Nelson Mandela
NELSON Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, has died at the age of 95.
News.com.au
The man credited with dismantling South Africa’s system of apartheid which institutionalised racism, Mandela was an international symbol of reconciliation and human rights.
A trained lawyer who rose to prominence as a leader of the African National Congress’s fight against the Afrikaaner regime, Mandela was imprisoned in 1962 for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
He served 27 years, mostly in the isolated Robben Island prison for political inmates.
An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990.
He was South Africa’s president from 1994-99.
Mandela was awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and is held in deep respect within South Africa as the “Father of the Nation”.
He continued to work through his Nelson Mandela Foundation combating HIV/AIDS, amid failing health.
Over the last few years, Mandela had been hospitalised several times for a recurring lung infection.
In Montserrat two persons who write columns and commentaries from time to time in The Montserrat Reporter gave their reflections.
Colin Riley:
Jermaine Wade:
He has become a symbol of peace. And to me, I believe his name will echo throughout the generations. What he has done for us, as black people, is something that I don’t think that can be repeated by any individual. And his legacy will live on. It’s a sort of solemn moment, a profound loss.
Dr. Sir Howard Fergus: “The first thing to be said is that this is a sad day for the world and more so for black people. Our hero, our super giant of a man and model leader is dead. At the same time, it is an occasion of pride and celebration at the passing of Nelson Mandela, this towering figure, tall in stature as he is in history. I want to think that no other human has achieved so much in so short a space, coming out of so savage a treatment as apartheid and the inhumanity of Robben Island and the evil that they stood for.”
Claude Gerald: “Nelson Mandela for me was an endangered species. Here’s a man of such rarity and such uniqueness that the whole world loved him, adored him and wanted to preserve him because he lived on a very high plane of spiritual awareness and spiritual consciousness. Here’s a man who captured the minds of the world because of his personality and his human spirit. He was a very humble man who chose to virtually resist the mighty forces of evil. He was basically saying to his oppressors in the apartheid world: jail me, mutilate me, murder me if you choose. You are free to do so but you really and truly cannot kill me.”
Colin Riley, Minister of Education, Health… has not yet contributed to TMR (used to write sports in the 80s) said. “I’m convinced that the work will continue. I don’t see any change in this quest. I believe that there’s a need for additional freedom fighters to join the movement. Those of us who work in the equal rights and justice industry—are always looking for new converts. And if we look at Nelson Mandela’s contribution, it lays down what I would call the platform for very strong future action.”
Another member of government in Jermaine Wade, never contributed to TMR said: “He has become a symbol of peace. And to me, I believe his name will echo throughout the generations. What he has done for us, as black people, is something that I don’t think that can be repeated by any individual. And his legacy will live on. It’s a sort of solemn moment, a profound loss.”
Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News writes:
“He is now resting,” said South African President Jacob Zuma. “He is now at peace.”
“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” he continued. “Our people have lost a father.”
A state funeral will be held, and Zuma called for mourners to conduct themselves with “the dignity and respect” that Mandela personified.
He walks, from prison
“Wherever we are in the country, wherever we are in the world … let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another,” he said as tributes began pouring in from across the world.
President Obama said his first political action was an anti-apartheid protest inspired by Mandela, who “achieved more than could be expected of any man.”
“I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example Nelson Mandela set,” he said.
Obama called Zuma on Thursday evening to express his heartfelt condolences, according to the White House.
Though he was in power for only five years, Mandela was a figure of enormous moral influence the world over – a symbol of revolution, resistance and triumph over racial segregation.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion,” he wrote in “Long Walk to Freedom.”
“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
