Major FAQ-South Africa
About South Africa
History
Several decades of Apartheid have ended and the generation born after the peaceful resolution of its oppression is growing up with far better opportunities in education, work and society. But apartheid will remain a defining factor of South African history during which Black Africans were removed from entire districts in the middle of the night. Some were left, with their belongings, on the sidewalks with nowhere to go but others were taken to concentration camps where they endured incredible suffering, murder and disease. The atrocities lasted through two long governance until 1989 when F.W. de Klerk responded to the legislation of absolute segregation and began its unraveling. The definitive change occurred with the release of political prisoners, namely Nelson Mandela and an intense, valuable negotiation about the future of South Africa. The two men were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for seeing a peaceful end to generations of segregation. Then in April of 1994, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first black president. The country has incredible natural resources and has attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment since sanctions were lifted. The challenges for South Africa remain fierce. It will have to overcome illiteracy, poverty and HIV/AIDS to become a truly free and equal nation.
Geography
The land of South Africa shares a northwest border with Namibia and Botswana in the Kalahari desert where the geography is arid, dry and without rain all year round. The cool Atlantic ocean sizzles and spits at the shore in the far northwest corner of this northern border. The northeastern border with Zimbabwe and Mozambique is a much more diverse fauna of brilliant flowers and biodiversity. The other 1,739 mile border is shared with only ocean.
The South African geography boasts warm eastern coasts and chill Atlantic coasts in the west. The north borders fall in some of the hottest, harshest deserts of the world, the Kalahari and Namib. The less drastic plateaus and rolling hills give a balance to the land. The geographic range of South Africa is completed by mountains that run for several hundred kilometers inland along the coasts.
Cuisine
Much of South Africa’s cuisine can be considered “western”. The produce, meat and dairy sections of their grocery stores are very similar to America’s; however, flavors or consistencies of food considered a western staple may seem different. Additionally, many western standards are not available, but often a more delicious and unique South African substitute can be found! For example, a typical South African snack food is biltong. Made of meat that has been dried, biltong is similar to meat jerky. It can be made of any kind of meat, even ostrich, antelope or crocodile.
The pleasant climate of South Africa makes it possible to cook outdoors most of the year. South Africans often enjoy a “braai” (barbeque) typically including sausage spiced with traditional family recipes.
In and around Cape Town there are air beachside eateries which serve fish and volunteers can find specialty eateries for all kinds of food volunteers may crave. In the Cape, volunteers can find dishes of exotic Asian spices on local produce, curries and staple smooth-maize porridge called Pap. Indian is a very popular cuisine.
People and Lifestyle
South Africa is a multi-lingual country. Besides the 11 officially recognized languages, scores of others are spoken here, as the country lies at the crossroads of southern Africa.
South Africa’s Constitution guarantees equal status to 11 official languages to cater for the country's diverse peoples and their cultures. These are:
- Afrikaans
- English
- isiNdebele
- isiXhosa
- isiZulu
- Sepedi
- Sesotho
- Setswana
- siSwati
- Tshivenda
- Xitsonga
English is generally understood across the country, being the most commonly used language in official and commercial public life. However, it only ranks joint fifth out of 11 as a home language.
South Africa is a nation of over 46-million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages and beliefs.
According to the mid-2005 estimates from Statistics South Africa, the country's population stands at approximately 46.9-million, up from the census 2001 count of 44.8-million.
Africans are in the majority at 37.2-million, constituting 79.4% of the total population. The white population is estimated at 4.4-million (9.3%), the coloured population at 4.1-million (8.8%) and the Indian/Asian population at 1.1-million (2.5%).
While more than three-quarters of South Africa 's population is African or black, this category is neither culturally nor linguistically homogenous. Nine of the country's 11 official languages are African, reflecting a variety of tribal/cultural groupings which nonetheless have a great deal in common in terms of background, culture and descent.
Africans include: the Nguni people, comprising the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi; the Sotho-Tswana people, comprising the Southern, Northern and Western Sotho (Tswana); the Tsonga; and the Venda .
South Africa 's white population descends largely from the colonial immigrants of the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries - Dutch, German, French Huguenot and British. Linguistically it is divided into Afrikaans- and English-speaking groups, although many small communities that have immigrated over the last century retain the use of other languages.
The label "coloured" is a contentious one, but still used for people of mixed race descended from slaves brought in from East and central Africa, the indigenous Khoisan who lived in the Cape at the time, indigenous Africans and whites. The majority speak Afrikaans.
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