How African countries assisted the South African liberation struggle: 1963-1994

Abstract

In order to arrest historical amnesia among South Africans, it is necessary to raise a public campaign of awareness on how the majority of African countries beyond the Limpopo contributed significantly in assisting the liberation of South Africans. Xenophobic or Afrophobic outbursts since 2008 have scarred the South African nation and tarnished its international reputation. Therefore, it is essential that a re-evaluation is made of the myriad ways in which other African nations gave military training and humanitarian assistance to thousands of South African refugees, and of how the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM), the United Nations (UN) and the Commonwealth platforms strongly agitated for the end of minority rule. Furthermore, the economic destabilisation and terrorism that was inflicted on the Front-Line States (FLS) by the white minority-led state also need to be remembered by a new generation of South Africans. Fundamentally, whilst South Africans sacrificed their lives for political freedom, there were other sister African nations who sacrificed critical resources and human lives to see the end of apartheid on the African continent.