Apartheid and legal segregation in South Africa: how did the experience used to be?

Question

We have all read about Apartheid rule in South Africa even in recent times like the late 80's. Can any older members of South African community share their personal experiences from that era? I mean all those visuals you have like segregated water fountains, beaches, housing, foot-bridges, who you can meet with, who you can talk to -all that sounds like a fairy tale to the modern ear. But, all that did happen like just 17 years ago.

Anyone wants to take me down the memory lane? :) I would love to hear some real experiences at personal level.

Answer 1

I wonder what you have read about apartheid? Whether it was the truth or the propaganda put out by the ANC and its Communist Allies?

Mandela and his ANC inherited the strongest economy in Africa, indeed, despite economic sanctions, South Africa was still one of the richest world nations, and indeed initially there was a brief post Apartheid boom, resulting from the lifting of sanctions and due to the fact that until affirmative action forced most of the whites out of their jobs to be replaced by under qualified blacks, those who had built South Africa were still in place.

Today it is like watching some barbaric version of “back to the future", on the news we see exactly the same scenes we saw on our televisions twenty years ago, wrecked buildings, burning vehicles, mobs brandishing machetes, axes and knives hacking at everything and everyone which comes within their reach. Most horrific of all, we see the return of that most savage symbol of African brutality, the necklace where, to the cheers of a blood thirsty crowd, some poor trembling soul, with a tire around his neck, is dragged from his home and set alight, exactly as all those other poor souls were set alight throughout the Apartheid years, when we were told it was all the evil white man's fault.

Answer 2

I thought your question is full of nonsense but when i was reading I laughed at  'all that sounds like a fairy tale to the modern ear. But, all that did happen like just 17 years ago'.

Ok, what you read is true, and we have nothing more to say than 'we are proud it is now over'

Answer 3

imagine if we did not have apartheid,  then blacks would be screaming that the white man destroyed our culture and turned us all into whities.

Apartheid meant separate development, those blacks that wanted to live the European lifestyle had the opportunity to get an education and be a productive member of the economy, it was Murdering Mandela and his terrorist gangs that destroyed the black schools and prevented people from going to work by necklacing them or just violently murdering them.

We, whites, had our own facilities because the blacks, as they have proved since integration, are not civilised enough to mix with whites and destroy everything that they touch, just because they can.

What the world learned about apartheid was pure propaganda, aimed at demonizing the SA whites so that they  could be destroyed and ceased to be a threat to American and European trade, which played right into the hands of the moslem and Chines who are the new colonials in Africa and are forcing the exclusion of any other foreign influence there.

As for the hatred of Black Americans for SA whites, who gives a shitt, they just hate all whites no matter where they are from, this just gives them a focus for that hatred, this is why they call themselves Afro-Americans instead of just Americans.

Personally if I woke up tomorrow and did not see a black face anywhere, I would certainly not go and look for one.

EDIT..

America still has apartheid with no native American represented in their government and still living on reservations treated like dogs in their own country, at least we South Africans did not try to ehtnic cleans the blacks in Africa, in fact they bread like rats under the whitemans rule, with free medical and hospitalization, free  education etc.

Answer 4

Im not old enough.

Mandela was released when I was in Std 8, we had black students join our white gov. school and they kept to themselves - they were probably so scared of us.

I remember when we used to go to the beach and it was full of white kids. And how scared everyone was once the beaches were opened up.

I remember once I was watching the comrades marathon (I was about 13) and a black boy tried to kiss me ... and how shocked I was and how stressed out my parents were when I told them, and how I couldnt go and watch the comrades alone anymore (and we lived along the route)

I remember our gardener used to call me "khosasaan" (zulu) and how many of his daughters the same age as me died. And eventually he died of TB.

PS Sweetheart, making humans eat from dog bowls is aweful, that was not something I ever experienced, or made someone else experience.

I also studied home economics at school ... it does not help with my ironing skills!!

Answer 5

Sweetheart,

(A)THERE WAS NO SUBJECTS TEACHING BLACK KIDS HOW TO GARDEN!

(B)ALMOST ALL WHITE FEMALES DID HOME ECONOMICS

There is no use trying to get a reasonable truthful answer here. Rather google for stories of people who had written books about it. People are selling you bullsh!t while telling you it is sweets.

Answer 6

I was too young to understand and I was not at the recieving end of it. We did have a helper I vaguely remember. But from what I have heard it wasnt a picnic for those under it. I'm glad I did not grow up with that mentality or hate and hope no one holds me reponsible for what it is others did. Its the past and we should move on. Although it is sad what people lost and suffered. I would pass on a story if it did not make me feel guilty and teary, but seeing an old man cry then become angry then cry is too much.

Answer 7

Public places -  Black people were not allowed to use the white people's toilets.  A sign "whites only" was placed at an entry of the toilets.  At the Beach - Black people couldn't swim with the white people.  Even in some of the shops and supermarket the was an entrance for whites only and for blacks. White people were treated like diamonds, they were untouchable, black people were not even allowed to look at them. They had a better education system than black kids, some of the subjects in black schools were home economics and gardening, (teaching young black girls how to work  in th kitchen and to iron clothes for the white people and young black boys, how to work in a white man's garden)  I still don't understand it though because they had black maids and nannies looking after their houses and kids.  Oh and also they used to use their dogs plates to give food to their black garden boys and maids.  Now it's all messed up coz Black people remembers all these cruel things and some of them are paying revenge (which is pointless) Now the white people are crying and complaining that they are being left out and the government is doing BLACK ECOMOMIC EMPOWERMENT. (B.E.E) leaving the white people out.  I can't tell you alot coz it's really disgusting what they did to Black people.  That's why most of the African Americans hate white South Africans with a passion.

Answer 8

You came too late to understand why certain ignition has made society what it is today. No matter how your answers fetch here for you > in the end it did serve both parties right. Naive rather who are victims you or me.

Answer 9

Like you mentioned, most part of what you describe is nothing but fairy tales and more fairy tales.

Answer 10

Let bygones be bygones.This is my advice to you.