Discrimination Against South Africa - Research Paper Example

Running Head: Prejudice and Discrimination Impact of prejudice and discrimination against South Africa South Africa is one of the African countries, which is rich in history and culture. Different racial and cultural groups ranging from Afrikaners to the Indians are staying together in South Africa. This paper analyzes the prejudices and discrimination against South Africa: the Coloureds and the Black Africans Introduction “At least 77% of South Africans are Black Africans.”South Africa has a very diverse and rich cultural nature and therefore has no National Culture. There are several different ethnic groups out of them the most popular being: Zulus (South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture) The South African governments were controlled by the white people till Nelson Mandela successfully led the agitations against them and dethroned their ruling and became the first elected president of South Africa in 1994. Till then the black South African people were victims of discrimination and prejudices even thought they were the largest community in South Africa. Coloureds and the Black Africans Coloureds are a mix of Black Africans and (British) Whites. They are so named because of the apartheid regime, as a way a labeling them; however, since then they have developed their own distinct culture. They reside mostly in the Northern and Western Cape. About 80% speak Afrikaans and 20% speak English. (South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture) The colored people are a mixed race with its ancestors belongs to Europe, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Malaya, Mozambique, and Mauritius like countries. The South African society were divided four main racial groups during the apartheid era; Blacks, Whites, Coloureds and Indians. Based on the color of the people the political rights were also varied among these groups. The whites enjoyed supremacy in every field of life like political cultural and religious things. Even the people from the same religion experienced discrimination because of their skin color. Earlier the political rights of the coloreds were similar to that of the whites though their rights to earn income and property were limited by the law. Prejudices and Discrimination Prejudice is the positive or negative evaluation of a social group and its members. It differs from stereotyping in that the emphasis with prejudice focuses more on emotional than cognitive factors. Prejudice is largely an attitude. (Prejudice and discrimination) Historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors all contribute to prejudice. In South Africa, the minority white people controlled the entire process of ruling of the country. They have taken this right as granted to them till leader of African national Congress (ANC), Nelson Mandela successfully led the struggle which resulted in transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa. “The Khoi San were the true original indigenous people of South Africa. They were stripped of their right to call themselves Africans and were labeled colored. They were robbed of their land, culture, language, and identity. (Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa) The local African community was excited when they heard the ending of apartheid. But as the time passes, they realized that nothing has changed for them. The white people were still kept a distance from them and they were failed to enjoy the human rights which the white people enjoys. Although many people are still working to end this discrimination, Black Africans don’t have their own history and identity even now. “Education and awareness are the only ways to end the struggles of the black Africans of South Africa. Although they have progressed much as a people, they still have a long way to go. As time passes their plight is sure to become better, just as African Americans lives have become better in this country since segregation ended. The Black Africans are a strong people and they will accomplish their goals in time as they unite and become stronger as a people.” (Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa) Although apartheid has ended, conditions for Black Africans have not changed much. Many black Africans live way below the poverty line and many Afrikaners live above it, creating a division among them. Most of the wealth is accumulated among the white people. The black people are still weak economically, politically and culturally. It is easy for the white people to dominate in every aspects of human life in South Africa even now because of the above factors. In South Africa the infection and deaths from HIV/AIDS exceeds that in most other countries. More over the HIV/AIDS problems found mostly among the black community which opened another door for discrimination. The white people were eagerly waiting for a genuine reason to keep the black people at a distance since in the present century; it is a shame for a civilized society to follow the racial discrimination. The HIV/AIDS problem provided them another opportunity to sustain the discrimination which was supposed to be ended once. Government inaction and certain dangerously mistaken beliefs and abusive practices concerning the protection from the disease are largely responsible for this line of discrimination. The illusions about the spreading of AIDS are deliberately spreaded by the white population to keep the black people away from them. Apartheid Apartheid is a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against people who are not Whites. (Definitions of apartheid on the Web) Apartheid separated all Europeans and other races living in South Africa. The African community has divided over the color of their skin during this period. “The system of racial segregation first promulgated by the largely Afrikaner National Party of South Africa in 1948. On a much larger scale was the allocation of 12% of the land area into ‘independent republics’, or ‘homelands’, for the African population, which comprised 69% of the population when the policy began, in 1954.” (Apartheid) The main aim of this apartheid policy was to tie up the Africans to their ‘homelands’ alone which will be governed and developed separately by the white’s government. The black people were allowed to enter the white premises only when the black labor was required. Public places or facilities such as lavatories, transport, parks, and theatres were divided into two groups: white and non-white. In 1990 South Africa’s last non-indigenous president lifted the ban on the ANC and released all political prisoners including Nelson Mandela. The Homelands system was abolished with the end of Apartheid and independent elections were held with equal voting right to all irrespective of the color which resulted in the making of Mandela as the first president of South Africa after the apartheid ended. Conclusions South Africa can be considered as the latest country which escaped from the social evil of different class system based on the color (apartheid). The South African society consists of people from different parts of the world. But all of them treated differently by white led government. The white people in South Africa considered themselves as “privileged people”. Nelson Mandela is supposed to be the leader who led the struggle against the racial dominance of the white people. Even now, though the apartheid is ended, the white people still keeping the black people away citing different reasons like HIV/AIDS. References 1. South African Culture: How Prejudice and Discrimination Have Colored Culture, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://allpoetry.com/column/show/2191070 2. Prejudice and Discrimination in South Africa, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/prejudice-south-africa 3. Prejudice and Discrimination, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.psypress.com/pip/resources/slp/topic.asp?chapter=ch21&topic=ch21-sc-03 4. Definitions of apartheid on the Web Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:apartheid&ei=ZRnFSZbqKYKHkQXKpZXEDA&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title 5. Apartheid, Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/apartheid Read More