Frederik de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, two of the driving forces in ending apartheid. *Photo from Wikipedia
April 27 is the Freedom Day, which celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994.
The elections were the first non-racial national elections where everyone of voting age of over 18 from any race group, including foreign citizens permanently resident in South Africa, were allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid regime, non-whites had only limited rights to vote.
On the first commemoration of the holiday, President Nelson Mandela addressed Parliament:
“As dawn ushered in this day, the 27th of April 1994, few of us could suppress the welling of emotion, as we were reminded of the terrible past from which we come as a nation; the great possibilities that we now have; and the bright future that beckons us. And so we assemble here today, and in other parts of the country, to mark a historic day in the life of our nation. Wherever South Africans are across the globe, our hearts beat as one, as we renew our common loyalty to our country and our commitment to its future.”
In commemoration of the day, we introduce you to a gentleman from South Africa. Robert Koch, Audio products manufacturer.
*Click the photo below and read his stories!
“My elementary school, junior high school and senior school were whites-only because of apartheid.”
Note: April 27 is also the UnFreedom Day, an unofficial annual South African holiday or day of mourning. The theme of the day is to demonstrate that the poor are still not free in South Africa.
*Reference: Wikipedia
