Nelson Mandela

Many of you will have heard of Nelson Mandela and have a vague idea as to why he is so famous.

Many people can clearly ' remember what they were doing when, in 1990, television in the UK cut to a live broadcast from South Africa of an elderly man, with his wife, leaving his "home" for 27 years - prison.

World-wide interest was overwhelming for a man labeled a "terrorist" by the South African government of the day and who had barely escaped the death penalty. The man was Nelson Mandela. His release symbolized the start of the end of the system that had sent him to prison - apartheid. Mandela was one o fthe leaders ' who fought against a system I known as "apartheid" that was used by the white government in South Africa. Mandela was one of the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and was arrested for his work. Tried for terrorism and treason, he narrowly escaped the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison.

During Nelson Mandela's time in prison, the lifeslyle of black South Africans got worse, On June 16 1976, this anger spilled over in the township of Soweto when school children took to the streets and rioted. Many were killed by the police while this protest went on. 2001 was the 25th anniversary of the Soweto protests.

Apartheid was the name given to the system of government used by the whites in South Africa. It was introduced in 1948 and led to a govemment of white people in a country that was mostly made up of black Africans. Black Africans were excluded. from government. Apartheid as a political system ended in the mid-1990s. It had a terrible impact oh South Africans while it was in existence - and its impact still has a bearing on the South Africa of today.

Nelson Mandela 1- Worksheet

"The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step in our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. "

Nelson Mandela