On June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. A look back at his life and his struggles in the Franceinfo junior show with questions from children and explanations from journalist Pierre Haski, specialist in international relations.
Published
Reading time: 7 min
It was 60 years ago: on June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in South Africa, a country then in full apartheid. We look back at its story with CM1 students from the Louise Michel school in Vigneux-sur-Seine in the Paris region.
To answer their questions, journalist Benjamin Fontaine receives Pierre Haski, journalist and specialist in international relations. He was a correspondent in South Africa from 1976 to 1980. He is the author of the article The Myth: Clarity & Fidelity for the review Legend dedicated to Nelson Mandela and published in winter 2023.
“Who was Nelson Mandela?” Curtis questions to start the show. Sofia asks why Nelson Mandela went to prison.
Asma then speaks, she wants to know why everyone did not have the same rights in South Africa.
“Did Nelson Mandela almost die while in prison?” continues Erwann.
Finally, Islem wonders what Nelson Mandela did to “going from prisoner to president of South Africa” ?
On this page, listen again to this Franceinfo junior program dedicated to Nelson Mandela in full.
