exists in South Africa. These divisions are beyond skin colour and they are depicted in diverse political, economic, social and ideological conflicts.

In 1910 the formation of The Union of South Africa was an attempt to solve the problems of the inefficient government at the time. At that moment ‘blacks’ were completely being ignored. The ‘whites’, the Afrikaners (Dutch) and the British, had created a country in which ‘blacks’ did not exist politically, although they would have to recognize the reality of their presence, at least as a fundamental economic force. There were two ways of doing this: the first was to recognise their rights as South African citizens, a plan that in the 1910s-20s was not very utilized (during this decades there was oppression to ‘blacks’ in many African countries, as well as, a strong separation between ‘blacks’ and ‘whites’ in the USA); or secondly, to systematically deny them their place in the society. The white minority chose the second option that would later become known as apartheid. Although the apartheid was born officially in 1948, it was undoubtedly cultivated in the South African legislation since the 1910s-20s.

A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982.

Social Sciences helped South Africa’s politicians and leaders at that time to created the segregationist discourse. They wanted to insist on differences and the contemporary ideas of concepts such as culture, ethnicity, society and so on helped them. They held that there were essential and insuperable differences between Africans and Europeans. Therefore, in South Africa, different ‘human groups’ existed with evident physical differences that conformed inevitably to some not so evident objective cultural differences. In this way it would be possible to conclude that physical differences can create inequalities.

Likewise, other important fact in the segregationist discourse was the development of the Afrikaner nationalism. Afrikaners needed to define themselves against ‘the others’, ‘blacks’ and other minorities that existed in the country but they were not ‘white British’ either. Thus, a wave of nationalism began expand throughout the region during the earlier 20th century. As a result of that, in 1948 the nationalist party came to power and it created the apartheid law that completely separated ‘blacks’ and ‘whites’ in South Africa.

In 1994 this legal system was eliminated but the consequences of that period remain yet in the society. Nowadays South Africa is quite a dangerous country and it is involved in a reconciliation process. The future is, without doubt, uncertain but they are now on the right path.

The first time that ‘blacks’ are allowed to vote, 1994.

The present of the country and the future...