MADIBA (1918 – 2013)

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." - Nelson Mandela

We see how one man's remarkable life has reached its fulfillment and has blossomed into a national vision. Inspired by myriad influences, taking the best from both his native heritage, from the example of foreign freedom movements, and even from the history and literature of his oppressors, Nelson Mandela forged a vision of humanity that encompasses all people and that sets the hallmark for the rest of the world.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law.

"Color-Blindness"

Starting his fight for liberation of the blacks as an aggressive young African pugilist and nationalist in the early 1940's, Mandela had not always deemed that democratic progress must rest on equality, pluralism, and multiethnicity. What made him later stand out from other South African leaders, and made him finally emerge victorious, was precisely his vision of a state that belongs equally to all its different peoples, nations, and tribes, whether Afrikaan, English, or Zulu. Being himself a leader belonging to the Xhosa-speaking people, he eventually transcended the idea of national liberty, and he attracted Indians, Jews, and other segments of the multicoloured population to the cause. Countering the racist suppression of the blacks, he avoided, unlike many other revolutionaries of the continent, acceding to a basically or exclusively black or tribal liberation movement. This vision, sometimes referred to as "colour-blindness," was partly inspired by Marxists, drawing on European ideologies and influenced from abroad. 

Equality and Pluralism

He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of “Umkhonto we Sizwe”. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

The Rainbow Government

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life's work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation's National Chairperson.

In1994, he became the first black president of the country. When he entered into office, he was aware of the universal importance of this success, but he was also humbled by the focus on his person as a symbol of international and historical dimensions.

Laurels

When the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 to Nelson R. Mandela, it was pointed out that his achievement was made by "looking ahead to South African reconciliation instead of back at the deep wounds of the past." The committee also observed that South Africa has been the very symbol of racially conditioned suppression, and that the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime accordingly "points the way to the peaceful resolution of similar deep-rooted conflicts elsewhere in the world."

"To have spent 27 years in jail.... To have been deprived of the whole mighty center of one's life, and to emerge apparently without a trace of bitterness, alert and ready to lead one's country forward, maybe the most extraordinary human achievement that I have witnessed in my lifetime"- Arthur Ashe on Nelson

His two books "A Long Walk to Freedom" and "Conversations with Myself”, will depict his thoughts for the future generations and be the guiding North Star for people. Thanks for living for someone else first and for yourself later.