Difference between revisions of "South Africa"

Revision as of 20:59, May 16, 2007

South Africa located on the southern tip of Africa is the wealthiest, and one of the largest countries on the continent.

It has a very advantageous location for trade routes by sea from Western Europe to India and the Far East. As a result, there was far more immigration by Europeans to South Africa than any other region of Africa, and whites of European ancestry (English and Dutch) ruled South Africa until the late twentieth century. Since then, democracy has brought representative government to the African ethnic groups.

History

The Dutch (or Boers) were the first to establish a European settlement in southern Africa, at Cape Colony on the very southern tip in 1652. This port supplied ships on the way to the Indiana Ocean. The Dutch emplyed Africans in conditions of indentured servitude, and set up farms for the unemployed Africans to work for the colonists' profit. In the 1800s the British arrived and took over Cape Colony, and disfavored the continuation of the Dutch system. The Dutch then moved inland, further north, in what is called the Great Trek. This created conflict with the native Africans.

In the late 1800s, an African ethnic group known as the Zulus rose to power in southern Africa, led by a military African genius named Shaka. But his successors could not retain power. By 1887 the British, with better military technology, defeated the Zulus.

The Boer War broke out between the British and the Boers in 1899. The dispute was sparked by disagreements over land, access to diamonds and gold discovered in South Africa, and whether immigrants should have political rights. The British won this war, and in 1902 established the Union of South Africa to include all the Boers republics. This country was controlled by the British but enjoyed some self-rule.

South Africa was the most complex, and the most prosperous, of the African colonies. As early as the 1600s the Dutch established Cape Town as a city at the southern tip of Africa. But during the Napoleonic Wars the British captured Cape Town (in 1815) and drove the Dutch (the “Boers”) inland. The Dutch favored continuation of slavery; the British abolished slavery in its empire in 1833.

The Boers fought the native Africans (Bantu tribes such as the Zulus) during the Great Trek of the Boers. The Boers founded two inland republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. But the British were more powerful, and controlled wealthy diamond mines. The Brit Cecil Rhodes acquired great wealth through his monopoly of the diamond production in 1889, and he served as prime minister of the British Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.

A Boer War ensued from 1899 to 1902, and afterwards it was the Boers (the Dutch) who established “apartheid”. Apartheid segregated the majority blacks from the minority whites in South Africa, with the white minority controlling the country.

The British granted South Africa independence in 1910, and it became a member of the British Commonwealth in 1931 with its constitution allowing white rule over the blacks. But the country was prosperous, and all enjoyed a higher standard of living than the remainder of Africa.

The Dutch South Africans (Afrikaner) gained control in 1948 when their National Party rose to power and enforced apartheid throughout South Africa. Homelands (segregated areas) were even established for the rival African tribes, and the whites reserved the best property for themselves. Ever since 1912 the all-black African National Congress (ANC) objected, but it was suppressed. Demonstrations, such as the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, occasionally broke out but were violently put down. An ANC leader named Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his role in that demonstration. Riots over school segregation occurred in Soweto in 1976, and in 1977 the government beat an outspoken critic, Steve Biko, to death.

There was increasing pressure worldwide for South Africa to end its racism. Its athletes were banned from the Olympics since the 1960s, and trade restrictions were imposed by other nations. A black South African bishop, Desmond Tutu, called for boycotts of his own nation.

Finally, in 1989, a new South African president named F.W. de Klerk was elected who would change the country. With international approval, de Klerk legalized the ANC, released Nelson Mandela from jail, and obtained repeal of apartheid laws, and agreed to fully democratic elections in 1994. Nelson Mandela then won those elections and the ANC won a majority in the National Assembly, the bigger house in the South African Parliament. A new constitution containing a bill of rights like that in the United States was adopted in 1996, though it also included entitlement and social rights.

South Africa will host the World Cup (soccer) in 2010, the first time it has ever been held in Africa.

Crime in South Africa

One of the largest challanges which South Africa faces is Crime. Crime in South Africa is a major political and social issue.

Rape is endemic in South Africa. [1]

South African Farm Murders is a highly political issue. According to the Government the murders are "just the result of ordinary crime", but the Agricultural Unions believe it forms part of Genocide committed against white people (People of European decent)in South Africa. [2]

Genocide in South Africa

The African National Congress is promoting Genocide against the boer in South Africa. [3]. 1860 Farmers were killed in South Africa since 1994. 400,000 Afrikaners are destitute and starving in South Africa.

There is also a believe that there is a conspiricy to kill white people on a massive scale after the death of Nelson Mandela. One of the operations planned entails 70,000 armed black men "being transported to the Johannesburg city center within an hour" in taxicabs to attack whites. The plans are variously dubbed "Operation Vula," "Night of the Long Knives," "Operation White Clean-up," "Operation Iron Eagle" and "Red October campaign." [4]

The victims of this ongoing onslaught are invariably elderly, law-abiding, god-fearing whites, murdered in cold blood, in ways that beggar belief. For the edification of racism spotters in the West, "Carte Blanche" ought to have pointed out that their assailants are always black. [5]

FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP

South Africa won the bid to host the FIFA 2010 soccer world cup. [6]

Criticism by the informal media in South Africa

It is widely believed that the South African Government controls the South African Media. Dr. Snuki Zikalala, the chief of SABC news and a member of the ruling ANC Government, is controlling the content of the news on the SABC. [7] The SABC even banned and blacklisted certain reporters from reporting on the situation in Zimbabwe.[8]

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) is seriously concerned about the state of media freedom in South Africa [9] According to the formal media in South Africa "Freedom of expression has limits." [10] The informal media believe this is used as an excuse to censor news which is not politically correct, or which does not serve the ruling political party's (political) agendas. It is also a method of the mainstream media to try and destroy opposition.

Therefore the public does not have access to uncencored news and information. The informal media is filling this gap by allowing individuals to post unedited information. The informal media (blogs) serves as an outlet for all of those individuals that have the need to say what they really think about the situation in South Africa, or on any other topic. [11]

The official South African media criticised the informal media, and questioned its professionalism, but some bloggers are actually reporters, or they have worked as reporters in the formal media. Some bloggers are highly intelligent, qualified and degreed, they run there our own successful companies and are well informed on the political situation in South Africa. [12]

The formal media selects the information it wants to publish. When letters are received from the public, only certain letters are published. Not all letters can be published due to a lack of space in a newspaper, but this is not the case with the informal media. Furthermore the formal media selects which letters it wants to publish, according to the political affiliation or agendas of the newspaper. It may deliberately censor certain individuals or political views, or any other comments on any subject it doesn't support. Distorted points of view can also be provided by selectively deleting sections of any letter or comments made by individuals. It is easy for the informal media to expose politicians who are protected (even supported) by the mainstream media.

The informal media provided the individual with the means to express themselves, and for others to take note.

As an example, the “Why South Africa Sucks” website is one of the most popular South African Internet Blogs, critical of the crime, Corruption & Genocide in South Africa. It was started on 13 Nov 2006. It recorded 222,006 hits since inception. There are 4 persons contributing to Articles on Why South Africa Sucks.[13]

Other websites in the informal media is also critical of the government. The mainstream media tries to ignore these websites. They refuse to refer to them.

The website African Crisis reports on issues critical to South Africa. [14]

Other informal websites critical of the situation in South Africa is:

• Crime Expo South Africa . Net [15]

• The Right Perspective [16]

The informal media in South Africa is not only critical about the situation in the country, but it also provides information on a wide range of subjects & different points of view.

HIV and AIDS in South Africa

South Africa is currently experiencing one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world. [17]

References

• Taking the Bull out of Bullard Informal South African Media Response [18]