Struggles as a result of Apartheid in South Africa
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Rise to Glory: Kingdoms of the South
EFFECTS OF APARTHEID
Apartheid affected most people in South Africa in some way. For most whites, privilege was made more secure. But for most South Africans apartheid meant great hardship.
The Group Areas Act affected the lives of thousands of people, in that many people were forcibly removed from their homes because they were living in mixed race areas that the government had allocated to other races, usually whites.
Whole communities were transported by the police to new areas far away from their old homes, which were often bulldozed to the ground. In rural areas any blacks who farmed in white areas were removed, to reduce the competition to white farmers. This had a profound impact on traditional society, which was often based on land ownership and the possession of cattle.
Families were broken down by the Pass laws, which made it impossible for a man to bring his family with him when he went to work in town. Men lived in hostels in the townships, while their families stayed at home in poverty in the rural areas. Because poverty was so widespread, most young men weren't even able to pay a bride price.
All of these events and more had irreversible effects in South Africa. But the system of apartheid could not last forever. Inevitably it would fall and in 1990 the African National Congress took power with Nelson Mandela as President.
Nelson Mandela had been jailed for more than 20 years for his struggle to abolish apartheid. For the first time, South Africa was a liberated and equal nation. For the first time the true history of South Africa was acknowledged.
