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South Africa has recently gone through one of the most extraordinary transformations of any nation on earth, forging peace and democracy out of a state of sectarian civil war, where a white minority ruthlessly repressed a black majority.
Perhaps most surprisingly, this transformation was achieved with a minimum of violence: the 1994 elections that led to Nelson Mandela assuming presidency of the country were marked by a minimum of conflict, and almost universal rejoicing around the world. But the traumas and divisions of the past are not so simply left behind: South Africa is a nation of immense wealth and power—the only first-world state in the African continent. But it is still riven by desperate inequality and a grinding poverty that few born into it can escape.
On top of this, the country is battling one of the highest AIDS infection rates in the world, and many now wonder if the sense of optimism of 1994 was fundamentally misplaced. And yet, across the country, that same spirit of hope can still be found in countless individual stories. No South African would ever pretend that their country does not face immense challenges as it looks towards the future. But all are unified in their immense love of the land and their nation.
This should be no surprise: this is one of the most geographically spectacular and diverse nation states in the world—with a landscape that ranges from European fecundity to blistering desert and savannah. Discovery ATLAS: South Africa Revealed aims to capture all of the disparate aspects of this vast and complex nation, from the quest for peace and reconciliation after a violent and repressive past to the search for wealth and prosperity in the modern world, the desire for a just and equal society and also to preserve the country's astonishing natural resources.
Discovery Atlas: about the show
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