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By Lorenzo, 2e 2 (Arts Plastiques), Lycée des Arènes, Toulouse

Apartheid meaning separate-ness in Afrikaans, cognate to English apart and -hood. It was a system of racial segregation in South Africa established in 1948.

Apartheid through Nelson Mandela

Part 1: The Birth of Apartheid (1944-1960):

-In the 1940s, Nelson Mandela was one of thousands of blacks who flocked to Johannesburg in search of work. At that time, a new political party came into power promoting a new idea: the separation of whites and blacks. Apartheid was born and along with it, a half-century-long struggle pain in South Africa .

Part 2: The Underground Movement (1960-1964)

In 1960, when the African National Congress was banned, resistance to apartheid went underground. Faced with an intensified government crackdown, Mandela controlled a rebel team (MK) - a military wing of the ANC - and the armed struggle began. Two years later, Mandela was arrested and sentenced for “high treason”. He and eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Watch the trailer from Goodbye Bafana, on Nelson Mandela in prison.

Part 3: Robben Island (1964-1976):

As Mandela and other political leaders continued their activities in prison, the government crackdown appeared to have crushed the resistance movement. But on June 16, 1976, a student uprising in Soweto sparked a new generation of activists.

Part 4: State of Emergency (1976-1990)

Guerilla soldiers on the border, unrest in the townships, striking workers and a wave of international attention were making South Africa’s system of apartheid untenable. Something had to happen - and it did on February 2^nd, 1990, when South African President F.W. de Klerk announced he would lift a 30-year ban on the ANC and free Mandela after 27 years in prison.

Part 5: Democracy (1990-1994)

Friday, April 30, 2004: On April 27, 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected and became South Africa’s first black president. But this triumph didn’t come easily. The four years between Mandela’s release and the transition to democracy were some of the most volatile and painful in the country’s history.

APARTHEID AFTERMATH

Population: 43,421,021

Number of psychologists: 5,000; 90 percent white; 57 percent clinical and counseling; 21 percent educational; 17 percent industrial and 5 percent research.

Racial breakdown: Black, 75.2 percent; White, 13.6 percent; Mixed race, 8.6 percent; Indian, 2.6 percent.

INEQUALITY

* HIV. The virus has infected as many as 30 percent of pregnant women in rural areas, creating “a local nightmare,”. Deaths of parents from HIV take a huge toll on children and families. Apartheid stoked the disease by dissolving families and allowing tuberculosis and other diseases to spread unchecked.

* Poverty and unemployment. South Africa’s wealth distribution is still hugely skewed, given that 10 percent of people - mostly whites - control 80 percent of the riches. As a result, many blacks continue to experience homelessness, live in degraded neighborhoods and are unemployed. A third of the population is jobless, and many more people are underemployed and undereducated.

* Racism. Racial tension continues to plague South Africa as tension builds over strained resources. Many whites resent programs such as affirmative action and school desegregation, and many blacks resent that whites retain most of the wealth.