13/12/2013

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:00:08. > :00:13.This week South Africa has lost an icon. I have travelled here to see

:00:14. > :00:19.what kind of nation has been left behind for the children of South

:00:20. > :00:27.Africa. My journey begins here in Soweto when Nelson Mandela lived for

:00:28. > :00:30.much of his life. For children of all ages, Nelson Mandela is seen as

:00:31. > :00:35.a true hero, an inspiring figure who did so much to improve South

:00:36. > :00:39.Africa. For many he is known as the father of the nation and he ended a

:00:40. > :00:44.racist system which treated white and black people differently. Today

:00:45. > :00:50.I have come to meet some kids who have plenty to say about the beloved

:00:51. > :00:53.Mandela. The Soweto Orchestra are rehearsing

:00:54. > :01:00.for the next performance. This week thoughts turn to Mandela. I see him

:01:01. > :01:07.as a global icon. Partly because he symbolises peace. I think he is one

:01:08. > :01:12.of the foremost brilliant people I have ever seen. The most humble soul

:01:13. > :01:17.that has ever walked the planet. It is because of him that I am able to

:01:18. > :01:21.sit here and talk to you. If you want to look up to someone, you must

:01:22. > :01:31.look up to him because he liberated us. What we have now is because of

:01:32. > :01:34.him. What do you think about the future of South Africa without

:01:35. > :01:39.Nelson Mandela? It is going to be hard. But I think a lot of things

:01:40. > :01:45.will change. Today they are enjoying their freedom. But Soweto was once

:01:46. > :01:49.in the middle of the battle to end the racist system called apartheid.

:01:50. > :01:55.Under that system, black people were treated much worse and had far fewer

:01:56. > :01:59.rights than white people. While Nelson Mandela was in prison, black

:02:00. > :02:04.people fought the white rulers of South Africa and children were

:02:05. > :02:08.caught up in it. One of those kids was this man who has come to tell me

:02:09. > :02:13.what it was like growing up during that time. The police came one night

:02:14. > :02:19.and they shot a canister of tear gas. I remember waking up with a

:02:20. > :02:23.burning sensation. That was my first experience of this thing called

:02:24. > :02:27.apartheid. He showed me this special pass that lack people needed to get

:02:28. > :02:32.around. They called it the stupid pass. If you were stopped by the

:02:33. > :02:39.police and he did not have this book, you were thrown into jail.

:02:40. > :02:43.Nelson Mandela's greatest achievement, breaking apartheid,

:02:44. > :02:49.gave many young black South Africans the chance of a better future. I

:02:50. > :02:59.have come to Johannesburg to meet someone who took the opportunity

:03:00. > :03:02.Mandela gave her. This woman is a successful businesswoman, something

:03:03. > :03:06.that would have been almost impossible under apartheid. She was

:03:07. > :03:12.lucky enough to meet Martha Mandela -- Nelson Mandela as a teenager. He

:03:13. > :03:17.was relaxed friendly, he smiled. He was so human. Although we knew this

:03:18. > :03:23.day would come, you are never prepared for it. I think we have had

:03:24. > :03:32.the most incredible example. It is now in our hands. Despite all of

:03:33. > :03:34.Mandela's achievements, many young black people in South Africa are

:03:35. > :03:41.growing up in poverty. There is still a big slip between the people

:03:42. > :03:47.who live in the townships and the white children who live just a short

:03:48. > :03:53.drive away -- big split. In this youth centre, boys and girls have a

:03:54. > :03:58.chance to have fun in the same place. The worries are never far

:03:59. > :04:04.away. Our life is complicated because sometimes the electricity

:04:05. > :04:13.goes off. We cannot iron our school clothes. We cannot do our breakfast.

:04:14. > :04:21.Now we go to school without eating. What do you want to see happen to

:04:22. > :04:33.Cape Town? Give us houses and better energy. Do you think you will get

:04:34. > :04:35.that any time soon? No. People want electricity and houses but the

:04:36. > :04:39.people they voted for did not give it to them. That is the problem. No

:04:40. > :04:43.one in charge of this country since the end of apartheid has been able

:04:44. > :04:51.to turn things around for kids in places like this. I am now in an

:04:52. > :04:55.upmarket part of Johannesburg which is predominantly a white area. I

:04:56. > :05:01.want to find out what Nelson Mandela means to young white South Africans.

:05:02. > :05:06.At this cricket match, the boys have renamed their team in honour of the

:05:07. > :05:13.late president. What did Nelson Mandela mean to you? He was one of

:05:14. > :05:19.the best people in the world. He is just amazing. It doesn't matter what

:05:20. > :05:21.race you are, that is why we are called the rainbow nation. It

:05:22. > :05:26.doesn't matter what colour scheme you have. Do you think still more

:05:27. > :05:33.needs to be done to improve South Africa? There is still a lot of

:05:34. > :05:38.racism. Now that he has died, I think South Africa will come more as

:05:39. > :05:41.a country and be more together. The people of South Africa are about to

:05:42. > :05:46.say their final goodbye to Nelson Mandela. The man who changed their

:05:47. > :05:49.country and the world for the better. But as Nelson Mandela

:05:50. > :05:54.himself once said, the true character of a society can be

:05:55. > :05:57.revealed in the way it treats its children. South Africa still has

:05:58. > :06:01.some way to go before his dream can become reality.