Question

At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human disaster”. What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious … human achievement” he speaks of at the end?

Answer 1

The ‘extraordinary human disaster’ that Mandela mentioned at the beginning of his speech refers to the inhuman practice of apartheid i.e., the racial discrimination suffered by the blacks at the hands of whites in South Africa. At the end, the ‘glorious human achievement’ that he spoke of refers to the establishment of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.