On this Day

Nelson Mandela’s release

BBC Learning English – On this Day
Nelson Mandela’s release from prison
February 11, 1990

Yvonne: Hello, I'm Yvonne Archer and this is a BBC Learning English ‘On this Day’
special. In today’s programme, we go back to a day in February 1990, when
an extraordinary South African man was released from prison. He was
accompanied by police and was welcomed by a huge crowd of very happy
people. Do you know who he is and how he came out of prison?

Mike Woolridge
Lots of whistling and cheering now and now police motor cyclists coming through and a
police escort vehicle. And now it looks as though Mr Mandela is going to walk out of the
gate, not come in a vehicle as we thought.

Yvonne: As we heard, February the 11th marked an exciting and important day for
democracy. The man who was to become South Africa’s very first
democratically elected president walked out of prison after 27 years for
fighting against apartheid. The political system separated people according to
their race – their colour. But apartheid also made it legal for only white South
Africans, who were in the minority, to rule the country and treat everyone else
unfairly.

There were many anti-apartheid groups which campaigned for Nelson

Mandela’s release from prison. So when he finally greeted his supporters for
the first time in 27 years as a free man, the reactions were remarkable… Mr
Mandela was surrounded by 50,000 people…

Nelson Mandela

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Yvonne: Doug, a Canadian, was surprised at his own reaction as he watched Mr Mandela’s
release on television. He was with people who weren’t as interested in what was
happening as he was, but how did he react? Also, try to catch the expression
Doug uses to mean that his full attention wasn’t really on the television.

Doug
I was in France when I saw Nelson Mandela released and I was with some people who
weren’t that interested at all and I was watching it kind of out of the corner of my eye. And
when he came out, I can remember, I kind of cried. – I was really surprised at myself. But I
thought it was unbelievable. It was like a Hollywood film. You couldn’t write this.

Yvonne: Like many other people around the world, Doug cried. He thought it was like
watching a film but doesn’t think it would have been possible to write a script
that would be as good. ‘You couldn’t write this’ – he said. And you can use
that expression to describe a situation that’s surprisingly good or impressive.
But did you catch the expression Doug used to mean he wasn’t paying full
attention to the television as Nelson Mandela was released from prison? Yes,
he was watching it ‘out of the corner of his eye’.
Doug
I was watching it kind of out of the corner of my eye. You couldn’t write this.

Yvonne: But even though many people were paying full attention, Mr Mandela’s release
from prison wasn’t as everyone expected. Nuala is from Scotland and was
only a baby when Nelson Mandela was first sent to prison but she became very
much aware of this historical figure as a teenager. Listen out for the expression
that Nuala uses to mean that his release wasn’t as exciting for her as she
expected it to be. Also, how does Nuala describe Nelson Mandela?
Nuala
I was living in Singapore at the time – I was a teacher then. And I remember watching it on
TV and just being really surprised at how low-key it all was. Because there had been so

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much publicity beforehand about wanting to get him released and yet when he came out of
prison, he was just this frail old man walking very slowly out of prison.

Yvonne: For Nuala, the man who walked very slowly out of prison was a ‘frail’old man –
someone who wasn’t very strong. And did you catch the expression ‘low key’
that she used to help us understand that the event wasn’t as exciting as she
expected? And you can use that expression ‘low key’ to describe almost any
situation that is fairly quiet and the opposite to exciting.
Nuala
I remember watching it on TV and just being really surprised at how low-key it all was.

Yvonne: Now here’s a recap of some of the language we’ve heard today:
If you’re watching the television, for example, but not paying full attention,
you’re watching…
out of the corner of your eye
If a situation is surprisingly good or impressive, you could say…
“You couldn’t write this!”
If an event is fairly quiet and not very exciting, you could describe it as…
low key

And that’s all for now. Goodbye.

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