Life Under Apartheid: A Mother's Story of Family Separation
During the height of Apartheid South Africa, Mandisa's life was forever changed when police violently raided her home one night searching for her son Mxolisi. Though she truthfully didn't know his whereabouts, the white officer struck her anyway - a common occurrence under the brutal system of racial segregation. The incident highlighted how What was life like under apartheid for Black South Africans, who faced constant police harassment and violence in townships like Guguletu.
Definition: Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.
Mandisa reflects on how her children's generation became increasingly radicalized in response to apartheid's oppression. When questioned about public executions, youth would explain they were "fighting the apartheid government" and that "a war was going on." Even as a mother, Mandisa recognized how the system's dehumanization led many to "descend into barbarism."
The story then shifts back to 1973, when 15-year-old Mandisa became pregnant with Mxolisi. Her strict mother, fearing pregnancy would bring shame to their Christian family, had obsessively monitored Mandisa's virginity through physical examinations. After discovering the pregnancy, despite Mandisa still being technically "unspoilt," her mother sent her away to live with her grandmother in Gungululu.
Highlight: The personal impact of apartheid rippled through families, as systemic oppression and lack of opportunities led to generational trauma and broken relationships.