Radio Freedom In South Africa

Apartheid is an Afrikaans word for apartness and also the title of an infamous system of racial segregation that governed South Africa for about 50 years. It was a system wherein white people dominated socially, economically and politically at the expense of black people, and had its roots in the colonial period when the Europeans first reached Africa to obtain raw materials and exploit the natives for labour according to Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden. The nation retained its discriminatory laws and homelands up until 1994 when apartheid finally was abolished. Resistance campaigns and freedom fighters, such as Nelson Mandela, are most commonly credited with bringing an end to apartheid but rarely technology, media and foreign influences,

One of the earliest resistance media was Radio Freedom. This outlet enabled the African National Congress to spread their alternative voice, protest music and a different perspective on the country’s history. Radio Freedom played a major role in building a cohesion between activists and encouraging sympathisers of the liberation struggle to join. As the media outside South Africa was far less restricted, it had a greater effect on the public, but Radio Freedom is a great example of how the media even played a role in South Africa and had a profound effect on those brave enough to tune in. Without it, the loyal, youthful listening communities that went on to inform more people of the liberation struggle wouldn’t have been created, which would have largely diminished the internal pressure that played a huge role in ending

But the pain that apartheid caused is still evident in the country’s rampant racism and distrust of the authorities. As a result of oppressing the black community to intensely for so long, they are left with a worrying lack of education and housing, which largely affects the economy. All of this combined leads to a troubled society with rising crime rates and corruption. Albeit the fact that the country is in the midst of recovering, there is much to learn from its past. The errors made during apartheid teach us of the dangers of censorship, and how freedom of speech can turn a situation around completely, convincing people to finally stand up against and accuse the authorities of an entire nation of inexcusable bigotry. Its history also proves the interconnection between humans, how easily we influence each other, so much that politics far away in Europe and bygone events in Asia could impact South