Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 9 - Chapter 1 Page 1

CHAPTER 1 PREPARING TO GOVERN THE CHALLENGE Men and women all over the world, right down the centuries, come and go. Some leave nothing behind, not even their names. It would seem that they never existed at all. Others do leave something behind; the haunting memory of the evil deeds they committed against other human beings; The abuse of power by a tiny white minority against a black majority of Africans, Coloureds and Indians, the denial of basic human rights to that majority, rabid racism in all spheres of life, detention without trial, torture, brutal assaults inside and outside prison, the breaking up of families, forcing people into exile, underground and throwing them into prisons for long periods. A trigger happy police force that massacred thousands of innocent and defenceless people 1 CHAPTER 1 PREPARING TO GOVERN THE CHALLENGE Men and women all over the world, right down the centuries, come and go. Some leave nothing behind, not even their names. It would seem that they never existed at all. Others do leave something behind; the haunting memory of the evil deeds they committed against other human beings; The abuse of power by a tiny white minority against a black majority of Africans, Coloureds and Indians, the denial of basic human rights to that majority, rabid racism in all spheres of life, detention without trial, torture, brutal assaults inside and outside prison, the breaking up of families, forcing people into exile, underground and throwing them into prisons for long periods. A trigger happy police force that massacred thousands of innocent and defenceless people