ABSTRACT
In 1948, white South African voters elected a government dedicated to the ideology of apartheid or, in Afrikaans, ‘apartness’ or ‘apart-hood’. Notcontent with separation under segregation, the new government would fashion a system that precluded Africans from all rights normally associated with those of citizens. By the 1980s, many Africans in South Africa would no longer legally be considered citizens of that country but would be categorised as foreigners. At the same time, former colonial subjects in Africa and Asia were being given their independence, the civil rights movement was making gains in the US and elsewhere, and it appeared that the world was moving towards greater human rights for all. In comparison, South Africa appeared to be moving backwards at an alarming rate.
