ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Project Coast

Project Coast was a secret program in South Africa that happened a long time ago when you weren't even born. It was like a super-secret toy factory where grown-ups made bad things to hurt other people who didn't like them. They would make things like poison guns, bombs, and other weapons that could hurt people without anyone knowing who did it. They wanted to be very sneaky and not get caught, like playing a game of hide and seek but trying to cheat.

At that time, people were fighting and didn't want to be friends. Some people in South Africa thought that they needed to make toys that were very dangerous so that they could win the fight and make everyone who didn't like them go away. These grown-ups in the secret program didn't want anyone to know what they were doing because if somebody found out, they would be in big trouble.

Project Coast was like when you make a secret fort with your friends, and you don't want your big sister or brother to know because they will spoil the fun. These grown-ups in South Africa had a secret fort where they were making toys that were bad for other people. But you know what? It's not nice to make toys that can hurt others, so the grown-ups eventually stopped doing it.