Photo courtesy of Festival Karsh.
There’s nothing that can be said about the proclaimed father of South Africa that hasn’t been said before. But a life so dedicated to the benefit of others, as his was, can never be covered enough in writing, for his life is a story that should never die.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela will forever be remembered as the South African anti-apartheid leader, the man, who through much pain, suffering and depravity, refused to give up on a belief for a better South Africa. This belief was one that would end the last standing racially segregated regime on the planet, and bring about revolutionary change to the country that imprisoned him for 27 years.
Mandela was never perfect, like you and me; he made wrong decisions and paid the price. In 1963-’64 he was convicted, along with nine other members of the African National Congress political party, in the Riviona Trial. He was sentenced to life on four broad charges, with the most serious of them being “Rrecruiting persons for training in the preparation and use of explosives and in guerrilla warfare for the purpose of violent revolution and committing acts of sabotage.”
This conviction has always been a source of controversy. In his younger years, the law graduate painted a picture as a freedom fighter for the suppressed black Africans, but this transpired as “freedom to do whatever you want” in the eyes of many.
Because of that, up until his death, he still split the divide between revolutionary hero and glorified terrorist. Despite receiving the overwhelming vote of confidence from the global public and media alike – since his release from prison and reign as President of South Africa – there are still those, however small the minority, who feel his actions in his younger years were not only wrong but hypocritical.
As a child, I was led to believe that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on an island because he was black. If he was on the news, whether making comments regarding a political or racial situation, as an authoritative figure purely to add credibility to a story, or a figurehead to an event, I felt it almost second nature to believe every word.
Here was Nelson Mandela – that old man who endeared everybody. He had endured such hardship and turmoil, through no fault of his own other than the colour of his skin. He has always been a figure of peace and contentment to me, and that shall never change, so it did strike me in my late teens when I learned of the reasons why Mandela was sentenced, costing him the best years of his life.
Yet Mandela’s achievements since he was released from prison in 1989 are nothing short of magical. Negotiating the end to apartheid in the last racially segregated country on earth was of monumental importance. He was the face of black revolution in South Africa and much of the lower continent, leading to feverous popularity and his inauguration as the first black President of South Africa in May 1994.
This position allowed him to help millions of people, not only in South Africa but throughout the world. His work towards national reconciliation was humbling, his welfare reforms helped those most in need, and basic health and hygiene conditions were brought up to a standard rarely seen before by the majority.
People love a good underdog, and when you have such a person go from zero to hero, it plays at the heartstrings like nothing else. Maybe that’s why the love for Mandela has always been so strong.
I feel it’s down to hindsight. The man was a visionary, way ahead of his time, and despite my young years and lack of in-depth knowledge about his life, I couldn’t see it any other way.
I don’t think prison rehabilitated Nelson Mandela, I think Nelson Mandela rehabilitated Nelson Mandela, and I know how I will remember him, do you?
“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond that which is measurable. It’s our light, not our dark side, that frightens us the most. We ask ourselves, who am I to say that I’m brilliant, marvelous, talented, fabulous? In fact, who are we to say that we are not?” – Nelson Mandela
