By By Mario O. Sopena
Racial segregation had existed in South Africa long before the twentieth century, but it became official government policy in 1948. Thapelo explained it with the calm precision of a history lecturer. That year, the National Party came to power and introduced apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning “apartness.” Led largely by Afrikaners, the government designed the system to ensure the white minority, who made up only about 13 percent of the population, remained firmly in control.
A web of laws soon divided every aspect of daily life. People were officially classified by race, while towns and cities were carved into separate residential areas. Non-white communities were forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to distant townships. Schools, hospitals, beaches, transport, parks, and even park benches were segregated. Black South Africans were required to carry pass books that controlled where they could live, travel, and work within their own country.
Resistance grew despite the harsh restrictions and was often met with violence. Demonstrations were suppressed, political organisations were banned, and leaders such as Nelson Mandela spent decades behind bars. By the late 1980s, however, growing internal unrest, international sanctions, and economic pressure made apartheid increasingly unsustainable. In 1990, political reforms began, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and four years later South Africa held its first fully democratic elections, bringing apartheid to a formal end.
As Thapelo spoke, it became clear that apartheid is not simply a chapter in a history book. Its legacy remains visible today in the unequal distribution of wealth, land ownership, education, and opportunity. Progress has been made, but the scars of nearly half a century of institutionalised segregation cannot disappear overnight.
It is a sobering reminder that laws built to divide people can leave wounds that endure for generations, while building a fair and equal society would take the work of many lifetimes.**
