Racial segregation: Historic period
Introduction
South Africa lived gloomy times during the so -called Apartheid, a historical period based on racial segregation or separation, which emerged around 1948 until 1991. The goal of apartheid was to separate the races (white, Asian, mestizos or colared, bantu or black) both legally and geographically, establishing a hierarchy in which the white race dominated the rest.
In the midst of a scenario where discrimination was institutionalized, dreams of freedom were increasingly difficult to obtain and any act of rebellion was imminent punishment. However, there were men who were able to sacrifice everything for their principles, willing to give their lives to achieve the freedom of their peers. One of them was Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa.
"Let the freedom rule. The sun never puts on such a glorious human achievement, ”used to say the man who would become president of South Africa.
Developing
Firm in its principles, mandella declared the open war on apartheid, in search of ending any racial segregation sample in the territory. It was not easy, especially because the problem was highly rooted since the 40s. But what really looking for apartheid? The term means separation in Afrikaans, a South African variant of the Dutch language, translates as "separation" and directly alludes to social and territorial distribution in favor of the white race.
In those years, social division in South Africa was palpable. Whites were the only men with the right to vote, marriages and sexual relations between blacks and blacks were totally prohibited, separate places were created, both housing and study and entertainment, for different racial groups.
Many are the anecdotes of how these communities (mostly black) were oppressed, humiliated, violated and displaced from their families because of apartheid, but one of the most significant cases within this fight was Sharpeville’s massacre, which hadplace on March 21, 1960 in the middle of a protest organized by the African National Congress and the Pan -African Congress.
In an attempt to protest against the passes established by apartheid so that the black communities could mobilize over their territory, 300 police officers decided to open fire and fired for about two minutes to see that they could not control or end themanifestation. According to official investigation, 69 people were killed and 180 were seriously injured.
Although apartheid ended in 1991 with the help of Nelson Mardela and the African National Party (CNA) and its stories still cause outrage today, how far is the modern society of racial discrimination? Did this problem really end?
According to human rights organizations and various activists, racism continues implicit in our society. It is only enough to look at the news or stop to observe the racial distribution in the work and socio -economic fields of our cities to perceive that the ideology of racial superiority currently survives. Regardless of the level of development, division and segregation remains latent in different parts of the world, although it is not as palpable as before.
We can see that in the United States, the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency only showed allegedly overcome problems. Racism samples, intolerance towards the Muslim community and their hate policies towards immigrants, are just a sample that we still live in a mentally colonial society.
conclusion
Police abuses about people of color and recent demonstrations of the Ku Klux Klan are justified by thousands of people in the United States, as well as the rejection of Latinos by Americans. It is evident that apartheid’s principles were not only a problem in South Africa, but they are cancer that does not know time or space borders.
We must become aware and learn that respect and peace begin when we learn to value people not because of their skin color or socioeconomic status, but because we are all human and our intellect and our abilities will never be limited by our skin color orfor the money we have or the religion to which we belong.
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