Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:00
Welcome to the documentary from the
0:02
BBC World Service, where we report
0:04
the world, however difficult the issue,
0:07
however hard to reach. Podcasts from
0:09
the BBC World Service are supported
0:11
by advertising. This
0:30
presents Chasing Mountains. Every
0:32
step was an achievement. Listen now
0:34
by searching for amazing sports stories
0:37
wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
0:41
Human
0:45
Rights Day is a
0:48
public holiday here in
0:50
South Africa. It
1:02
used to be known as Sharpville Day, a
1:04
massacre that took place in March 1960, where the
1:06
apartheid regime
1:08
shot and killed unarmed black
1:11
protesters indiscriminately. The day
1:13
commemorates sacrifices made in the fight
1:15
for democracy. Here,
1:19
on the streets of Johannesburg, hundreds
1:21
of people of all races participated in
1:23
a walk to remember what it took
1:25
for the country to get to this
1:27
point. And this year was
1:29
a special one, because it's exactly
1:32
30 years since the end of apartheid.
1:36
Hello, how are you? I'm
1:38
good to see you. My name's Lomsack from BBC
1:40
News. Oh, hi, Lomsack. Tell me why you are
1:42
part of the march today. Well, it
1:45
is human rights day, and
1:47
it's very easy to just have it as
1:49
a day off, but I think the constitution is
1:52
really important. And so
1:54
I came to do the walk to show
1:56
that I think it's really important. And with
1:58
South Africa celebrating 30 years, of democracy,
2:00
what are your thoughts on that? Well,
2:02
I think a
2:04
lot of us have been quite disillusioned at
2:06
the state, a lot of human rights have
2:09
not been acknowledged, there's
2:11
been a lot of corruption, but yeah, we've
2:13
got to use very fast today to research
2:15
it out. Why
2:18
are you here today? There are
2:20
plenty of reasons, but one that
2:22
stands out right now, there's a
2:24
lot of basic needs that are not met,
2:27
so one of the biggest demands is
2:29
access to water. Look at Melville
2:32
right now, people do not
2:34
have water and it's been a long time.
2:36
That is a violation of
2:39
the same human rights that we are
2:41
working for. Hello, can
2:43
I talk to you quickly? What
2:45
does bird years of democracy mean to you? Yeah,
2:49
it's quite a sensitive one.
2:52
As much as we would have hoped that
2:54
our people would have achieved so much in
2:56
the 30 years, we still have
2:58
hoped that all is not
3:00
to bed. I think for
3:03
me today I got
3:05
to reflect on the grid more
3:07
than the bed. Wow. This
3:16
song, which became synonymous with the
3:18
Fismus Fall University protests a few
3:20
years ago, touches on
3:22
the ever-rising cost of living which
3:25
continues to cripple the poor. It
3:28
calls on the government to change the status quo,
3:31
and it's now a regular feature at
3:33
demonstrations all over the country. It
3:40
sums up a lot about South Africa's
3:42
30 years of democracy, that this song
3:44
would become so well known. People
3:47
enjoy the right to demonstrate, and
3:49
there are plenty of protests, but
3:51
that also means there's plenty to protest
3:54
about. So for
3:56
this episode of the documentary from the
3:58
BBC World Service, I want
4:00
to find out what democracy means to
4:02
people today, and whether they
4:04
feel that its promises have been kept. This
4:08
is the people shall govern. I'm
4:10
Nomsama Sago. South
4:15
Africa's democracy began with the first
4:17
multiracial elections in 1994. They
4:21
were an extraordinary moment for the world,
4:24
but especially for the previously
4:26
disenfranchised black majority. It
4:29
was tense a few days before the polls. The
4:32
usual whiff of tear gas filled the air
4:34
in the townships. There
4:37
were fears that violence would disrupt the
4:39
voting process. I remember
4:41
seeing armored military vehicles patrolling, driving
4:44
past our home several times a day
4:46
and into the night where gunshots
4:48
ran out at a distance. Today
4:52
is a day like no other before
4:54
it. Today
4:56
marks the dawn of our
4:58
freedom. The
5:01
morning of the vote was eerily quiet. My
5:04
mother, who was 43 years old then,
5:06
voted for the very first time. She
5:09
told me that her vote was a get
5:11
out of jail card, and that the important
5:13
process would put an end to South Africa's
5:15
brutal past. Others
5:17
felt empowered too. I never
5:19
had the chance to vote before. I
5:23
felt very worried. They
5:25
say every day will be here. I'm
5:27
very grateful. I'm
5:30
excited. I want to look forward for
5:32
the new South Africa. The
5:35
polling station was opposite our house at
5:37
a teacher's college. I
5:39
saw several blue and white peace flags
5:41
flying high, and what I would later
5:43
be told were political party agents dressed
5:46
in their different colors, knocking
5:48
door to door, urging people
5:50
to vote. I felt
5:52
differently that day. The
5:55
heavy load on my shoulders was
5:57
gone, somehow not having the urge to quit.
6:00
I would constantly look over my shoulder
6:02
and hide whenever a tall white policeman
6:04
on horseback passed by. I
6:07
can't stand seeing a German Shepherd breed to this day.
6:11
Those cops would set the dogs on us for no reason. I
6:14
went back to the very same polling station 30
6:16
years on. On
6:19
the 27th of April in 1994, I
6:21
came to this polling station with my
6:23
mother. We started queuing
6:25
from 6am, filled with both hope and
6:28
anxiety. I was too
6:30
young to vote back then, but I saw what
6:32
it meant for black people to be free, finally,
6:35
to choose their own government. Thousands
6:39
of black people lined
6:41
up with their fists in the air, chanting, Kukululagil,
6:44
we are free. And
6:47
I understood that now. I
6:50
was too. A
6:56
part-date was finally banished. The
6:59
1994 election swept the once-banned
7:01
African National Congress to power and
7:04
Nelson Mandela to the presidency. The
7:07
early years were highly promising. A
7:10
progressive and celebrated constitution enshrined the
7:12
rights of all citizens. Tabo
7:15
Meghi replaced Nelson Mandela as president
7:17
in further democratic elections. Civil
7:20
society flourished, as did a
7:22
vocal and free press. Thirty
7:25
years later, the ANC is
7:27
still in power. Key
7:31
reminders of the country's liberation
7:33
struggle are everywhere here in
7:35
Orlando West Soweto, the
7:38
famous township that became synonymous with the
7:40
fight for freedom. For
7:44
much so that a democratic tourism industry
7:47
has developed here, like
7:49
these street performers who were entertaining tourists
7:51
last time I stopped by. A
7:55
young Nelson Mandela lived for some time on
7:58
this street here at Villagas East Soweto. street
8:00
here in Soweto, as
8:02
did Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This
8:05
neighborhood is significant for
8:08
South Africans. Many
8:10
are grateful that it has become commercialized
8:13
because they're able to put food on the table.
8:16
There are tons of souls lining
8:18
the street here. They're
8:20
selling all kinds of different
8:22
things, memorabilia, beads, clothing,
8:26
bright colored shirts, dresses,
8:29
skirts, even shoes are
8:31
sold here on the street. There
8:33
are also bars and well-known
8:36
restaurants. Growing
8:38
up in South Africa as a
8:41
black person, the only time white
8:43
people could be seen on
8:45
the streets in townships were
8:48
riot police and
8:50
soldiers patrolling. Times
8:52
are changed now. 30 years into democracy,
8:55
it's different. Seeing a
8:57
white person driving past in a
8:59
township or even as a
9:01
tourist, particularly in this neighborhood,
9:04
is now normal. We
9:07
don't get startled anymore when we see white
9:09
people walking leisurely
9:12
down the road because democracy
9:15
has taught us about
9:17
equality, it has taught us unity.
9:21
Sakubu Zimakubela owns one of the
9:24
busiest restaurants here on Vrilagazi Street.
9:26
Tourists who often come to Soweto by bus
9:29
end up having meals at his place. Tourism
9:32
has benefited Vrilagazi streets a
9:35
lot. Even me,
9:37
while I saw some of the shopping malls, I
9:40
decided normally, most of the time I'm doing nothing,
9:42
let me rather sell food. So
9:45
I decided let me open Sakubu when
9:47
the former president of Nefkim and Della said
9:50
unemployment is high, the crime is
9:52
high. I decided well not let
9:55
me Open a restaurant and
9:57
make a difference in my community. That
10:00
Beckinsale time I can tie
10:02
into something unemployment has this:
10:05
I'm sorry. I
10:07
can't help but compare his own
10:09
efforts over the last thirty years
10:11
to those of the country's leaders.
10:14
So far and the lesson here is
10:16
feel tired and and last fall a.
10:20
We kinda mccain does that then
10:23
been living We need to change
10:25
the mindset as a nice out
10:27
when you leave your for the
10:29
same units from the fed her
10:32
my done a good job for
10:34
me. So sad that enemy processing
10:36
and some cool stuff it's thousand
10:38
and one instead of society says
10:40
invalid as is more than five
10:43
hundred. So and i
10:45
post is nice and no way in
10:47
and I see ghosts that's have made
10:49
a month. Modern.
10:54
Zones. Are so democratic
10:56
Diverted soon spread far beyond the
10:59
area around. For a busy street. Just
11:01
a ten minute drive away is a
11:03
very different silly to to the one
11:06
most tourists see. I'm
11:08
at a township and sit town just outside
11:10
of silly to. On
11:13
standing in the middle of
11:16
disused rail tracks and that
11:18
crosses overgrown there are as
11:20
you can check if an
11:22
informal settlements our rules of
11:24
portable toilets that I lined
11:27
up here on the streets
11:29
this area is a sharp
11:31
contrast to watch the let
11:33
as the streets in some
11:35
ways in the slide on.
11:39
Inequality was entrenched into our history
11:41
by the A with june. The
11:44
promises of equal opportunities that many
11:46
South Africans hoped would funnel political
11:49
freedom of still not materialized. Summer
11:52
questioning his the honeymoon is over for the
11:54
A and see. The. Movement that
11:56
has long framed itself as the country's.
11:58
Liberate them, Young mothers
12:00
are struggling to get by here. I
12:02
matched has Nema Sylvester sitting outside her
12:05
home wearing a son had black jeans
12:07
and a worn out. read: T shirt.
12:11
How do you feel about celebrating Thirty years
12:13
of democracy? I
12:15
don't see this is something to
12:17
celebrate cause I'm unemployed. No.
12:20
Running water, No toilets. There's
12:23
basically no services. For. As
12:25
here. There's no Jobs
12:27
President. Is telling you they they
12:30
is jobs major selling you when they
12:32
do their badges speech or their a
12:34
provinces speech the speech of what their
12:36
era doing when the tell you that
12:38
days jobs and when this node shows.
12:41
What Are they? Key problems? Here
12:43
to problems is
12:45
electricity. Toilet.
12:49
Water. Clean. Water
12:51
We don't have spouses. Only
12:54
those three things. That's all. Anyone
12:58
can see when Nelson Mandela was the
13:00
i use the one who that did
13:02
this agency and they don't even abide
13:04
to they promises what they were promising
13:06
as by that same pattern that most
13:09
of feel it makes me so angry
13:11
as a citizen. Silence
13:14
and Is also Listen Know.
13:17
Cause I haven't seen any changes that the
13:19
agency as then. I usually vote
13:21
but those the I do I want. Democracy.
13:24
Means it means nothing to me.
13:28
Says Nema story reflects a much
13:30
wider truth in South Africa. Today
13:33
that. Division is now often between
13:35
the Haves and the have Nots. The
13:44
screen is the sort of clipped.
13:47
It's. A monument that was bills to
13:49
commemorate the Freedom Charter, which was adopted
13:51
by thousands of activists of all races
13:53
and Nineteen Fifty five. The document represented
13:56
the aspirations of all South Africans at
13:58
the height of the. Keep. It.
14:01
Open and Close States the people
14:03
shall devon. But. Seventy
14:05
years later, people yes feel that
14:07
the a connection to the history
14:10
of liberation is overlooked. From
14:12
on amazon so was a do
14:14
this was visited to so i
14:16
made for the skates for so
14:19
little to see him cause the
14:21
guy to. The are
14:23
now inside of the structure. It's
14:25
a towel on need from bricks
14:27
and right at the top. Is
14:29
a huge cross and you can
14:32
see some the this. And you can see
14:34
the sky. This is like
14:36
an open air museum which has.
14:39
The actual freedoms outside cells
14:41
or the weather written around
14:43
but looks like a round
14:45
table. The one that stands
14:47
out for. Mean. Of
14:51
the people, Shall doesn't have moved closer
14:53
though. There was a Unix reselling that
14:55
owns if address the or ten of
14:58
them in to jump. But now
15:00
having and looked at his
15:02
home as a township the
15:05
one thing that stands out
15:07
in terms of development pulled
15:09
apart a similar incident. Democracy
15:11
is often and museum where
15:14
we are now however ten
15:16
minutes away from here in
15:18
Orlando with the not as
15:20
extreme the Nelson Mandela Museum
15:23
which is much more developed.
15:25
The I was nowhere to go
15:28
for to ritual suicide in my
15:30
community is that is it was
15:32
isn't taking surveys moving your do
15:34
Sentosa How beautiful the Us but
15:37
none of them is been implemented
15:39
into their families. Who are we
15:41
are today for a living outside
15:43
where pigs you know we've been
15:45
existed for too long emotionally does
15:48
not have a hard is that
15:50
of prisoners of war and all
15:52
I saw this season with such
15:54
as a. What
15:56
is Thirty Years of Democracy means?
15:58
you in disk? A Jewish. Israeli
16:02
know it's useless. I don't have
16:04
a minimum of this. I've been
16:06
born into this company to today
16:08
I'm twenty nine is still seeing
16:10
the very same thing her so
16:13
I was a young men men's
16:15
had no I the ass in
16:17
all it says he said known
16:19
as soon as I called him
16:21
how to invest the so of
16:24
course by the where we are.
16:26
What's another good I was thinking
16:28
about nine thousand guerrilla. War.
16:33
started raining him. And
16:36
I and have. implied.
16:40
Museum. This
16:48
is the documentary from the Bbc
16:51
World Service. Hey,
16:57
I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently, I asked Mint
16:59
Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies
17:01
are allowed to raise prices due to
17:03
inflation. They said yes. And then when
17:05
I asked if raising prices technically violates
17:07
those onerous to your contracts, they said,
17:09
what the f*** are you talking about,
17:11
you insane Hollywood a*****e? So to
17:13
recap, we're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited from $30 a
17:15
month to just $15 a month. Give
17:19
it a try at mintmobile.com/switch. $45
17:21
up front for three months plus taxes and fees. Promote for new
17:23
customers for a limited time. Unlimited more than 40 gigabytes per month,
17:26
slows. Full terms at mintmobile.com. Lifeless Ordinary brings a
17:28
remarkable personal stories from across the
17:30
globe from people who chased they
17:32
dreams and no one knew that
17:34
it was going to travel a
17:36
bike. Even had told him that
17:38
I was riding your bike to
17:40
Egypt. Democracy bad was impossible to
17:42
people who have lived through nightmares.
17:44
Spain. In jail in Thailand I made
17:46
a promise to myself in Ny Giants
17:48
that went on hi I'm I'm gonna
17:50
volunteer somewhere. nice as ordinary in
17:52
the bbc world service will find
17:55
it wherever you get your bbc
17:57
podcasts I'm
18:04
Nomsa Masega with The People Shall
18:06
Govern. Three decades
18:08
into democracy, this dynamic country
18:10
is facing a new reckoning.
18:13
There are completely different challenges to
18:16
the historic first democratic polls of
18:18
three decades ago. Unemployment,
18:20
crumbling public health care and
18:22
rampant corruption plague the country.
18:25
I've been speaking about this with
18:27
Tessa Dooms, an author and political
18:29
analyst. I think South Africa
18:31
at 30 and our democracy at 30 presents
18:34
an opportunity for us to not only reflect
18:36
back, I think, on the last 30 years,
18:38
but on whether or not
18:40
the last 30 years are very different
18:42
from the 30 years before that. It's
18:44
an opportunity for us to ask, have we
18:46
really broken away from our
18:49
colonial and apartheid past? And for
18:51
me, I think given the sentiments in
18:53
the country that we've seen, it's very
18:55
much clear that people don't feel like
18:58
we've fundamentally changed the architecture of
19:00
our country. There are some glaring
19:02
things that you can see about the country that are
19:04
so very similar. High levels
19:06
of inequality persist and have even
19:08
increased in the democratic era. So
19:20
one of the best examples of the service
19:22
delivery crisis that extends in all directions
19:25
is that hundreds of trained medical
19:27
doctors have been staging protests in
19:29
major cities across the country because
19:31
they can't find work. They're
19:34
demanding permanent jobs, both because
19:37
they need to live and they want
19:39
to serve. Dr.
19:41
Taylor. Hi. Thank you so much
19:43
for meeting up with me. I
19:45
met up with one of the young doctors
19:47
who was born in 1993, the
19:49
year before our democratic transition. I'm
19:52
Dr. Mumtaz Emmer and Thomas. People
19:55
call me Dr. Taz. I'm a medical
19:57
doctor by profession, but also a health
19:59
activist. and a teenage pregnancy
20:01
prevention advocate. Dr. Tez
20:04
is the first graduate in her family.
20:06
She's surviving on freelance work outside of
20:08
the medical fraternity. It's very disheartening because
20:10
you grow up thinking, I'm going to
20:13
be a doctor, I can serve my
20:15
people. And then you're faced with the
20:17
reality that says, yes, you're a doctor,
20:19
but you can't serve your people. They
20:24
have been numerous protests by
20:27
unemployed doctors. What
20:29
is the feeling around this
20:31
issue with your other
20:33
unemployed colleagues? I feel like everyone's
20:35
spotted with hope. If
20:38
we make enough noise, people will listen. Now
20:41
the hope has been eliminated.
20:45
Now we have unemployed doctors sitting
20:47
at home disgruntled, feeling
20:50
unappreciated, and
20:53
that's pretty much the air that
20:55
everyone finds themselves in, because it's
20:58
April now. And
21:00
since January, people have been applying
21:02
for jobs, protesting, but yet we
21:04
still have hundreds of unemployed doctors.
21:06
What does 30 years of democracy
21:08
mean to you in this
21:11
current situation? I love that question.
21:13
So 30 years of democracy for me
21:16
has afforded me the
21:18
opportunity to be a
21:21
colored female medical doctor and
21:23
the first generation medical doctor in my
21:25
family. However, on the flip side, it's
21:28
also highlighted a very sad reality in
21:31
South Africa. The
21:34
people of South Africa are in dire
21:36
need of healthcare, yet
21:38
we have a collapsing healthcare
21:40
system, and that's why
21:43
we have 800 unemployed doctors. So
21:45
30 years of democracy in South Africa,
21:47
what that means for me is being
21:51
robbed of opportunity and hope that
21:53
was once promised to us. Political
22:01
violence in the years right before the
22:03
1994 vote almost derailed our transition to
22:11
democracy. Deadly
22:13
fighting that characterized the end of
22:16
white minority rule erupted in townships
22:18
outside of Johannesburg and in other
22:20
parts of the country. Supporters
22:23
of the Inghat al-Fridam party, egged
22:25
on by white extremists, unleashed
22:28
horrific violence to disrupt negotiations
22:30
for a peaceful end to
22:32
apartheid. Supporters
22:34
of the ANC retaliated and
22:36
thousands lost their lives. The
22:39
two sides clashed because the IFP
22:41
chose to cooperate with the racist
22:44
regime in exchange for infrastructure development
22:46
and other benefits like service delivery
22:48
and education for the Zulu nation,
22:51
while the ANC engaged in the arms
22:53
struggle. I'm
22:57
now standing in front of a granite
23:00
memorial which
23:02
bears the names of 688 victims of the violence
23:06
that took place here. Thirty
23:09
years after the guns have been silenced
23:12
and the killings stopped, families of
23:14
those who perished in the conflict visit
23:17
the monument to remember their loved ones.
23:20
Many of the people here carry
23:22
those scars. And some
23:25
of the people who
23:27
visit this monument in
23:29
towards a township are
23:31
those who fought in
23:33
the 1990s. I
23:45
met men who risked their lives for
23:47
the ANC during South Africa's fractured transition
23:50
over 30 years ago. Dumsani
23:52
Kumando is one of them. He
23:54
showed me some of the old battlegrounds. This
24:00
is Kumalo Street and it was
24:03
No Man's Land back then. Basically,
24:05
yes, there was nothing. Quiet.
24:08
You could hardly see a bed or anything or
24:10
a dog or anything. What would happen
24:13
if someone attempted to cross the road? Definitely.
24:16
You were risking being shot by the snipers from
24:18
the hostel or risking being
24:20
shot by our people from here because we don't
24:22
know who you are. Once you
24:24
cross here, you are just, like
24:26
we say, in No Man's Land. Either
24:29
this group or that group can
24:31
kill you. Either of them can kill you. But
24:33
you were young back then. What was
24:35
going through your mind at that time? I
24:38
mean, you're in the middle of a war, essentially. In
24:42
the beginning of it was fear, of
24:44
course. Everyone
24:46
was afraid. You were afraid of dying.
24:48
First it was confusion, then fear
24:51
and the desperation to survive.
24:53
They taught those people to
24:55
even take up their arms and fight. In
24:59
a quiet spot, we sat and
25:01
chatted about his reflections 30 years
25:03
on. Did
25:06
you say it was worth it, being
25:08
part of it, being one of the
25:10
commanders? It was worth it. We
25:13
do have got this far with
25:15
democracy if we didn't stand up
25:17
and fight. Definitely not because
25:20
the apartheid government was rich. They
25:22
had all the means,
25:24
the money, the machinery and everything.
25:26
So they wouldn't have let
25:29
it go easy like that. Would
25:31
you say this is the freedom you fought for?
25:34
I would say yes, it's the freedom that you fought
25:36
for. Maybe
25:39
it's because I'm coming from the older generation.
25:42
Because now you can't just go out
25:44
simply because a white person can spit
25:46
on me and clap me as you
25:48
wish or insult me or do
25:51
whatever you wish. That's a big
25:53
score which at that time was difficult. But
25:57
in terms of the governance itself,
26:02
We had made a lot of mistakes.
26:05
Like I'm saying, every day we
26:07
hear things about the looting of funds,
26:10
the corruption, other people
26:12
enriching themselves for getting up on their
26:14
muscles. If we could
26:16
just handle that, I
26:18
think we'll have a democracy that one
26:20
was fighting for. But every
26:23
democracy or every nation grows from somewhere.
26:25
We are still growing. We are still
26:27
a very young democracy. 30
26:30
years, if you look at it, 30 years is not
26:32
a very long time. The apartheid government
26:35
was in power for 48 years. We
26:37
have moved. We've got a lot of gains. The
26:40
government is trying to bring services to the people.
26:43
We're trying to move. With
26:51
upcoming elections on 29 May,
26:54
South Africa is counting gains of the
26:56
last 30 years. With
26:59
many asking what the next three decades
27:01
hold for the rainbow nation. But
27:03
many are also thinking about whether
27:05
they want to participate in democracy
27:08
at all. Here's Tessa Dooms again.
27:11
If you are raising our family at
27:13
the age of 30, all you've
27:15
known is a democracy. But
27:18
you probably are sitting in a situation where
27:20
you don't have adequate access to services, where
27:22
you don't have a job, or you don't
27:24
have many prospects in your life. But
27:27
when those young people see it, like a young
27:29
man in Malaysia said to us two years ago,
27:31
that really stayed with me. He
27:34
said, we're not voting because we get a vote,
27:36
but they get a democracy. Somebody
27:38
else is getting a democracy, and young
27:40
people feel like they've been sold or
27:42
dead. And so we're getting
27:44
to a point where many young people
27:46
are disillusioned, not with one
27:48
or two political parties, not with voting,
27:51
but with the democratic project. And I
27:53
think that's the greatest indictment on our
27:55
first 30 years. since
28:00
1994, many South
28:03
Africans still believe in the power of
28:05
the ballot box. Remember
28:07
Dr. Tez, who said she was at risk
28:09
of losing hope? She told
28:11
me that for her there's one thing
28:13
that can restore it. Will
28:15
you be voting? Of course. Like
28:20
I said, I feel that we have been
28:23
robbed of hope, but
28:25
voting is the
28:27
one thing that can
28:29
recreate a sense of hope amongst
28:31
us as South Africans. Voting
28:34
was the one thing that installed hope into South
28:36
Africa and it
28:38
can still be that one thing that
28:40
installs hope back into South Africa. 30
28:49
years on from the day that gave
28:51
me hope when black South Africans voted
28:53
for the first time, I've been thinking
28:55
a lot about that opening clause of
28:57
the Freedom Charter, the demand
29:00
that the people shall govern. It's
29:02
the heart of what a democracy is, but
29:06
democracy doesn't deliver on its
29:08
own. Nelson Mandela
29:10
once asked the question, what
29:13
is it that we can and must
29:15
do to ensure that democracy, peace
29:17
and prosperity reign everywhere? It's
29:20
a question that's as important for South
29:23
Africa today as it was then. Thanks
29:33
for listening to this episode of the
29:35
documentary. I'm Nomsa Masego.
29:38
The producer was Rob Wilson. Even
29:49
on a budget, quality is non-negotiable.
29:51
That's why Quince is the place
29:53
to score high-end essentials at 50
29:55
to 80% less than similar brands.
29:57
Get your hands on buttery soft
29:59
cashmere sweaters from just 60 bucks,
30:01
Italian leather jackets, and so much more.
30:03
And the best part about Quince? They
30:06
exclusively partner with factories committed to safe,
30:08
ethical, and responsible manufacturing. Elevate your
30:10
style without the elevated price tag
30:12
with Quince. Go to quince.com/upgrade for
30:15
free shipping and 365 day returns.
30:19
The mountains are what keeps me
30:21
motivated in love. It's where we
30:23
get to ask ourselves who we
30:25
are and who we want to become.
30:28
At the turn of this century, five
30:30
mountaineers set out on individual missions to
30:33
become the first woman to scale all
30:35
14 of the world's 8,000ers, 14 mountains, all
30:39
above 8,000 meters. It
30:41
was about pitting themselves against nature rather
30:43
than each other. They knew only one
30:46
of them would succeed. But whether
30:48
they liked it or not, it would come to be
30:50
seen as a race. Five women vying
30:52
against each other. The media needed
30:55
to find some competition, and they
30:57
find it. A race with deadly
30:59
consequences. We are just not designed
31:01
to live in this environment. Getting
31:04
down alive was my only goal
31:06
in that situation. Amazing Sports Stories
31:08
from the BBC World Service tells
31:10
their story in Chasing Mountains.
31:12
Every step was an achievement.
31:15
Search for Amazing Sports Stories wherever you
31:17
get your BBC podcasts.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More