STUDENT A – SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa, which is (1)1,219,090 sq km, is slightly (3) less than twice the size of the state of Texas, in the USA. Nowadays has a population of (5)49,109,107 inhabitants. Its flag is (7) black, yellow, green, white, blue and red and its capital is (9) Pretoria, which is situated in the (11) north of the country. Geographically,South Africa borders (13) Botswana and Namibia to the North-West and (15)Mozambique and Zimbabwe to the North-East. It completely surrounds (17) Lesotho and almost completely surrounds (19)Swaziland.

According to the 2001 census, there are (21)11 official languages spoken in South Africa. They are (23) Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Ndebele, Tshivenda and Swati.

South Africa is divided into (25) 9 provinces. Their names are (27)Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape.

The country, which used to be a colony governed by the (29) British (although there were also a lot of Dutch people), became officially independent on (31) 27th April 1994, which was chosen as the official National Day. Its constitution was signed by Nelson Mandela on (33) 10th December 1996, but entered into effect on (35) 4th February 1997.

Surf the following website to complete the missing information in the text above:

(1) How many sq km does South Africacover?

(3) How big is South Africa?

(5) How many people live there?

(7) What colours does its flag have?

(9) What is its capital?

(11) Where is it situated?

(13) What countries does it border to the North-West?

(15) What countriesdoes it border to the North-East?

(17) What country does it surround completely?

(19) What country does it surround almost completely?

(21) How many official languages are spoken in South Africa?

(23) What are they called?/What are their names?

(25) How many provinces is South Africa divided into?

(27) What are their names?

(29) Who used to govern South Africa as a colony?

(31) When did it become officially independent?

(33) When did Nelson Mandela sign its Constitution?

(35) When did it enter into effect?

STUDENT B – NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela, whose actual name at birth was (2) Rolihlahla Mandela, was born on (4) July 18th1918 in (6) Transkei, South Africa. In 1942, he graduated in (8) Law from the University of Fort Hare and Witwatersrand.

Soon after that he joined the ANC, which stands for (10) African National Congress. The ANC fought against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies. Apartheid, which means (12) “separateness” in Afrikaans (the Dutch spoken in South Africa), was a (14) legal system according to which people were classified into racial groups: white, black and coloured. Each racial group had a specific (16) geographic area assigned and the whites were considered superior to the rest.

How did Apartheid start? South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the seventeenth century. The English dominated the territory, but the Dutch descendents (known as Boers or Afrikaners) had the new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal. (18) Diamonds were discovered in these two new colonies around 1900 and that’s why the English invaded them. This started the (20) Boer War. After South Africa became independent from England, the English in South Africa and the Boers shared power until the 1940's, when the Afrikaner National Party was able to gain a strong majority. To be able to control the economic and social system, they established the apartheid system.

In (22)1948, Apartheid Laws were passed, which institutionalized racial discrimination. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the prohibition for blacks to do “white-only”' jobs. All blacks were required to carry “pass books” containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas.

In 1951, the Bantu Authorities Act established that (24) blacks had to live in homelands (separate African reserves). All political rights, including voting, held by an African were restricted to the designated homeland. The idea was that they would be citizens of the homeland, losing their citizenship in South Africa and any right of involvement with the South African Parliament which held complete hegemony over the homelands. From 1976 to 1981, four of these homelands were created.

In 1953, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act were passed, which empowered the government to declare states of emergency and increased penalties for protesting against or supporting the repeal of a law. The penalties imposed on political protest, even non-violent protest, were severe. In (26) 1960, the ANC was made illegal. When fellow leaders of the ANC were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. Mandela's statement from the dock received international publicity. On (28) 14th June 1964Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment (together with 7 other accused).

From then until 1982, he was incarcerated at (30) Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town. From April 1984 to December 1988 he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland. In his last years of imprisonment, he was moved to the Victor Verster Prison near Paarl.

Mandela was finally released on (32)11th February 1990 and in 1991 he was elected president of the ANC in the first national conference held in South Africa since the organisation had been banned. In 1993, he won (34) the Nobel Peace Prize together with Frederik Willem de Klerk (the South African president who had released him). On (36)27th April 1994 he was elected President of South Africa in the first multi-racial democratic elections.

STUDENT B – QUESTIONS

(2) What was Nelson Mandela’s name at birth?

(4) When was he born?

(6) Wherewas he born?

(8) What did he graduate in?

(10) What does ANC stand for?

(12) Whatdoes Apartheid mean?

(14) What was Apartheid?

(16) What did each racial group have assigned?

(18) What was discovered in the colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal?

(20) What wardid the English invasion start?

(22) When were Apartheid Laws passed?

(24) What did the Bantu Authorities Act establish?

(26) Whenwas the ANC made illegal?

(28) Whenwas Nelson Mandela sentencedto life imprisonment?

(30) Wherewas he incarceratedfrom 1964 until 1982?

(32) When was he finally released?

(34) Whatdid he win in 1993?

(36) When was he electedPresident of South Africa?

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