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The
life and work of Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu
was born on 7th of October 1931 in Klerksdorf, a gold-mining town 120
miles to the west of Johannesburg. He moved with his family to Johannesburg
at the age of twelve and earned money selling peanuts at bus stops and
caddying at golf clubs.
Desmond Tutu wanted to become a doctor but his family did not have the
means for him to realize his dream and so he followed his father's
footsteps and became a teacher. Hardly had he begun his career as
teacher than the South African government introduced laws aimed at
providing black pupils a poorer education than their white counterparts. |
Tutu wanted his pupils to become free and
independent adults who could think and make decisions on their own, yet now he
was expected to intentionally limit their knowledge. This he found impossible to
go along with and decided to become a priest.
Bishop
Tutu spoke in the name of all of South Africa's churches against the
apartheid system, which discriminated against races and violated human
rights. Apartheid was introduced into South Africa by the National Party
in 1948 in order to ensure that the minority made up of 4.5 million
whites could rule over 23 million blacks.
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You
will find background information on the apartheid system in
South Africa as part of the Human Rights Main Subject Group
under the heading of advanced
subject on apartheid |
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Black South Africans received an inferior
education, were deported to the Homelands, were not permitted free movement and
could be imprisoned without a trial. They were also required to carry a special
passport with them at all times in which almost all their details were listed.
Desmond Tutu received the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1984 for his
leadership in the fight to free the suppressed black majority in South Africa.
In his acceptance speech he appealed for peace, love and brotherhood between all
the world's peoples and not only the people of South Africa. He remains true to
this belief today (to
the Nobel Peace Prize speech).
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In 1986 he was consecrated
to archbishop, the highest post in the Anglican Church. But the greatest
moment for Tutu and, indeed, many others has to be the abolition of
apartheid at the beginning of 1990 and the country's first general
election in 1994, which elected his close friend, Nelson Mandela, South
Africa's first black president. Indeed, it was Nelson Mandela who
appealed to Tutu to become chairman of Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. The Commission had been set up to deal with South Africa's
dark past. The thinking behind the Commission was that there could be no
future without forgiveness. |
The Truth Commission was tasked with collecting
proof of human-rights violations during South Africa's apartheid period between
1960 and 1994 and forgiving those who came forward and admitted their involvement
in the horrors. Tutu is still committed to equal rights for all peoples across
the world and has been able to bring his influence to bear in many of the
world's conflicts.
Other information:
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A tabular resume
of Tutu's life is presented on the page entitled short
biography. |
The impact that Tutu
had in the fight against apartheid is addressed in another
text. |
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