Racism problems in South Africa

South Africa is a country which consists of around 49,991,300 people. These people can be divided into four ethnic groups, the white, the black, the colored and the Asian. South Africa also has eleven official languages. With this many different people there are bound to be conflicts. In this blog post I will study racism problems in South Africa and how Africa's background affects this.

South Africa was ruled by apartheid between 1948 and 1994. Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation and was enforced by the National Party government of South Africa. In the time of apartheid the white people maintained their minority rule. The inhabitants of South Africa where divided into four groups, where the white people where the only ones with the right to vote. The other three groups, who where the majority of the population where discriminated against in almost every way possible. There where restrictions as to where they were allowed to work, shop, live and even where they were allowed to sit and go to the bathroom. Racial segregation in South Africa had been known since colonial times, but it was first in 1998 it was legalized. Many people fought against apartheid, and among them where Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa in 1918 and became South Africa’s first black president in 1994. He was also the first president who had been freely selected by all citizens of the country, and he won by a landslide. For a long time Nelson Mandela had been an activist in fighting against apartheid, and for this he was sent to prison. He spent 27 years of his life on Robben Island   which was a prison for political prisoners. Mandela was released in 1990 and immediately began working for a multiethnic democracy in South Africa. He gained the Nobel Prize for this work in 1993. In 1994 Nelson Mandela became president and apartheid was at an end. In his homeland South Africa people called him Madiba, which is a name of honor used on older members of his tribe. Nelson Mandela had become a symbol of peace and equality both nationally and internationally.

In class we saw the movie Invictus, which is a true story. This movie was about how Nelson Mandela, after reaching presidency, tried to rid South Africa of racism. Not all white people where happy with a black president and some of the black people thought that now they would be the ones on top. Nelson Mandela tried to peacefully change people’s opinions about each other. He wanted to make people realize that even though they came in different colors they were all worth the same. In the movie Mandela’s opinions become clear when he supports a rugby team that used to be a front for racism. He tries to unite South Africa in support of their country’s rugby team. At first neither the white people nor the black people like this, but in the end when the team win’s it looks like Mandela is one step closer to his goal.

Today the different ethnic groups are still affected by the apartheid politics. This is very visible when we look at South Africa’s economics. The white people still control most of the country’s resources, while mostly black people live close to poverty. You can also find traces of apartheid politics in crime. Close to 2000 white farmers have been killed by black farmers since Mandela took over in 1994.

Sources:

Haugum, Eva with others, Worldwide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_under_apartheid

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela

The movie Invictus, 2009

9|11

September 11^th 2001 is a day the world will remember forever. It was on this day four planes where hijacked and used in a terror attack against the United States of America. Two planes crashed into the World Trade center, one flew into Pentagon and the fourth went down on a field in Pennsylvania. The fourth plane was heading in the direction of Washington D.C so it is believed that the original target was the white house. All passengers in all of the flights died. This terror attack was orchestrated by Al-Qaida and lead to some serious consequences.

Today we have seen a movie about 9/11. This movie was different than any other movie I have ever seen on this particular topic. The movie was filmed by two brothers from France, who were working on a documentary about a rookie firefighter.  They had been following the firefighters for a while and when September 11^th came, they had no idea where it would lead them. What made this movie so different from everything I have ever seen about 9/11 is that it was filmed from the midst of the chaos. The firemen went to the scene as soon as the first plane hit. They tried to get control over the situation and when the second plane hit they had already sent firefighters up the stairs to evacuate the people. One of the two brothers who were filming the documentary was inside the lobby together with the fire chiefs. He kept on filming everything that happened, so in the movie we get a peak at what was really going on in there. The firefighters established a base in the lobby, and with the power out their only means of communication where their walkie talkies. They couldn't evacuate people through the main entrance because people higher in the tower had started jumping, so they lead them out another entrance. Everyone who was still inside when the towers went down died. Some of the firefighters in the lobby and the one making the movie managed to get out alive.

The media’s role was incredibly important in the event of 9/11. The entire world was watching as the twin towers fell, and they were shocked by what they saw. I am sure that no one will ever forget the sight of the towers one by one collapsing to dust. When the first plane hit there was confusion, and by the time the second one hit it was clear that this was not an accident. For the USA this was unimaginable. They had never ever before been attacked in their own home, so to speak.

The terror attack on the United States of America was followed by serious consequences. The lives of nearly 3,000 people and 19 hijackers were lost. Out of the 2,752 people who died at the World Trade center 343 of them where firefighters. The USA responded to the attack by invading Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban. The Taliban had harbored Al-Qaida terrorists. This War of Terror is still going on today, and it is affecting most of the world. 9/11 also came with a lot of economical consequences. Lower Manhattan was left with destruction of billions of dollars worth of office spaces. It also caused the global stock marked to drop sharply. The collapse of the twin towers also had an effect on the people’s health. A lot of toxic debris was released during the collapse, and this has caused several people to die of cancer years after the terror attack. It has also caused debilitating illnesses among the rescue and recovery workers.

The movie 9/11 made a real impression on me. I feel like it’s the first time I have really seen what happened that day. On September 11^th 2001, I was only 8 years old. I can remember watching the twin towers come crashing down on the television, but I didn't really get what was going on. I think that I heard what was happening, but it just wasn't real to me. Even though I now feel that I know more about it, I still can't imagine what it must have been like to be there during this catastrophe.

The world will always remember 9/11.

Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Before Christmas we watched the movie Narnia: The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Narnia is a very good movie and it is based on a book by C.S. Lewis.

In the beginning of the movie we find ourselves in England during World War 1. This is where we meet the four children who are the main characters in the movie. The names of these children are Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy and they are siblings. Because of the war they are evacuated to the country where they live with a professor and his housekeeper. It is in this house they find the wardrobe that leads them to another world named Narnia.

The movie is mainly a movie about family, war and good vs. evil. In Narnia the children becomes the front figures of a great war between the creatures of Narnia and the white witch. Like I said I think Narnia is a very good movie

The author of Narnia C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963. He was an Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. C.S. Lewis is probably most known for “the Chronicles of Narnia” which consists of seven books and as of yet three movies. The fact that the books about Narnia take place during World War 1 is not a coincidence. C.S. Lewis lived during World War 1 and in 1917 he left his studies and volunteered in the British army.

Not everybody knows of C.S. Lewis long friendship with, who I believe to be one of the greatest authors ever, J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien has written a lot of books, but he is most famous for his awesome trilogy “Lord of the Rings”. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien both taught at Oxford University and shared an interest for literature. Furthermore, Tolkien influenced Lewis to become a Christian and Lewis helped Tolkien expand his fictional writing.    

C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien also had some serious disagreements, especially concerning Lewis’ Narnia books. Tolkien thought that they held too many obvious Christian symbols and messages. He believed that it became too much for the reader. An example of a Christian message in Narnia: The lion, the witch and the wardrobe is Aslan sacrificing himself on the stone table. Aslan is a lion, and a lion is a commonly used symbol for Christ. With this in mind the scene where Aslan sacrifices himself is a symbol for Christ who sacrificed his life and was resurrected for a final battle against evil.