No one probably cares (hell, I hardly care anymore, i'm so over this assignment) but here is the finished piece. Or as finished as it's going to get.
All throughout the world, prejudice, racism and discrimination go hand in hand. Prejudice can be defined as ‘a cluster of beliefs, attitudes and values held by one person about others’ (source: Prejudice hand-out). Prejudice is the judgement someone has made about another person, but just because they have an attitude about it doesn’t mean the will act on it. Acting and behaving differently towards a member of a group is discrimination. The most commonly used sense of the word, invidious discrimination, is irrational social, racial, religious, sexual, ethnic and age-related discrimination of people. It involves “formally or informally classifying people into different groups and according the members of each group distinct, and typically unequal, treatments, rights and obligations without a rational justification for the different treatment.” (source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination) Racism is the form of discrimination based on the other person’s race and, typically, colour.
Human rights are defined as the standards of behaviour as accepted within legal systems concerning 1) what is essential to human survival, 2) integrity and autonomy of the person, and 3) fulfilment of the human potential in society. All human beings are entitled to basic rights such as the right to freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom from torture and other mistreatment and the right to participation in cultural and political life. These rights are not subject to race, location or beliefs – everyone in the world should have them. The world's first charter of human rights was engraved on the famous Cyrus Cylinder, written and confirmed by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great at around 538 BCE and since then many different charters or declarations of human rights have been composed.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was created in 1948 by the United Nations. It is not a legally binding document, but has paved the way for the original two legally-binding UN human rights Covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The UDHR states many of the rights that all humans are entitled to, and is available in over 300 languages. All people should know and understand their rights, and no one can take them away from a person.
In Australia, there is no federal Bill of Rights, however there are laws that protect the basic rights of the individuals. In 1986 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act was passed and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission was established. This Commission is a national independent statutory government body that is responsible for investigating breaches of human rights and for improving the current system to create a tolerant, equitable and democratic society. Australians are entitled to all of the rights set down by the UN and must conform to these with regards to other people and themselves.
Like many indigenous people, the black natives of what we know today as South Africa were victims of prejudice and racial arrogance since white men first arrived on their shores. The first whites to colonise in South Africa were the Dutch, who created a number of settlements, most of which were in and around the Cape of Good Hope.
When, in the 18th century, the British seized control of the colony, it was governed by the East India Company, until finally in 1795, the Boers (Dutch) started their own colonies at Swellendam and at Graaff Reinet. Over a century later, the two Boer colonies and the British government joined together to form the Union of South Africa in 1910. The black population was denied suffrage in the Boer republics, and the dominant stance of Boers in the political arena caused a constant erosion of the rights of any person who want not Caucasian, culminating in Apartheid, the infamous regime of racial discrimination which ran rampant from 1948 until it was dismantled in 1990 by F.W. de Klerk, after decades of both domestic and international condemnation led by the African National Congress and extensive international outcry.
The first known use of the word ‘Apartheid’ was in 1917, many years before the system of laws that became known as Apartheid came about. In Africaans and Dutch it means ‘seperateness’ and was used by Jan Smuts, who later became Prime Minister in 1919 till 1925 and again in 1939 till 1948. The Apartheid was implemented by Smuts successor from the National Party. Apartheid was introduced thanks to the Sauer Commission, a report from the National Party that said the complete opposite of what Smut’s United Party’s f*gan Commission said. Smut wanted to end all segregation, stating: "The idea that natives must all be removed and confined in their kraals is in my opinion, the greatest nonsense I have ever heard." Unfortunately, Smut lost the next election and the National party began implementing new Apartheid laws almost immediately.
Under Apartheid, whites and blacks (predominately) were completely separate all the way down to drinking fountains. They had designate areas and were not allowed into the other race’s area without a pass. The whites had the best and most beaches, libraries and pools as well as having proper ambulances and hopsitals as opposed to the run-down under-equipped ones the blacks had. Non-whites were not allowed to run businesses or professional practices in any areas designated as being for whites only. Whites were not allowed to run businesses or professional practices in any areas designated as being for blacks only. Every significant metropolis, and practically every shopping and business district was in a white area. Blacks had hardly any electricity or plumbing, rarely received higher education and had to travel in 3rd class trains despite having over 60% of the population. Sex between races was prohibited and one of the first laws brought in.
In 1989, F. W. de Klerk succeeded P. W. Botha as president. On 2 February 1990, at the opening of Parliament, he declared that apartheid had failed and that the bans on political parties, including the ANC, were to be lifted. Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. De Klerk went on to abolish all the remaining apartheid laws. A period of political instability ensued. More South Africans died from political violence from 1990 to 1994 than in the preceding 42 years. Nelson Mandela went on to become the first black president in South Africa’s first-ever multiracial election. Mandela and de Kerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
South Africa is still no utopian society, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was. The blacks finally have a say, and some basic human rights. South Africa is still adjusting, fifteen years later. For people who have lived and more importantly believed one thing and followed one way for over 40 years, it is difficult to adjust. That doesn’t make apartheid right, or the actions of the people acceptable. South Africans have endured extreme racism and discrimination for over 300 years, cumulating in a forty-two year period of some of the worst treatment of people the world has ever seen. While racial supremacy in South Africa is overturned, absolute equality is still far off, and it may take many years for the decades of racial prejudice and oppression to fade from the minds of a population who will forever remember the period that was Apartheid.
Wow, that takes up a lot of space...
Cheers,
Cat
) i'll put up the rest of what I have done. I skipped all the human rights stuff and am going back to do it now.