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Nelson Mandela - South Africa
Nelson Mandela was born in the Transkei on the 18th July 1918 in Myezo as a member of the Thembu-family. His name, "Rohlilahla", means troublemaker, which can almost be seen as ironic, if one considers his efforts to install peace in South Africa during the Apartheid-era. He only received his more common name, "Nelson", on the first day he went to the British Colonial Boarding School known as Haeldtown. It is being said that the teachers gave all pupils English names.
His fellow students soon taught the young Mandela that a thing like African culture did not exist and that he should be happy that he could get a proper English education by such civilized teachers. This attitude is said to be the foundation stone from which Nelson Mandela became aware of his political surroundings. He was soon the person in the class that opposed the teacher’s opinion about what is politically right and wrong. In the thirties, segregation laws were forced into the constitution. During this restless time, Mandela began his studies at the Fort Hare University.
In 1940, Mandela ex-matriculated, due to an illegal strike with the student representatives, which he organized with Oliver Tambo. When he returned to South Africa, he decided that it was time to get a wife. Labola (payment for the marriage to an honorable African women) was already paid. However as a clear independent thinker, Mandela soon disappeared to Johannesburg.
At the age of 22, Nelson Mandela worked as a mine surveyor on Johannesburg’s coalmines. He did not expect that the mines were such neglected, dry and lifeless places. Everywhere around he found exhausted and worn out black men in dusty overalls. He now realized in what poverty and desperation.
In 1944, Nelson Mandela together with Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, founded the ANC youth league as a result to this enormous unjustice. Within a few years, Mandela was named president of this organization and founded the first black attorney’s office, after he and Oliver Tambo finished their respective law studies at the University Witwatersrand.
Mandela was instructed to lead a non-violent and civilized campaign against Apartheid and to organize strikes, protests and demonstrations. Mandela was arrested for the first time in 1952. Although he was exonerated, numerous arrests followed during the Treason Trail in 1958. Four years after the negotiations began, Mandela made his statement and was found innocent and subsequently released.
After the court hearing, the ANC was made illegal. The only way out seemed to be violent fights. Mandela gave up everything close to his heart – his family life and his work as an attorney. He began to carry weapons and to get into fights. He attained military training outside South Africa and when he returned, he formed the military wing of the ANC, named "Umkhontowe Sizwe". He was a hunted fugitive, who was always able to evade his enemies.
In 1962, Mandela was caught and arrested, this time for five years. During his imprisonment, he was accused of sabotage, and the so-called Rivonia trail began. As always, his answer was passionate and well articulated. Mandela’s reply took four hours and ended with his famous words: "I have always treasured a democratic and free society, in which all people can live in harmony. This is an ideal, for which I live and I hope that some day, this dream of mine will come true. And if necessary, I am prepared to die for this dream.
In 1964, Mandela was found guilty of the sabotage accusations and was given a lifetime imprisonment sentence, which he would serve in Robben Island. This prison was seen as one of the strictest prisons in South Africa. The ideas of Apartheid even reached the clothes that they wore, and reminded them that they were only "Boys" to society. They had to wear short pants and a thin jacket, as well as shoes without socks. The Indian prisoners wore long pants with socks.
At the age of 46, Mandela was placed in a small cell in section B of the prison. This was his home for the next 20 years of his life. This cell only had a small window with steal bars hindering any escape. He could get from one end of the cell to other in three steps. To add to this misery, the cell was constantly wet.
Robben Island was without a doubt the roughest prison in South Africa. Prisoners were only allowed to send a letter and have a visitor every six months.
This isolation was hell. The day was spent dragging heavy rocks and coal around. They worked in limestone mines and smoking or speaking was strongly prohibited and was punished severely. During this time Mandela’s eyes were irreversibly damaged and even today he cannot endure flashes whilst pictures are taken of him.
This unbelievable injustice and the inhuman prison environment sparked a new wave of protests. After months of official protests, Mandela was given an old pair of Khaki pants. Of course he refused to wear these before his prison companions also received new pants. Further protests about food, three-legged stools, to provide prisoners with a chance to rest for a while, where successful.
The ever-growing international pressure caused secret talks between Mandela and the government and the eighties.
In the year 1984, Mandela was sent to Pollsmoor Prison and then in 1988 to the Victor Verster Prison in the Paarl area. Finally, he was released on the 11th February. It was a meaningful day as, after being "absent" for 27 years, Mandela reappeared in the public. He was big and thin and was completely overwhelmed by the masses that came to welcome him.
In 1990, the ANC stopped their armed fights after almost 30 years. Mandela reconciled with the president F.W. de Klerk and they received the Nobel peace price in 1993 for their efforts to have a democratic South Africa. F.W. de Klerk, the ex-president of South Africa was an important link in the process of Mandela’s release.
The first democratic elections in South Africa took place on the 27th April 1994. The ANC won, after a massive political campaign and in May 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as president of South Africa. His sympathy for people is absolutely amazing. He met with widows of the men that arrested him. He had lunch with the bailiffs that wanted to hang him. His main ambition however, was to build and develop a strong and democratic South Africa.
Instead of being unforgiving due to the years that he spent in prison, Mandela wanted to build a South Africa that was free and fair to all South Africans, no matter of black or white. Appropriate arrangements were made to stop discrimination of minorities. His sense of humor came to the fore, when the media freedom was permitted again. "I never new that my face was that ugly, until I saw the cartoons of myself." In reality, he looks very vigorous for his age of 85 years and convinced the fashion world with his colourful shirts.
One of the best-known public appearances, where he wanted to join South African races, was at the rugby world cup in 1995. He wore a Springbok shirt and the appropriate cap – normally typical signs of a white sport. On this day, he brought 42 million people closer together, with an enormous sense of pride. On the podium, he presented the world cup to the captain, Francois Pienaar. Herewith, Mandela and Pienaar created one of the most moving moments in South African history.
On the 18th July 1998, Mandela turned 80 years old, and again he surprised the world when he got married to his third wife, Graca Machel, a widow of the Mozambican president, Somora Machel.
Nelson Mandela has 30 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Although Mandela retired in 1999, he is still active in helping those less fortunate than him. He has two welfare organizations, the Nelson Mandela Donations Fund and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
On the 29th November 2003, numerous international pop stars came to the Green Point stadium in Cape Town to take part in the "46664" concert. This spectacular music event took place for the Nelson Mandela children’s fund to get money for HIV/Aids research. Some of the artists present were Bono, Beyonce and Peter Gabriel.
Sandton Square in Johannesburg was renamed to the Nelson Mandela Square. To celebrate ten years of political freedom, the first statue of Mandel was unveiled. Madiba’s trademark dance, the "Madiba jive", was a sign of his happiness. The two funds that were founded by Mandela, hope to raise enough money to do even more good. The landlords, with the amount of R50 000, did the first big donation.
The Clock Tower Gallery is showing an exhibition called the "Touch of Mandela", which contains pictures of Mandela’s time on Robben Island and impressions of Cape Town. An exhibition, which we highly recommend.
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