Nelson Mandela Obstacles

As a result of the apartheid, many people rebelled against the government. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela were two such activists. Nelson Mandela was born to a royal family, but was the first in his family to receive a proper education (“Nelson Mandela” np). Soon after the passing of the apartheid laws, Mandela began to protest against the unfair treatment of black people (“Nelson Mandela” np). During a peaceful protest, the government opened fire on the protesters and killed sixty nine people which left the activists angry and hurt (“Nelson Mandela” np). This even further proves that the government did not care about their citizens and only cared about white power over others. This event led to the formation of an armed activist group. The …show more content…
People were motivated by Mandela’s strength even while he was in prison. While in prison, Mandela managed to sneak out political messages and even wrote a book on the difficulties of life in prison. This proves that the strength of some people cannot be diminished by different living circumstances. He proved to the government that nothing could stop him from fighting for what was right. His book and political views helped to change the minds of many which led to even larger rebellions and eventually, the end of apartheid. He motivated people to stand up for their rights even if it meant facing a whole government system. At a rally, he stated, “Since my release, I have become more convinced than ever that the real makers of history are the ordinary men and women of our country. Their participation in every decision about the future is the only guarantee of true democracy and freedom” (“Nelson Mandela” np). This shows that he had the power to prove to people that they could change the circumstances in which they lived even if they were normal people. The idea that a normal person could change a whole group of people’s live was a major motivating factor throughout the apartheid and help bring it to an …show more content…
In the constitution, it states, “This Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom” (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa np). These ideals are still applied to daily life and were only developed due to the Apartheid. Without the Apartheid, these ideals would have never been written down and made into an official document. The constitution also states that everyone has a right to a fair trial (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa np). This made it impossible for the government to punish someone for whatever they pleased whenever they pleased like they had done so before. This benefitted the people in many ways because now people were not afraid to walk out of their homes and be confronted by the police due to their skin color. In the past, skin color had been a fear factor, but with the new constitution, people were no longer fearful of the outside