And Then There Was Africa

And Then There Was Africa

While Europe was moving toward dramatic political transformation, Africa was also experiencing important changes. South Africa remained under apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white minority rule. But by 1989, the pressure for change had become increasingly difficult to contain. P. W. Botha resigned, and F. W. de Klerk became State President later that year. The political changes that began gathering momentum in 1989 would contribute to the dismantling of apartheid and eventually to South Africa's democratic transition. (Office of the Historian)

Nelson Mandela was still in prison. He had already spent decades behind bars. Yet his circumstances had not erased his significance. The world would soon see that imprisonment could restrict a person's movement without necessarily imprisoning the person's vision. That lesson would become important to me much later in life.

In Namibia, the United Nations supervised elections as the country moved toward independence. In Angola, years of civil war were beginning to enter a new phase of negotiations. (Human Rights Watch) And on June 22, just weeks after I was born, my own country became the stage for an important African diplomatic gathering.

President Mobutu Sese Seko hosted African leaders in Gbadolite, Zaire, in an effort to bring the Angolan government and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi together. The meeting produced a declaration calling for a cease-fire and negotiations. (Peacemaker)

Think about that. I had entered the world in May. A few weeks later, the country of my birth was hosting African leaders attempting to help bring peace to a neighboring nation. History was moving around me before I could even walk.