Writer

The writer of the article “What Life Was Like In South Africa During Apartheid” is journalist Michelle Faul. At the time, she was the Chief of African News of The Associated Press, a position that made her a reliable source on that topic.

The article itself strengthens the writer’s credibility, as Faul relies on her own experience while growing up to illustrate how racial segregation functioned in South Africa.

From the article, we find out that her mother was South African but lived in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and that her father died when she was very young (p. 10, ll. 10-12). Furthermore, she shares a story about her aunt and grandmother, which reveals that her aunt managed to pass as white during the apartheid regime, thanks to strange rules deciding one’s racial background: “…one of my mother's sisters ‘played white.’ When she was in her 90s, my grandmother recounted how her own daughter walked past her in the street, pretending not to know her.” (pp. 11-12, ll....