On December 5th, I woke up to the news that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, affectionately known as Madiba, had passed away after being “on his deathbed” for several months.
In the short time since his death, (not to mention during his many years of service to his country and world), so much has already been written and said about this great man that the only thing I can add is my personal story.
My parents, sister and I emigrated to South Africa from Italy in 1977. Back then, television and radio were heavily censored and through the media, we were taught that Nelson Mandela and the ANC (African National Congress) were “terrorists” who planted bombs and killed innocents.
Our lives were good and we didn’t question the segregation in government schools. My husband (whose family also emigrated from Italy a few years before mine) went to a private school where people of all religions and colors were happily accepted, as long as they could afford the fees.
In my opinion, Apartheid was never as rigorously enforced in Cape Town as it was elsewhere in the country. Be that as it may, most of us grew up blissfully unaware of human rights abuses and the like.
Fast forward to the 1990’s and most “white” people feared the worst. In fact, there were so many people leaving the country that a common saying was; “Will the last person to leave South Africa please switch off the lights?”
In my humble opinion it was Nelson Mandela, more than anyone else, who allowed South Africa to transition as smoothly as it did. The civil war which everyone feared just didn’t happen. Madiba revealed himself to be a man who was the polar opposite of whom many of us thought him to be (a “terrorist”). He earned everyone’s respect and admiration. He was a really great leader who never forgot where he came from. By that I mean that he never let “power” go to his head. He remained humble and approachable, and spread a message of peace and reconciliation. Mandela’s compassion and love for his fellow man are traits we’d all do well to emulate.
Sadly, the Presidents who have come after Nelson Mandela have betrayed his legacy. Madiba wanted everyone to have a better life. Sadly, things in this country have gone from bad to worse since Madiba stepped down. The most tragic part of all is that it is the very poor, “previously disadvantaged”, people who Madiba sought to empower who are worse off now than ever.
I feel I need to leave the last word to Dr. John Demartini, who wrote this in tribute to the great Nelson Mandela: ” From passive to activist and from prisoner to President one man became a legend in his lifetime though stationed in simplicity and limited in residence he moved the world. Nearly a century of living, but ultimately millenniums of presence, Nelson was contributive through the very core of his essence. It is time to reflect on his great accomplishments and revere his message. Let us all dig deeper into our own nature and find grace and poise since this one man’s direction was the purpose of freedom and presence not race. “
What one quality did you most admire in Nelson Mandela? How can use that quality in yourself to help make the world a better place?
R.I.P. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918 – 2013)
This is an original post for World Moms Blog by Mamma Simona from Cape Town, South Africa. She shares her home with a husband, 2 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs.
Photo Credit To: Paul Simpson : Flickr Creative Commons
This photo has a creative commons attribution license.
What an amazing, inspirational man – who lived an incredible life. Thank you for the lovely tribute Simona.
Thank you for writing this! I have been eager to hear your words from South Africa. Love and blessings.
A really interesting perspective, Simona. The planet has really lost such a magnificent man and role model, but I’m so grateful that he had the opportunity to be who he was and spend the time that he did on Earth. I really had a pit in my stomach when I heard the news of his death.
I hadn’t thought about South Africa not continuing and building on the amazing human rights road that Mandiba had paved. That part is surprising to me.
Thank you for writing this for World Moms Blog! I really hope we hear more perspectives on Mandela in the future, too.
Jen 🙂
Thank you so much Simona! I was looking forward to this post!
I have been to South Africa when I was 17 years old, in a kind of sensibilization trip of a non profit organization, to make youngsters aware of cultural differences and such.
We – all white – stayed with coloured families for 2 weeks, which was quite intense. On New Year’s eve, we even visited the Archbisshop of Cape Town, who was amazing! He also stayed on RobbenEiland for some years and told us a lot about Mandela and what he stood for.
But I never realized that things went back to worse after Mandela stepped down. I was there in december 1999 (and the first days of 2000), so I guess at that time, the post-Mandela-effect was not yet that noticeable.
I feel for him, he must have known his country was going downhill again…
Many of us believe that Madiba was deeply hurt by all the corruption scandals that have plagued the ANC, and the gross mismanagement of public funds at all levels of government but (most heinous of all) by President Zuma and his cronies.
This is not what Madiba fought for and stood for. Most heartbreaking of all is that next year is an election year for South Africa and President Zuma has had the gall to billboards put up which say “Vote (for the ANC) so that uTata (our father – Mandela) can rest in peace”! 🙁
Oh my, now it is even more tragic…
I’m so angry with the ANC right now!!!
Apparently when President Zuma went up to speak at the Memorial Service held for Madiba yesterday, the crowd booed him! Dare I hope that this is a “wake-up call” to him to start doing better?
Wonderful post Simona! I can only imagine what it must have been like growing up in S. Africa during Mandela’s time. He is an amazing inspiration to us all. I just hope the world will continue to progress following his lead.
Starting with the current ANC Leadership!