Katerina Mansour
       Staff Writer

I recently returned from a six-month stint studying abroad and volunteering in South Africa at the University of Cape Town (UCT). One of the first things I noticed when arriving there was the issue of race. It is also one of the first things local college students brought to my attention as being a continuous problem in the country.

The apartheid system was formally abolished in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela and the emergence of the African National Congress (ANC); however, extreme inequality is still rampant, and privilege is a word that is both taboo yet also widely spoken throughout the country.

Currently, college students are part of the first generation to grow up in post-apartheid South Africa.

They have grown up in this supposedly equal and democratic system, but they are fully aware that blacks and other colored peoples are still stuck in a perpetual cycle of inequality.

The students at UCT are extremely politically and socially active. During my semester there, a huge student protest broke out and lasted for several weeks — this protest actually made international news. These were, arguably, the biggest protests in South Africa since the Soweto protests which shook the entire nation.

So, what exactly was the point of the protest?

Well, it was initially about the raise in student fees and the outsourcing of workers, but in its core, many described it as being about much more than that.

Issues relating to race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality and more are constant problems in South Africa today and have led to disillusionment among the population and arguably even within the ANC. Accordingly, education is a contentious issue for the black and colored population of South Africa.

What did not happen with the end of apartheid is a redistribution of resources, financial or otherwise. Thus, rampant inequality persists, as a minority of white South Africans are privileged with wealth and all of the advantages that accompany it while blacks and colored people are left behind with close to no resources to help them earn an education or a job.

This inequality is easy to discern, even as a visitor to the country.

While living there, I quickly noticed that you will never find a white person in a township (shanti towns), that white students did not work, whereas black students struggled financially to stay enrolled at UCT and had to find various ways to make more money and that despite the black majority, magazines and other forms of entertainment feature almost solely white people.

The tensions are prominent within South Africa, and it is easy to come to the conclusion that democracy has not been fully achieved.

Despite the status of being labeled an “advanced country,” South Africa has often looks similar to when apartheid was in place.

Inequality and corruption have become so prevalent that UCT students risked their semester and their exams and even faced police brutality and arrests in an effort to end the oppression of black or colored South Africans.

On top of the issue of race, class has become of crucial importance. It doesn’t help that president Zuma is about as corrupt as they get and that the ANC is doing close to nothing to try to aid the masses of poor and destitute blacks and colored individuals of the country.

It’s almost as if the ANC does not see a problem in the current situation and does not seem to acknowledge the long lasting effects of apartheid on the country.

A study done by the South African-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation found that only 53 percent of white South Africans currently believe that was a crime against humanity, compared to 70 percent of whites one decade ago and 80 percent of black South Africans.

Another aspect of the legacy of apartheid is that the new generation seems to be forgetting its importance and forgetting the fact that it does in fact have a legacy.

One of my lecturers had performed extensive interviews in the various townships around Cape Town and found that most poor black people did not attribute their current conditions to the legacy of apartheid.

Rather, they believed that they were struggling because they did not work hard enough. A whole system that dehumanized one’s race and ensured that one didn’t have a chance at a proper life has caused people to blame themselves.

So what’s the point of this article, really? I surely can’t enumerate all the ways in which apartheid has left its mark; there are far too many things to list on all fronts, whether it takes an economic, political or social form.

I genuinely hope that more students, whether it be in the U.S., Europe or elsewhere, start paying more attention to the daily happenings in African countries.

The African continent is home to many countries that, in their struggle, are showing amazing promise for a better future. These countries deserve our attention and support.

The students of South African universities are the future of South Africa. They are aware of how strong the effects of apartheid remain within the country, and they are willing to do anything to move towards a more equal society with greater opportunity and less corruption.

It is inspiring to see them take to the streets in mass numbers throughout the country fearlessly calling for what is right.

This should also be a reminder to U.S. students. You have the same potential to affect change and make your voices heard.