South Africa

South Africa is still known all around the world today for something that it is incredibly ashamed of: apartheid. Since Nelson Mandela took a stand against injustice and discrimination, the country has been attempting to recover, and in many ways, it has. Before apartheid was over thrown, the army was called the South African Defence Force, and it was primarily a tool to use against those that the government did not like. If you rebelled against the government, tried to avoid the ridiculous laws and rules, or heaven forbid, not be white, then you were in for trouble. Who is going to argue with the strongest military in the world? Some of the most disturbing images and videos of the time when South Africa was under apartheid are of members of the South African Defence Force hurting innocent people. But when Nelson Mandela was finally able to begin again, in 1994, all of that changed. The military was re created in 1994 as a protector of the people, not as its controller. The new constitution in effect totally changed the way that South Africans saw one of the strongest armies of the world, because now it was there to help them, not to harm them.