Jacob Swidorsky, Nathan Paras

Mr. Fronk
Geography 9
September 22, 2015
Nelson Mandela Interview
Q1: Having 75 percent of the population as African American is odd and wrong to give them a
small percentage of land, how did you serve a purpose in helping that cause?
Answer Q1: I helped lead the ANCs 1952 Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws by
traveling across the country to protest against discriminatory policies. A man named Oliver
Tambo who was a fellow party member in the ANC and I promoted the manifesto, or Freedom
Charter, that was ratified by the Congress of the People in 1955. I opened South Africas first
black law firm, which offered free or low-cost legal counsel to those affected by apartheid
legislation as well.
Q2: Why did the government give the best land to the whites?
Answer Q2: Well at that time the whites were more educated than the blacks meaning they
would probably make better use of the land since theyre more educated.
Q3: What was it like to be imprisoned for twenty seven years when in reality you were doing the
correct thing? What were the conditions?
Answer Q3: It was an experience that shows me to accept what I have but also it was one of the
worst experiences I have faced in my life. I was confined to a small cell with no plumbing off the
coast of Cape Town. I had no bed so the nights were rough against the jail flooring. Then I was

sent to do back breaking labor at the lime quarry. Since I was a black politician, I got fewer
rations and privileges that the other inmates. My fellow prisoners and I were subjected to
inhumane punishments and I was only allowed to see my wife, Winnie. I also caught a glimpse
and confirmed later by reporters that when the guards would bury my fellow inmates they would
bury them up to their neck and then urinate on them. It wasnt a place you wanted to be in and I
was there for standing up for what I believe in.
Q4: Having been released from prison, how did you fell after winning the election?
Answer Q4: Well first being out of there was weight off my shoulders and the support I received
was outstanding. Having my work or what I have worked years to complete is finally completed
and to gain so much support to the point where I was being nominated and eventually won for
president is heartwarming and a big achievement. Being the first African American president of
South Africa was a great accomplishment for me and the people of Africa and my right hand man
F.W. de Klerk who lifted the ban on the ANC and called for a nonracist South Africa was great to
have him with our organization and with our cause, because if it wasnt for him then I most
likely would not have been set free and I wouldnt have been able to complete my journey
successfully.

Works Cited
http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela