Elias’s story
1.My name is Elias.I am a poor black worker in South Africa.The time when I first met Nelson Mandela was a very difficult period of my life .I was twelve years old .It was in 1952 and Mandela was the black lawyer to whom I went for advice .He offered guidance to poor black people on their legal problems.He was generous with his time ,for which I was grateful.
I needed his help because I had very little education.I began school at six .The school where I studied for only two years was three kilomertes away .I had to leave because my family could not continue to pay the school fees and the bus fare .I could not read or write well .After trying hard ,I got a job in a gold mine ,However,this was a time when one had got to have a passbook to live in Johannesburg.Sadly I did not have it because I was not born there ,and I worried about whether I would become out of work.
2.The day when Nelson Mandela helped me was one of my happiest .He told me how to get the correct papers so I could stay in Johannesburg.I became more hopeful about my future.I never forgot how kind Mandela was .When he organized the ANC Youth League,I joined it as soon as I could.He said:
“The last thirty years have seen the greatest numeber of laws stopping our rights and progress ,untill today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all .”