It is a mark of Nelson Mandela's stature that his death is being mourned
— not the formal protocol that follows the passing of heads of state,
but genuinely mourned, by leaders and masses alike -— across the world
almost as a personal loss. And that is primarily because in a world
where hopes of peace, reconciliation and brotherhood seem to lie in
tatters, where dictators and oppressive regimes still trample over
people's rights, and where violence and bitterness, rancour and
hostility seem rife, he shone, graceful, smiling, black and beautiful as
a message of peace and hope, a moral authority and guide whose presence
and life seemed to reassure us that a better world is yet possible.
Years after the struggle to end apartheid was over, he still symbolised the struggle against discrimination and oppression. And that, not in violent ways, though he did have a past as a military commander of the ANC, but in a Gandhian way, the way of mutual respect, even for former opponents, and a belief in the goodness of humans, with a remarkable ability to infuse that goodness into others, and mould a segregated, divided nation into a unified, multicultural one. He was, simply, one of the greatest leaders in world history. And, in our age, he towered above everyone else on the world stage. For a man who spent more than a quarter of his life in a harsh prison, to come out and amaze former enemies with his unifying spirit, to step down after just one five-year term as the first black President of South Africa elected in 1994, while he could have gone on, and to emerge as a world leader — not because he commanded armies and battle groups, but by dint of commanding sheer respect — who spoke out against continuing injustices in other parts of the world, his life and persona make one recall words once used about Gandhi: that generations to come will scarce believe that someone like Mandela walked the earth.
Of course, there was criticism. The ANC broke some of its promises. But neither that criticism nor the vicissitudes of personal life ever touched Mandela's aura of grace. Nelson Mandela was a truly great man. RIP.
Years after the struggle to end apartheid was over, he still symbolised the struggle against discrimination and oppression. And that, not in violent ways, though he did have a past as a military commander of the ANC, but in a Gandhian way, the way of mutual respect, even for former opponents, and a belief in the goodness of humans, with a remarkable ability to infuse that goodness into others, and mould a segregated, divided nation into a unified, multicultural one. He was, simply, one of the greatest leaders in world history. And, in our age, he towered above everyone else on the world stage. For a man who spent more than a quarter of his life in a harsh prison, to come out and amaze former enemies with his unifying spirit, to step down after just one five-year term as the first black President of South Africa elected in 1994, while he could have gone on, and to emerge as a world leader — not because he commanded armies and battle groups, but by dint of commanding sheer respect — who spoke out against continuing injustices in other parts of the world, his life and persona make one recall words once used about Gandhi: that generations to come will scarce believe that someone like Mandela walked the earth.
Of course, there was criticism. The ANC broke some of its promises. But neither that criticism nor the vicissitudes of personal life ever touched Mandela's aura of grace. Nelson Mandela was a truly great man. RIP.
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