Nelson Mandela: biografi og kampen mod apartheid

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th 1918. He was born in a little village in the wild South Africa called Xhosa. His father (Henry Mandela) was a chief advisor for the king of the village. But when Nelson Mandela was five years old, his father sat up against the whites. Henry Mandela lost his whole fortune, and they had to move to another village in the wild South Africa. They decided to move to Qunu, at that time Nelson was five years old. When Nelson was seven years old he went to school. He was the first in the family to go to school ever. At nine years old his father died after a lung disease, he died with his pipe in his mouth. After Nelson had lived a while with his mother, his mother decided to “give him away”. She brought him to The Great Place. He was raised by the king, in the Christian believe. As child Nelson loved stick fighting. It’s a game where you have a piece of wood, and use it as a sword. But when he came to the kings’ place he was taught that church and school, is more important than stick fighting. The king was a very nice man. When there were problems with something, he called in for a meeting and they discussed the things, and solved the problems. When there was something they couldn’t decide, they voted. That was how Nelson learned about democracy. When Nelson was 16 years old, he had to pass through a circumcision, a circumcision is when the boys are turned into men. When Nelson was 21 years old, he went to Fort Hare University, a university for black people only. At the university Nelson for the first time got into politics. He was chosen to the SRC (Student Reprehensive Council) Later he passed the university exam, with very good grades. In 1942 Nelson passed the Bachelor of Arts examination. On the Bachelor of Arts examination, he met Oliver Tambo, who became a very important role for Nelson and politics later. A while after that, he got his first job, as a lawyer. Nelson Mandela was becoming politically involved. Since the ANC (African National Congress) was the only organization to fight for the black people, he became a member. The ANC had three goals: An end to discrimination, the right for black people to buy a land, and a full citizenship for all Africans. Nelson and justice took a train to Johannesburg, and tried to get a job.