REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA - FLAG OFF

• S. Africa • Mozambique • Malawi • Tanzania • Zambia • Botswana • Namibia • S. Africa •

Mention South Africa, and names like Pretoria, Soweto, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Cape Town, the Table Mountains, the Cape of Good Hope, apartheid, and Nelson Mandela spring to mind. The lure of South Africa is as riveting to some as the sparkle of its gold and diamonds - two precious commodities that laid the foundations for its turbulent history.

The gold and diamond mines promised untold wealth. Unfortunately, they also brought mercenaries and fortune hunters. Eventually, this meant subjugation of the native people. Bitter rivalry between British and Dutch settlers sparked the Boer War of 1899-1902. The British won but the resulting Union of South Africa was one that laboured under the dark clouds of apartheid. The 1990s finally brought an end to this, ushering in black majority rule.

Post-apartheid South Africa is a new and vibrant society. The climate is hospitable and few places can match the remarkable windows to wildlife. But the full spectrum of life comes with complex challenges - poverty, AIDS, violent crimes. Yet across all communities, a sense of pride and hope prevails.

This is a country of some 43 million people, in an area almost four times the size of Malaysia. The ethnic mix is strikingly diverse. There are blacks, whites (of Afrikaner or British descent), indigenous, tribal and mixed races, Indians, and even Cape Malays. With three state capitals and eleven official languages, South Africa retains its matrix of mystique and mystery, hopefully unshackled from its colonial past.