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by Wayne Campbell
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” – Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is a much revered icon. Mandela had a gentle and magnetic persona which allowed both rich and poor, sinner and saint to gravitate towards him.
Nelson Mandela, affectionately called Madiba is the first black elected president of a post-apartheid South Africa. Mandela’s willingness to forgive those who imprisoned him unjustly for almost three decades shows the character of the man who many referred to as ‘a giant of our time.’
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described Mandela as “a leader of unparalleled courage and towering achievement; and a man of quiet dignity and deep humanity, who walked the path to freedom and dignity with steely determination and with compassion and love.” Mandela demonstrated through his life that everyone has the ability and responsibility to build a better future.
After his presidency, Mandela became a philanthropist with a special focus on education. Through the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 1999, he pursued noble work such as rural development, school construction, and combating HIV/AIDS. Mandela’s legacy of humility and service lives on not only in South Africa, but also around the world where he was viewed
as a hero and advocate for the downtrodden and marginalised.
Early years
Nelson Mandela was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Madiba clan of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu people. After his father’s death, young Nelson was raised by Jongintaba, the regent of the Tembu. Nelson renounced his claim to the chieftainship to become a lawyer.
He attended South African Native College (later the University of Fort Hare) and studied law at the University
of the Witwatersrand; he later passed the qualification exam to become a lawyer. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), a Black-liberation group, and became
a leader of its Youth League.
That same year he met and married Evelyn Ntoko Mase. Mandela subsequently held other ANC leadership positions, through which he helped revitalize the organization and oppose the apartheid policies of the ruling National Party. Mandela’s antiapartheid activism made him a frequent target of the authorities. In 1952, he was intermittently banned (severely restricted in travel, association, and speech).
In December 1956 he was arrested with more than 100 other people on charges of treason that were designed to harass antiapartheid activists. Mandela went on trial that same year and eventually was acquitted in 1961. During the extended court proceedings, he divorced his first wife and married Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela.
Incarcerated
From 1964 to 1982 Mandela was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town. He was subsequently kept at the maximum-security Pollsmoor Prison until 1988, when, after being treated for tuberculosis, he was transferred to Victor Verster Prison near Paarl.
The South African government periodically made conditional offers of freedom to Mandela, most notably in 1976, on the condition that he recognise the newly independent and highly controversial status of the Transkei Bantustan and agree
to reside there.
An offer made in 1985 required that he renounce the use of violence. Mandela refused both offers, the second on the premise that only free men were able to engage in such negotiations and, as a prisoner, he was not a free man.
On February 11, 1990, the South African government under President de Klerk released Mandela from prison. Shortly after his release, Mandela was chosen deputy president of the ANC; he became president of the party in July 1991.
Mandela led the ANC in negotiations with de Klerk to end apartheid and bring about a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy in South Africa.
Presidency and retirement
In April 1994 the Mandela-led ANC won South Africa’s first elections by universal suffrage, and on May 10 Mandela was sworn in as president of the country’s first multiethnic government.
He established in 1995 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which investigated human rights violations under apartheid, and he introduced housing, education, and economic development initiatives designed to improve the living standards of the country’s Black population.
In 1996 he oversaw the enactment of a new democratic constitution. Mandela resigned his post with the ANC in December 1997, transferring leadership of the party to his designated successor, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela and Madikizela-Mandela had divorced in 1996, and in 1998 Mandela married Graca Machel, the widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president. Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013 at age 95.
Nelson Mandela’s decade of peace
On 24 September 2018, world leaders gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit.
At the Summit, nearly 100 Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Member States and representatives of civil society participants adopted a political declaration committed to redoubling efforts to build a just, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and fair world, as they paid tribute to the late South African President’s celebrated qualities and service to humanity.
Observing the period from 2019 to 2028 as the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace, the Declaration saluted Mr. Mandela for his humility, forgiveness and compassion, acknowledging as well his contribution to the struggle for democracy and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.
History of Nelson Mandela Day
Nelson Mandela International Day, also known as Mandela Day is an international observance in honour of the revolutionary and much respected Nelson Mandela. The United Nations’ observance of Nelson Mandela International Day is on July 18. The theme for Nelson Mandela International Day 2022 is “do what you can with what you have and where you are.”
According to the United Nations the theme finds significance given the geopolitical landscape in Eastern Europe as well as sporadic conflicts in the Horn of Africa, followed by the crisis in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and various other parts of the world. The day was first observed by the United Nations on July 18, 2010.
Mandela’s values and work on human rights, freedom and justice are reflected on and are a source of inspiration for many across the globe. Mandela was a man of principle and dignity who advocated for the decency and equality of every living person. His relentless pursuit for equality was legendary.
As the founding father of peace in South Africa, Mandela’s place in history is secured. In as much as Mandela made a huge difference on the global scene we all can make a difference in our communities.
Let us continue to be inspired by the work and worth of Nelson Mandela. Happy Mandela Day. In the words of Nelson Mandela, it is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #NelsonMandelaInternationalDay #MandelaDay2022
