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Voordat hy die eerste swart president van Suid -Afrika geword het, het Mandela 27 jaar agter tralies deurgebring omdat hy die heersende apartheidsregime gekant het, wat rasseskeiding afgedwing het en nie -blankes van die politieke proses uitgesluit het. Met die blanke minderheidsregering onder toenemende druk om sy drakoniese praktyke te beëindig, is Mandela uiteindelik op 11 Februarie 1990 vrygelaat. sy eerste internasionale reis na die nabygeleë Zambië teen die einde van die maand. Vandaar het Mandela na 'n ander Afrika -land gegaan en daarna na Swede, waar hy 'n ou vriend, Oliver Tambo, die ballingskapspresident van die politieke party van die African National Congress ontmoet het. In Mei vertrek Mandela op 'n tweede reis deur Afrika. En op 4 Junie vlieg hy na Botswana op die eerste been van 'n ander toer wat hom na meer as 'n dosyn lande, insluitend die Verenigde State, sou neem. Mandela het onder meer gehoop om geld vir die African National Congress in te samel en buitelandse regerings te oorreed om streng ekonomiese sanksies teen Suid -Afrika in plek te hou.
Op 20 Junie vlieg Mandela van Kanada na die Kennedy International Airport in New York, waar hy kort opmerkings maak voordat hy na 'n oorwegend swart hoërskool in Brooklyn gaan. Later op die dag het Mandela deelgeneem aan 'n optog-optog deur laer Manhattan, 'n seremonie in die stadsaal waarin hy 'n sleutel van die stad ontvang het en 'n ete by die burgemeester se herehuis. Na berig word, het die polisie beraam dat 'n ongelooflike 750 000 mense na hom kom kyk het. 'Ons moes die geskiedenis sien', het een van die mense wat haar seun na Mandela vernoem het, onlangs aan die New York Times gesê. 'Dit was 'n oorweldigende gevoel, om te weet hoe hy vasgehou het met sy oortuigings en nie saamstem met wat nie reg is nie. Die volgende dag was amper minder verslawend, want Mandela het 'n kerkdiens bygewoon, 'n motorfietsrit deur Harlem geneem en by 'n uitverkoopte byeenkoms in die Yankee Stadium verskyn, waar burgemeester David Dinkins 'n Yankees-hoed en baadjie aan hom oorhandig het. 'Ek is 'n Yankee,' antwoord Mandela op die skare se plesier. Hy het die volgende oggend by die World Trade Center saam met sakeleiers ontbyt geëet voordat hy die Verenigde Nasies toegespreek het. Terwyl hy in New York was, het Mandela ook tyd gekry vir 'n paar onderhoude oor televisienuus en 'n geldinsamelingsete deur Hollywood -sterre Spike Lee en Robert De Niro.
Mandela se volgende stop was Boston, die hoofstad van Massachusetts, wat 'n paar jaar tevore die eerste staat geword het wat sy pensioenfondse afgestig het van maatskappye wat sake in apartheid in Suid -Afrika doen. By 'n oorwegend swart hoërskool het Mandela sy kommer uitgespreek dat soveel studente uitval. 'Dit is 'n baie ontstellende situasie, want die jeug van vandag is die leiers van môre,' het hy gesê. Mandela het ook saam met twee van sy dogters in die omgewing gekuier, 'n middagete saam met die Kennedy -gesin bygewoon en tydens 'n saamtrek langs die Charlesrivier gepraat, insluitend musikale optredes van Stevie Wonder en Paul Simon. Daarna is hy na Washington, DC, waar hy saam met president George Bush en minister van buitelandse sake, James Baker, vergader het - ondanks die amptelike lys op die terreurwaglys. In werklikheid sou Mandela tot op 2008 op die dophoulys bly, toe president George W. Bush wetgewing onderteken het wat die beperkings op Mandela en die ANC wat sedert die middel van die tagtigerjare bestaan het, formeel ophef. 'N Dag later het Mandela 'n Black Caucus -ontbyt in die kongres bygewoon en slegs die derde private burger geword wat 'n gesamentlike kongresgeleentheid toegespreek het. 'Ons land, wat steeds bloei en pyn ly, het demokrasie nodig,' het Mandela gesê. "[...] Ons veg vir en visualiseer 'n toekoms waarin almal, sonder inagneming van ras, kleur, geloof of seks, stemreg het."
Die res van die reis het stopplekke in Atlanta ingesluit, waar Mandela 'n krans op die graf van Martin Luther King Jr. geplaas het, 'n eregraad van verskeie histories swart kolleges ontvang het en by die stad se oudste oorwegend swart kerk afgelaai het; Miami, waar hy 'n arbeidsbyeenkoms toegespreek het; Detroit, waar hy deur die burgerregte -ikoon Rosa Parks begroet is, het 'n motorvervaardigingsaanleg besoek en die sanger Marvin Gaye van Motown aangehaal tydens 'n aandbyeenkoms in die Tiger Stadium; Los Angeles, waar hy in die stadsaal gepraat het, het 'n geldinsamelingsete bygewoon wat na berig word meer as $ 1 miljoen ingesamel het en 'n sterrebelaaide byeenkoms by die Memorial Coliseum bevat het; en Oakland, waar hy op nog 'n byeenkoms lofprysing vir langskepe het wat geweier het om Suid -Afrikaanse goedere af te laai. In Miami het vyf Kubaanse-Amerikaanse burgemeesters hom beskuldig omdat hy die kommunistiese Kubaanse leier Fidel Castro ondersteun het, en 'n paar honderd betogers het in die strate betoog. In die algemeen was die entoesiastiese skare egter baie groter as die verspreide kritici. Openbare amptenare was ewe komplimentêr. Die gesamentlike kongresvergadering het hom na bewering 15 staande toejuigings gegee tydens sy toespraak van 33 minute, vise-president Dan Quayle het hom 'n 'simbool van vryheid' genoem, en die president van Lafayette College het geskryf dat 'geen vreemdeling sedert Winston Churchill die verbeelding aangegryp het nie van die Amerikaanse volk so vrymoedig. ”
Op 30 Junie vlieg Mandela na Ierland en daarna na nog 'n paar lande voordat hy middel Julie sy wêreldtoer voltooi. Hy het in die volgende twee jaar twee keer na New York teruggekeer om die Verenigde Nasies toe te spreek, en in 1993 het hy na verskeie Amerikaanse stede gereis as deel van 'n geldinsamelingspoging. Toe, in Oktober 1994, net 'n paar maande nadat hy tot president van Suid -Afrika verkies is, het hy sy eerste amptelike staatsbesoek aan die Verenigde State gehou. Meer Amerikaanse reise kom na sy uittrede, insluitend 'n toer deur Ground Zero na die terreuraanvalle van 11 September 2001 en 'n verskyning tydens die eerste Tribeca -filmfees in 2002. Tog is dit die eerste besoek in 1990, toe apartheid op die punt gestaan het. van omverwerping, blyk dit die meeste in Amerikaners se gedagtes op te val. 'Ek kan aan niks dink wat my meer as die ervaring ontroer het nie,' het Dinkins aan die New York Times gesê. "Die ding wat my die meeste aan hierdie wonderlike man gefassineer het, was sy totale afwesigheid van bitterheid."
Die Nelson Mandela -presidentskap - 1994 tot 1999
In 1991 is Nelson Mandela verkies tot die president van die African National Congress (ANC), en sy vriend en kollega, Oliver Tambo, is verkies tot die ANC se nasionale voorsitter. Mandela het voortgegaan om met president FW de Klerk te onderhandel oor die eerste nie-rassige verkiesing in die land. Afrikaners was bereid om mag te deel, maar baie swart Suid -Afrikaners wou 'n volledige magsoordrag hê. Die onderhandelinge was gespanne. Geweld in Suid -Afrikaanse townships het uitgebreek, gevolg deur die moord op die leier van die ANC en die Suid -Afrikaanse Kommunistiese Party (SAKP) op 10 April 1993. Mandela was onder druk en hy moes 'n fyn balans tussen politieke druk en intense onderhandelinge onderhou van die betogings.
In 1993 ontvang Mandela en president de Klerk die Nobelprys vir Vrede vir hul werk om apartheid af te skaf. Onderhandelinge tussen swart en wit Suid -Afrikaners het die oorhand gekry. Op 27 April 1994 het Suid -Afrika sy eerste demokratiese verkiesing gehou. Die ANC het die verkiesing gewen met 62,65 % van die stemme. Die National Party (NP) ontvang 20,39 %, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) 10,54 %, Freedom Front (FF) 2,2 %, Democratic Party (DP) 1.7 %, Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) 1.2 %en die African Christian Democratic Party 0.5 %.
Op 10 Mei 1994 is Nelson Mandela, op 77 -jarige ouderdom, ingehuldig as Suid -Afrika se eerste swart president en F W de Klerk het Mandela se eerste adjunk geword. Hoewel die ANC 'n meerderheid stem gekry het, het hulle die regering van nasionale eenheid (GNU) gevorm, onder leiding van die Mandela.
In 1994 publiseer Mandela 'n outobiografie met die titel "Lang stap na vryheid”Wat hy in die geheim in die tronk geskryf het. Hy publiseer ook 'n aantal boeke oor sy lewe en stryd, waaronder "Geen maklike stap na vryheid nieNelson Mandela: die stryd is my lewe"En"Nelson Mandela se gunsteling Afrikaanse volksverhale ”.In 1995 word hy deur die FIFA bekroon met die Orde van Verdienste omdat hy Suid -Afrika teruggebring het in die internasionale sokker.
Tydens sy presidentskap het Mandela ook gewerk om die Suid -Afrikaanse ekonomie teen ineenstorting te beskerm. Daar was ook 'n ernstige behoefte om die ekonomiese nalatenskap van apartheid aan te spreek: armoede, ongelykhede, ongelyke toegang tot maatskaplike dienste en infrastruktuur, en 'n ekonomie wat in 'n krisis was byna twee dekades.
In 1994 is die heropbou- en ontwikkelingsprogram (HOP) bekendgestel. Die HOP was 'n Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-ekonomiese beleidsraamwerk wat deur die ANC-regering van Mandela geïmplementeer is. Die hoofdoel van die ANC by die ontwikkeling en implementering van die HOP was om die enorme sosio-ekonomiese probleme wat apartheid meebring, aan te spreek. Die Suid -Afrikaanse regering het spesifiek sy doelwitte ingestel om armoede te verlig en die groot tekorte in maatskaplike dienste in Suid -Afrika aan te spreek.
Ook as deel van sy missie vir vrede, nasiebou en versoening, gebruik Mandela die land se entoesiasme vir sport as 'n belangrike punt om versoening tussen wit en swart te bevorder, en moedig swart Suid-Afrikaners aan om die eens gehate alle wit nasionale rugbyspan te ondersteun . In 1995 het Suid -Afrika op die wêreldverhoog gekom deur die Rugbywêreldbeker aan te bied, wat die jong republiek van Suid -Afrika verdere erkenning en aansien gebring het. Die Rugbywêreldbeker is deur Suid -Afrika gewen, en was die eerste Wêreldbeker -rugbytoernooi waarin elke wedstryd in een land gehou is. Die Wêreldbeker -sokkertoernooi was die eerste groot sportbyeenkoms wat na afloop van apartheid in Suid -Afrika plaasgevind het. Dit was ook die eerste Wêreldbeker waaraan Suid -Afrika toegelaat is om deel te neem.
In 1996 onderteken Mandela 'n nuwe grondwet vir die nasie, wat 'n sterk sentrale regering stig wat gebaseer is op meerderheidsregering, en waarborg beide die regte van minderhede en die vryheid van uitdrukking. Die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid -Afrika, 1996, is op 4 Desember 1996 deur die Konstitusionele Hof (BK) goedgekeur en het op 4 Februarie 1997 in werking getree. Die Grondwet is gebaseer op die volgende waardes: (a) Menswaardigheid, die bereiking van gelykheid en die bevordering van menseregte en vryhede. (b) Nie-rassigheid en nie-seksisme. (c) Die oppergesag van die grondwet en die oppergesag van die reg.
In Junie 1996 is die Makro -ekonomiese beleid vir groei, indiensneming en herverdeling (GEAR) ingestel. Die beleid het 'n stel mediumtermynbeleid voorgestel wat daarop gemik is om die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie vinnig te liberaliseer. Hierdie beleide sluit in die verslapping van valutabeheer, privatisering van staatsbates, handelsliberalisering, 'gereguleerde' buigsaamheid op arbeidsmarkte, streng mikpunte vir die vermindering van tekorte en monetêre beleid wat daarop gemik is om die rand deur markrentekoerse te stabiliseer.
Die Gear-beleid was daarop gemik om die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomiese ontwikkeling, versterking van werkgeleenthede en herverdeling van inkomste en sosio-ekonomiese geleenthede te versterk ten gunste van die arm mense. Die hoofdoelwitte van Gear -beleid was: ekonomiese groei van 6% teen die jaar 2000, groei in indiensneming bo die toename in die ekonomies aktiewe bevolking, inflasie minder as 10 persent, 'n verhouding van die bruto binnelandse besparing van die bruto binnelandse produk (BBP) van 12,5 persent in die jaar 2000, verslapping van valutabeheer en vermindering van die begrotingstekort tot onder 4 persent van die BBP.
In 1998 het die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, onder Nelson Mandela, aangekondig dat hulle van voorneme is om 28 BAE/SAAB JAS 39 Gripen-vegvliegtuie uit Swede aan te koop teen R10.875 miljard, oftewel R388 miljoen (ongeveer US $ 65 miljoen) per vliegtuig . Die strategiese verkryging van die verdediging van die Suid-Afrikaanse departement van verdediging was daarop gemik om sy verdedigingstoerusting te moderniseer, insluitend die aankoop van korvette, duikbote, ligte helikopters, ingeleide vegvliegtuie en gevorderde ligte vegvliegtuie. The Arms Deal, soos dit later bekend geword het, word egter van korrupsie beskuldig. In 2011 kondig president Jacob Zuma 'n kommissie van ondersoek aan na bewerings van bedrog, korrupsie, onbehoorlikheid of onreëlmatigheid in die pakkette vir strategiese verdedigingsverkryging. Seriti -kommissie.
In 1999 tree Mandela uit die aktiewe politiek. Hy word versoek om vredesooreenkomste in Burundi in Sentraal -Afrika te help bemiddel. Die Arusha -ooreenkoms vir vrede en versoening vir Burundi is op 28 Augustus 2000 onderteken met die steun van die Regional Peace Initiative (RPI) en die internasionale gemeenskap. Daarna is die vredesprosesse gekonsolideer met die ondertekening van twee skietstilstandooreenkomste. Die eerste van hierdie ooreenkomste is op 7 Oktober 2002 tussen die oorgangsregering van Burundi (TGoB) en die gewapende politieke partye en bewegings van die Burundi (APPM's) onderteken. Die tweede ooreenkoms op 2 Desember 2002 was tussen die TGoB en die CNDD-FDD van Pierre Nkurunziza.
In Suid-Afrika het Mandela geldinsamelingspogings vir die Nelson Mandela Kinderfonds gevolg. Hy sou dit onder meer doen deur sakeleiers uit te nooi om saam met hom besoeke aan nedersettings van arm mense aan te bied, waar hy hom skenkings beloof, veral vir skole en klaskamers. Sulke fasiliteite het bekend geword as die produkte van "Madiba magic".
'N Demokrasie wat kom
Die jaar 2020 sal lank onthou word as een van buitengewone uitdagings en wydverspreide lyding. Dit was ook 'n jaar waarin die menslike solidariteit weer opduik op 'n skaal wat dekades lank nie gesien is nie. Die geskiedenis kan heel moontlik die jaar van Covid-19 beskou as een van die belangrikste oomblikke vir die mensdom, en inderdaad ook vir ander spesies van die aarde.
Covid-19 het 'n gevoel van gevaar en belofte meegebring. Dit het op wrede maniere onthul wat die menslike samelewing normaliseer het - ongelykheid, rassisme en ekologiese vernedering. Dit het baie lewens geëis-op die oomblik dat dit geskryf is, het bevestigde sterftes wat verband hou met Covid-wêreld wêreldwyd 1,4 miljoen gestyg-en nog vele meer vernietig. En dit roep ons op om menslike gedrag fundamenteel te verander.
Samelewings regoor die wêreld dra die wonde van Covid-19 in die toekoms in. Die verlies van geliefdes, werk, lewensbestaan, waardigheid en hoop sal vir geslagte lank aanklank vind. En wat 'n magdom mense sal die wonde dra omdat hulle nie saam met geliefdes in die hospitaalafdelings kan sterf nie, en ook nie die hulp van ritueel en afskeid kan vind deur begrafnis by te woon nie.
Wat verlies betref, was 2020 'n swaar jaar vir die Stigting. Ons het getreur oor die afsterwe van soveel mense verbonde aan Madiba en die Stigting. Zindzi Mandela. Anna Gadikaenyana Mosehle. Denis Goldberg. Andrew Mlangeni. George Bizos. Achmat Dangor. Shaun Johnson. David Dinkins. John Lewis. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Diego Maradona. Baie van ons personeellede moes die verlies in hul gesinne en gemeenskappe hanteer. Ons onthou almal wat verbygegaan het, en eer die wat met verlies gely het.
In die vroeë maande van die inperking van Covid-19 in Suid-Afrika, het die krisis van voedselonsekerheid en mense wat letterlik honger ly die grootste in 'n menigte uitdagings opgedaag. Die stigting het gereageer deur die Each1 Feed1 -veldtog in samewerking met die Kolisi- en Imbumba -stigtings in te stel. Elke1 Feed1, 'n noodlenigingsinisiatief wat fokus op die lewering van voedsel, het ons deur die hele land geneem en ons blootgestel aan die beste en die ergste van ons huidige realiteite - van die buitengewone veerkragtigheid wat kwesbare mense toon, tot korrupsie van plaaslike amptenare en openbare verteenwoordigers, van die vrygewigheid en solidariteit van donateurs tot mislukkings in die aflewering deur die staatstrukture.
Herhaaldelik tydens Elke1 Feed1 -gemeenskapsbesoek, het die Stigtingspan teëgekom hoe armoede mense verneder en gesien hoe die behoud van waardigheid in die dieptes van ontbering 'n prioriteit is vir so baie. Ek sal nooit die ou vergeet wat 'n kospakkie by die afleweringspunt van 'n township ontvang het nie en probeer het om die span wat hom vergesel het, te weerstaan totdat hy veilig tuis was. Hy wou nie hê dat ons die betreurenswaardige toestand van sy huis moes sien nie. Op daardie oomblik het ek weer geleer dat waardigheid waarskynlik die mees fundamentele mensereg van almal is.
Soos Arundhati Roy aangevoer het, het COVID-19 nie net menslike liggame binnegedring en die bestaande kwesbaarheid versterk nie, maar ook die samelewing betree en verskeie kruisende strukturele ongelykhede versterk. Tydens sy Nelson Mandela-jaarlikse lesing in Julie het Gutteres, sekretaris-generaal van die Verenigde Nasies, hierdie standpunt beaam:
'Die pandemie het die broosheid van ons wêreld getoon. Dit het risiko's blootgelê wat ons dekades lank geïgnoreer het: onvoldoende leemtes in die gesondheidstelsel in strukturele ongelykhede in sosiale beskerming, agteruitgang van die omgewing, die klimaatkrisis.
Hier in Suid-Afrika, soos in baie ander lande, het ons gesien hoe die pandemie patriargie en geslagsgebaseerde geweld, wit oppergesag en rassisme versterk. Covid-19 het die strukture blootgelê wat miljoene mense tot lewens veroordeel van wat Frantz Fanon jare gelede 'ellendig' genoem het. Te veel smag tevergeefs na die ervaring van vryheid. Te veel word weggegooi en kan skaars oorleef. Te veel weet dat hul lewens nie saak maak vir diegene wat aan bewind is nie. Te veel verloor hul waardigheid, ongeag hoe hard hulle veg om dit te behou. Dit is duidelik, aangesien dit nog nooit tevore was dat wat ekonoom Thomas Piketty 'die globale ongelykheidsregime' noem nie onhoudbaar is. Alhoewel elites regoor die wêreld probeer normaliseer het, moet ons daarop aandring dat dit nie normaal is nie. En ons moet eis dat dit tyd is dat 'n nuwe normaal gevorm word. Covid-19 bied 'n wêreldwye krisis aan wat ongekend was in die afgelope tyd, maar dit bring terselfdertyd die geleentheid mee om met die herontwerp te begin. Die virus wat bots met die moord op George Floyd in die Verenigde State, het 'n belangrike wêreldwye herinnering aan te veel sterftes veroorsaak en 'n eis dat strukture van rassisme eens en vir altyd afgebreek moet word. Wat 'n geleentheid vir die nasies van die wêreld.
Dit is nie werk wat oornag gedoen kan word nie. En dit is nie werk wat sonder internasionale samewerking suksesvol gedoen kan word nie. Soos Piketty in sy boek aanvoer Kapitaal en ideologie, die aftakeling van die ongelykheidsregime is ondenkbaar sonder transnasionale geregtigheid en 'n stap na wat hy globale federalisme noem. Die verskillende vorme van nasionalistiese en identitêre toevlugsoord wat volgens ons toenemend wêreldwyd versnel, sal pogings om 'n nuwe wêreldorde te bou, fundamenteel ondermyn. Soos sekretaris-generaal Gutteres in sy lesing in Julie gesê het:
'COVID-19 is 'n menslike tragedie. Maar dit het ook 'n generasie geleentheid geskep. 'N Geleentheid om 'n meer gelyke en volhoubare wêreld terug te bou. Die reaksie op die pandemie en die wydverspreide ontevredenheid wat dit voorafgegaan het, moet gebaseer wees op 'n nuwe sosiale kontrak en 'n nuwe wêreldwye ooreenkoms wat gelyke geleenthede vir almal skep en die regte en vryhede van almal respekteer.
Die Nelson Mandela -stigting worstel al 'n paar jaar met die implikasies van 'n demokrasie wat nie goed werk vir die meerderheid mense in die samelewing nie en wat hulle op fundamentele maniere in die steek laat. Die internasionale Mandela Dialogues on Memory Work (2013-2017) het ons in staat gestel om hierdie ondersoeke saam met professionele kollegas in vyftien ander lande te ondersoek. Wat ons wêreldwyd sien, het ons aangevoer, is vorme van staatskaping wat die beste verstaan kan word in terme van die vaslegging van demokrasie self. Demokrasie, soos met alle vorme van regulering van sosialiteit, maak staat op wat 'n sosiale denkbeeld genoem kan word - waarvan die kern 'die sosiale kontrak' en 'openbare belang' is. Die bewyse dui daarop dat die sosiale denkbeeldige demokrasie se herbesinning, vernuwing en herverbeelding nodig is. Miskien is dit nie verbasend dat die Suid-Afrikaanse staat en baie ander demokratiese state tydens die Covid-19-krisis sowel die sosiale kontrak as die openbare welstand opgeroep het op die oomblik dat hulle regte (vir die openbare belang) en het in sommige gevalle buitengewone gebruik van geweld deur veiligheidseenhede goedgekeur.
Dat die mensdom 'n nuwe sosiale denkbeeldigheid nodig het, is onbetwisbaar. Die vertroue op die idee van 'n sosiale kontrak is egter problematies. In Suid-Afrika het ons gesien hoe staatsgeïnisieerde forums wat die teorie van sosiale kontrakte (byvoorbeeld NEDLAC-die Nasionale Raad vir Ekonomiese Ontwikkeling en Arbeid) opbou en bevorder, baie beloof het, maar te min gelewer het. Die maniere waarop die konsep in huidige kontekste gemobiliseer word, is kommerwekkend. Net soos die wortels daarvan in die Westerse modernistiese (en dus kolonialistiese en imperialistiese) geskiedenis. En die konsep van 'kontrak' is ingebed in kapitalistiese en regsverwysingsraamwerke wat minder as nuttig is. Soos Walter Benjamin aangevoer het, 'die kontrak is die begin van wettige geweld. ”
Wat 'n toekomstige demokrasie genoem kan word, 'n hernieude demokrasie, wat werk vir almal wat in 'n bepaalde staat leef, sal gebruik maak van 'n sosiale denkbeeld wat die sosiale lewe bemiddel-die sosialiteit reguleer-op bevrydende maniere. Hoe kan dit lyk? Dink buite die raam van kontraken gebaseer op die werk van teoretici, feministiese ekonome en geleerdes van interseksionaliteit en postkolonialiteit, stel die Nelson Mandela -stigting voor wat Judith Butler '' 'n sosiale lewensfilosofie en volhoubare bande '' noem - 'n filosofie wat erkenning gee, prioritiseer en koester onderlinge verhouding en onderlinge afhanklikheid. In hierdie konseptuele ruimte: "sorg" kom voor "kompetisie", "voorsiening" voor "groei", "deel" voor "opeenhoping", "leefbaarheid" voor "bestaan" en "volhou" vervang "onttrek" en "weggooi". En konstitusionalisme gaan eerder oor transformasie as oor die beskerming van mag, voorreg en eiendom. Neoliberalisme was die afgelope drie dekades die motor van 'n hewige individualisme en 'n voorreg van mededinging, groei, opeenhoping en ekstraksie. Geen toeval in hierdie kontekste dat ongelykheid wêreldwyd die vlakke bereik het wat laas aan die einde van die agtiende eeu gesien is nie (soos die werk van Piketty getoon het) en dat groot dele van die mensdom eenvoudig weggegooi word. En geen toeval dat die uitsterwingstempo van nie-menslike spesies en onomkeerbare skade aan die omgewing onrusbarende vlakke bereik het nie.
Dit is tyd om op te hou vertrou op die reproduksie van individualisme en gekontrakteerde beskerming. Dit is eerder tyd om openbare diskoerse te heroriënteer ten opsigte van antieke maniere van kennis en nuwe denkwyses. Dit is tyd om die algemene in "die algemene belang". Dit is tyd om sosiale bande te heroorweeg, soos die Amerikaanse filosoof Judith Butler sê, "gebaseer op beliggaamde vorme van interafhanklikheid." Dit is bande wat op praktiese maniere en op veelvuldige vlakke uitdrukking vind, wat 'op die grond' deur mense gemaak en herskep word. En dit is tyd om die net van onderlinge afhanklikheid verder te gooi as 'die mens' - soos Butler beweer:
"Dit is nie net ander menselewens nie, maar ook ander gesonde wesens, omgewings en infrastruktuur: ons is afhanklik daarvan, en hulle is op ons beurt afhanklik van 'n leefbare wêreld."
Vir die Stigting is denke oor sosiale bande 'n primêre ondersoekpunt, aangesien ons wil bydra tot die verbeelding van 'n bevrydende post-Covid-wêreld. Om anders te dink, het noodsaaklik geword. En anders doen, 'n bevrydende praktyk vind, is net so belangrik.
Volgende jaar vier die 25ste herdenking van die Suid -Afrikaanse Grondwet. Die Stigting sal hierdie oomblik merk deur daarop aan te dring dat 25 jaar te lank is vir iemand om te wag dat statutêre regte vir hulle 'n lewende werklikheid word. Ons sal voortgaan om 'n konstitusionalisme te bevorder wat transformasie vereis en die beskerming van waardigheid voorop stel. Die erkenning van onderlinge afhanklikheid en die bou van bande sal tevergeefs wees as hierdie soort konstitusionalisme nie in ons land wortel skiet nie.
Die Verraadverhoor
Mandela is op 5 Desember 1956 in 'n landwye polisiedood gearresteer, wat gelei het tot die 1956 -verraadverhoor. Mans en vroue van alle rasse bevind hulle in die beskuldigdebank in die marathon -verhoor wat eers geëindig het toe die laaste 28 beskuldigdes, insluitend Mandela, op 29 Maart 1961 vrygespreek is.
Op 21 Maart 1960 vermoor die polisie 69 ongewapende mense in 'n betoging in Sharpeville teen die paswette. Dit het gelei tot die land se eerste noodtoestand en die verbod op 8 April op die ANC en die Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Mandela en sy kollegas in die Verraadverhoor was onder duisende wat tydens die noodtoestand aangehou is.
Tydens die verhoor trou Mandela op 14 Junie 1958 met 'n maatskaplike werker, Winnie Madikizela. Hulle het twee dogters, Zenani en Zindziswa. Die egpaar is in 1996 geskei.
Dae voor die einde van die Verraadverhoor het Mandela na Pietermaritzburg gereis om by die All-in Africa-konferensie te praat, wat besluit het dat hy aan premier Verwoerd moet skryf om 'n nasionale konvensie oor 'n nie-rassige grondwet te versoek, en om te waarsku dat hy nie saamstem dat daar 'n nasionale staking sou wees dat Suid -Afrika 'n republiek word nie. Nadat hy en sy kollegas in die Verraadverhoor vrygespreek is, het Mandela ondergronds gegaan en 'n nasionale staking vir 29, 30 en 31 Maart begin beplan.
Weens die massiewe mobilisering van staatsveiligheid is die staking vroeg gestaak. In Junie 1961 is hy gevra om die gewapende stryd te lei en het hy gehelp om Umkhonto weSizwe (Speer van die Nasie) te stig, wat op 16 Desember 1961 met 'n reeks ontploffings begin het.
Madiba het met sy Ethiopiese paspoort gereis.
(Beeld: © National Archives of South Africa)
Op 11 Januarie 1962, met die aangeneemde naam David Motsamayi, het Mandela Suid -Afrika in die geheim verlaat. Hy het deur Afrika gereis en Engeland besoek om steun te kry vir die gewapende stryd. Hy het militêre opleiding in Marokko en Ethiopië ontvang en het in Julie 1962 na Suid-Afrika teruggekeer. Hy is op 5 Augustus in 'n polisieblokkade buite Howick gearresteer terwyl hy van KwaZulu-Natal teruggekeer het, waar hy die president van die ANC, president Albert Luthuli, ingelig het oor sy reis.
Hy is daarvan beskuldig dat hy die land sonder 'n permit verlaat en werkers aangemoedig het om te staak. Hy is skuldig bevind en tot vyf jaar gevangenisstraf gevonnis, wat hy in die Pretoria Plaaslike Gevangenis begin uitdien het. Op 27 Mei 1963 is hy na Robbeneiland oorgeplaas en op 12 Junie na Pretoria teruggekeer. Binne 'n maand het die polisie toegeslaan op Liliesleaf, 'n geheime skuilplek in Rivonia, Johannesburg, wat deur aktiviste van die ANC en die Kommunistiese Party gebruik is, en verskeie van sy kamerade is gearresteer.
Op 9 Oktober 1963 het Mandela saam met 10 ander verhoor weens sabotasie in die sogenaamde Rivonia -verhoor. Terwyl hy die doodstraf opgelê het, het sy woorde aan die hof aan die einde van sy beroemde "toespraak uit die dok" op 20 April 1964 onsterflik geword:
Op 11 Junie 1964 is Mandela en sewe ander beskuldigdes, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi en Andrew Mlangeni skuldig bevind en die volgende dag tot lewenslange gevangenisstraf gevonnis. Goldberg is na die Pretoria -gevangenis gestuur omdat hy wit was, terwyl die ander na Robbeneiland gegaan het.
Mandela se ma is in 1968 oorlede en sy oudste seun, Thembi, in 1969. Hy mag nie hul begrafnisse bywoon nie.
Op 31 Maart 1982 is Mandela saam met Sisulu, Mhlaba en Mlangeni na die Pollsmoor -gevangenis in Kaapstad oorgeplaas. Kathrada het in Oktober by hulle aangesluit. Toe hy in November 1985 na die prostaatoperasie terugkeer na die gevangenis, is Mandela alleen gehou. Minister van justisie, Kobie Coetsee, het hom in die hospitaal besoek. Later het Mandela gesprekke begin oor 'n uiteindelike ontmoeting tussen die apartheidsregering en die ANC.
'N Foto wat geneem is tydens 'n seldsame besoek van sy kamerade in die Victor Verster -gevangenis.
(Beeld: © National Archives of South Africa)
Tydlyn
Dit is onmoontlik om al die prestasies van mnr. Nelson Mandela in een chronologie saam te voeg; ons beweer nie dat ons werk hier omvattend is nie. Hieronder vind u 'n chronologie van belangrike gebeurtenisse in sy lewe. Dit is 'n aan die gang en ons ontvang graag u kommentaar of byvoegings.
Gebore Rolihlahla Mandela in Mvezo in die Transkei
Woon laerskool naby Qunu by (ontvang die naam 'Nelson' van 'n onderwyser)
Vader sterf. Op 12 -jarige ouderdom aan Thembu Regent Jongintaba Dalindyebo toevertrou
Terwyl sy outobiografie Lang stap na vryheid Mandela se pa se dood in 1927 plaas, historiese bewyse toon dat dit waarskynlik later was, waarskynlik 1930. Trouens, die oorspronklike Long Walk to Freedom -manuskrip (geskryf op Robbeneiland) noem die jaar 1930.
Ondergaan 'n aanvang by die Clarkebury Boarding Institute in Engcobo
Woon by Healdtown, die Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort, by
Skryf in by die University College of Fort Hare, in Alice
Ontsnap uit 'n gereelde huwelik word 'n myn sekuriteitsbeampte begin artikels by die prokureursfirma Witkin, Sidelsky en Eidelman
Voltooi BA deur die Universiteit van Suid -Afrika (UNISA)
Hy begin informeel vergaderings van die African National Congress (ANC) bywoon
Gegradueerdes met BA van Fort Hare Enrols vir 'n LLB aan die Wits Universiteit
Stig saam met die ANC-jeugliga (ANCYL) en trou met Evelyn Ntoko Mase-hulle het vier kinders: Thembekile (1945) Makaziwe (1947-wat na nege maande sterf) Makgatho (1950) Makaziwe (1954)
Verkose nasionale sekretaris van die ANCYL
Verkose president van die ANCYL
Defiance -veldtog begin gearresteer en aangekla vir die oortreding van die wet op onderdrukking van kommunisme Verkose Transvaalse ANC -president, skuldig bevind aan JS Moroka, Walter Sisulu en 17 ander kragtens die Wet op die onderdrukking van kommunisme, gevonnis tot nege maande gevangenisstraf met harde arbeid, opgeskort vir twee jaar Verkies as eerste van die ANC adjunkpresidente Open regsfirma saam met Oliver Tambo - die enigste swart regsfirma in die 1950's in Johannesburg
Stel die M-plan op vir die ANC se toekomstige ondergrondse bedrywighede
Kyk hoe die Congress of the People in Kliptown die Freedom Charter aanvaar
Hy is gearresteer en sluit later saam met 155 ander teregstaan. Almal word teen 29 Maart 1961 vrygespreek
Egskeidings Evelyn Mase trou met Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela - hulle het twee dogters: Zenani (1959) en Zindzi (1960)
'N Noodtoestand word opgelê en hy is onder duisende aangehou
Gaan ondergronds Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) gevorm word
Verlaat die land vir militêre opleiding en steun vir die ANC
In hegtenis geneem naby Howick in KwaZulu-Natal
Vonnis tot vyf jaar gevangenisstraf vir aanhitsing en die verlaat van die land sonder 'n paspoort
Appears in court for the first time in what becomes known as the Rivonia Trial, with Walter Sisulu, Denis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Lionel 'Rusty' Bernstein, Raymond Mhlaba, James Kantor, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni
Pleads not guilty to sabotage in the Rivonia Trial
James Kantor discharged and released
Thembekile is killed in a car accident
Mandela, Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and Andrew Mlangeni and later Ahmed Kathrada are sent to Pollsmoor Prison
Rejects, through his daughter, Zindzi, South African President PW Botha's offer to release him if he renounces violence
Admitted to the Volks Hospital for prostate surgery
Discharged from Volks Hospital and returned to Pollsmoor Prison
Admitted to Tygerberg Hospital where he is diagnosed with tuberculosis
Admitted to Constantiaberg MediClinic
Moved to Victor Verster Prison in Paarl where he is held for 14 months in a cottage
Elected ANC Deputy President
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with President FW de Klerk
Votes for the first time in his life
Elected by Parliament as first president of a democratic South Africa
Inaugurated as President of the Republic of South Africa
Establishes the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
Marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday
Steps down after one term as President, establishes the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Diagnosed with prostate cancer
Establishes the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
Announces that he will be stepping down from public life
Announces that his eldest son Makgatho had died of AIDS
Attends the installation of his grandson Mandla as chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council
Votes for the fourth time in his life Attends the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma on 9 May and witnesses Zuma's first State of the Nation address Turns 91
Formally presented with the Fifa World Cup trophy before it embarks on a tour of South Africa
His great-granddaughter Zenani is killed in a car accident
Attends the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani
Makes a surprise appearance at the final of the Fifa World Cup in Soweto
Celebrates his 92nd birthday at home in Johannesburg with family and friends
His second book Conversations with Myself word gepubliseer
Meets the South African and American football teams that played in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match
Admitted to hospital in Johannesburg. Discharged after two nights
Votes in the local government elections
Sy boek Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations is launched
Visited at home by American First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia
Nelson Mandela fought hard to secure an acquittal of the charges of treason
In December, 1956, Mandela and several ANC members were put on trial for treason. The Treason Trial of 1956 (as it came to be called) saw Mandela and his defense attorney Vernon Berrangé put up a strong defense against the prosecution. On March 21, 1960, the infamous and bloody Sharpeville massacre took place. The protest, which started peacefully, ended up claiming the lives of at least 69 unarmed protesters as the authorities clamped on them.
The government imposed a state of emergency and the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress were banned. Mandela and his ANC members were rounded up and detained under the state of emergency regulations. In the end, he and his fellow ANC members were acquitted on March 29, 1961.
Nelson Mandela Timeline
Nelson Mandela, in full Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born July 18, 1918, Mvezo, Cape Province, Union of South Africa [now South Africa]—died December 5, 2013, Johannesburg, Gauteng), 1 st democratically elected President of South Africa (1994–99). Revered across the world for his unflinching dedication to democracy, peace and reconciliation following the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela was without a doubt South Africa’s greatest leader and politician. Born into the Xhosa royal family, Mandela would spend close to three decades (1962-1990) imprisoned for his fierce resistance against institutionalized racism and brutal racial segregation laws in apartheid South Africa.
The timeline below captures the major events that took place in the life of Nelson Mandela, Africa’s greatest icon of democracy and social justice.
1918: Born in a village in Umtata, Cape Province (July 18)
1915: Mandela’s father- Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela – is made a local chief and advisor to the king of the Thembu People
1925: Enrolls at Methodist primary school near Qunu
1930: After the death of his father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela, he is placed under the guardianship of a local Thembu elder known as Jongintaba Dalindyebo
1934: Goes through a Thembu circumscision called the Ulwaluko Circumcision
1937: Attends the Wesleyan College at Fort Beaufort
1939: Secures admission to the University College of Fort Hare
1940: Got expelled from school
1941: Takes up a security officer position in a bid to avoid an arranged marriage
1942: Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa
1942: Participates in meetings of the African National Congress (ANC)
1943: Earns a BA from Fort Hare and proceeds to study law at Wits University
1944: Involved in the setting up of the Youth League of the ANC
1944: Marries Evelyn Ntoko Mase the couple went on to have four children – Thembekile (1945) Makaziwe (1947) Makgatho (1950) Makaziwe (1954)
1948: The ANC elects him as the national secretary of the Youth League
1952: Features heavily in the Defiance Campaign of 1950s
1952: Elected Transvaal ANC President
1952: Charged under the Suppression of Communism Act and is sentenced to nine months in prison
1952: Establishes a law firm called Oliver Tambo – the first black law firm in the country
1953: Develops the famous M-Plan for the ANC
1956: Briefly put behind bars and charged with treason
1958: Marriage with Evelyn Mase comes to an end with a divorce
1958: Marries Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela the marriage produces two children – Zenani (1959) and Zindzi (1960)
1960: Taken aback by the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 the authorities imprison him along with several members of the ANC
1960: The ANC is outlawed by the authorities (April 8)
1961: Establishes the underground militant group known as the Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation)
1962: Goes into exile outside South Africa and returns with ample military training and experience
1962: The authorities arrest him and other ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal
1962: Slapped with a five-year prison sentence
1963: Transferred to a prison on Robben Island (May 27) only for him to be brought back to Pretoria Local Prison on June 12.
1963: Court proceedings begin in what became known as the Rivonia Trial
1964: Convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison (June 12)
1982: Authorities move Nelson Mandela and a number of political prisoners to the Pollsmoor Prison
1985: Turns down the apartheid government’s conditional offer which requires him to reject his anti-segregation struggles
1985: Undergoes a prostate surgery at the Volks Hospital
1988: Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital diagnose him with tuberculosis
1990: The ban on the ANC is lifted
1990: After 27 years, he is released from prison
1990: Gets elected Deputy President of the ANC
1993: Along with President FW de Klerk, Nelson Mandela receives the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize
April 27, 1994: Casts his first ever vote in his life
May 9, 1994: The South African Parliament elects him president of the nation
10 Mei, 1990: Sworn into office as the President of South Africa – the country’s first black president
December 14, 1990: Releases “Long Walk to Freedom”, an autobiography that went on to make huge waves across the world
1995: Sets up the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
1996: Marriage to Winnie Mandela ends in a divorce
1998: Gets married to Graça Machel, a former Mozambican politician and widow of former president of Mozambique Samora Machel
1999: Opts not to seek re-election instead he devotes his time to his foundation – the Nelson Mandela Foundation
2001: Doctors diagnose him with prostate cancer
2003: Sets up the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
2004: Removes himself from public life to focus on his family
2005: Makgatho – his eldest son – dies of AIDS
2007: Mandela’s grandson is made chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council
2009: Celebrates his 90 th birthday
2010: In the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa, Mandela participates in a FIFA World Cup event, where he is presented with the trophy
June 11, 2010: Loses his great-granddaughter Zenani in a car crash
October 12, 2010: Releases his second book titled “Conversations with Myself”
2011: Then First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and her children pay a visit to Mandela
December, 2012: Spends three weeks in hospital
March, 2013: Moves in and out of hospital on two occasions
July 18, 2013: Attains the age of 95
December 5, 2013: Dies at his Johannesburg home respiratory complications were the cause death
Nelson Mandela: The Official Exhibition
The Milwaukee Public Museum and America’s Black Holocaust Museum are partnering for the United States debut of Nelson Mandela: The Official Exhibition, a new, global-touring exhibition that takes visitors on a personal journey through the life of the world’s most iconic freedom-fighter and political leader. Designed to educate, entertain, and inspire, this immersive and interactive exhibition features previously unseen film, photos, and the display of more than 150 historical artifacts and personal effects on loan from the Mandela family, museums, and archives worldwide.
Through a series of immersive zones – each one a dramatically different experience – the narrative takes us on a journey through a remarkable life and provides fresh insight into the people, places, and events that formed his character and the challenges he faced.
Discover Nelson Mandela’s epic story of heroic struggle, forgiveness, and compassion explored in new, personal, and revealing ways.
Visitors will go back in time to the rural childhood home that shaped the great leader that he became. See the years of turbulent struggle against the apartheid regime and learn how his remarkable spirit remained unbroken, but at great personal cost. Relive the global celebration of his release after 27 years in prison, and his historic ascent as South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
With wisdom from the man himself plus exclusive insights from his family and those that knew him best, visitors will see Nelson Mandela in a new light. A century since his birth and seven years since his passing, what does "Nelson Mandela" mean today, in a world where inequality and injustice are still rife? Mandela: The Official Exhibition asks these difficult questions and examines his legacy. Nelson Mandela’s values and unshakable belief in a better world are as vital now as they were during his lifetime.
Community Council
Die Mandela: The Official Exhibition Advisory Council members are proud to make this exhibition as meaningful as possible for the community.
Honorary Co-Chairs
Billye and the late Henry "Hank" Aaron (photo credit: Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club)
Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes
MPM is joining with our country in mourning the loss of Hank Aaron, a champion of civil rights and social justice. Milwaukee was blessed by his life and career in our city, and MPM was blessed by his early and enthusiastic support of us hosting the world premier of this exhibit. His legacy will live on.
Generous Support Provided by:
Bader Philanthropies, Inc.
Brewers Community Foundation
David & Madeleine Lubar, Susan Lubar, and the Joan Lubar and John Crouch family
Amerikaanse bank
Schoenleber Foundation
Generac
Alvin & Marian Birnschein Foundation
Bert L. & Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable Trust
Ralph & Margaret Hollmon
Official Hotel Partner
Exhibit Programming
My Mandela Pledge
We're challenging you to continue Nelson Mandela's journey and take our "My Mandela Pledge"!
Community Spotlight
What's going on around Wisconsin in conjunction with this exhibit?
Events and More
We've partnered with organizations and partners to bring you special programs!
For Teachers
Educator Resources
A range of free programs, resources, and virtual experiences to connect your students with this exhibit.
MPS Curriculum Resources
These specially designed activities connect the MPS 4th-grade People Protest for Change unit to this exhibit.
No more Mr Nice Guy
Say what you like about Nelson Mandela, but he is not a man known to bear a grudge or lose his temper easily. Having waited 27 years for his freedom, he emerged from jail to preach peace and reconciliation to a nation scarred by racism. When he finally made the transition from the world's most famous prisoner to the world's most respected statesman, he invited his former jailer to the inauguration.
So when he criticises US foreign policy in terms every bit as harsh as those he used to condemn apartheid, you know something is up. In the past few weeks, he has issued a "strong condemnation" of the US's attitude towards Iraq, lambasted vice-president Dick Cheney for being a "dinosaur" and accused the US of being "a threat to world peace".
Coming from other quarters, such criticisms would have been dismissed by both the White House and Downing Street as the words of appeasement, anti-Americanism or leftwing extremism. But Mandela is not just anyone. Towering like a moral colossus over the late 20th century, his voice carries an ethical weight like no other. He rode to power on a global wave of goodwill, left office when his five years were up and settled down to a life of elder statesmanship. So the belligerent tone he has adopted of late suggests one of two things either that some thing is very wrong with the world, or that something is very wrong with Mandela.
What Mandela believes is wrong with the world is not difficult to fathom. He is annoyed at how the US is exploiting its overwhelming military might. Earlier this month, after President Bush would not take his calls, he spoke to secretary of state Colin Powell and then the president's father, asking the latter to discourage his son from attacking Iraq.
"What right has Bush to say that Iraq's offer is not genuine?" he asked on Monday. "We must condemn that very strongly. No country, however strong, is entitled to comment adversely in the way the US has done. They think they're the only power in the world. They're not and they're following a dangerous policy. One country wants to bully the world."
Having supported the bombing of Afghanistan, he cannot be dismissed as a peacenik. But his assessment of the current phase of Bush's war on terror is as damning as anything coming out of the Arab world. "If you look at these matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace."
And then there is the dreaded "r" word. Accusations of discrimination do not fall often or easily from Mandela's lips, but when they do, the world is forced to sit up and listen. So far, he has fallen short of accusing the west of racism in its dealings with the developing world, but he has implied sympathy with those who do. "When there were white secretary generals, you didn't find this question of the US and Britain going out of the UN. But now that you've had black secretary generals, such as Boutros Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan, they do not respect the UN. This is not my view, but that is what is being said by many people."
Most surprising in these broadsides has been his determination to point out particular individuals for blame. As a seasoned political hand, Mandela has previously eschewed personal invective but has clearly made an exception when it comes to Cheney. In 1986, Cheney voted against a resolution calling for his release because of his alleged support for "terrorism". Mandela insists that he is not motivated by pique. "Quite clearly we are dealing with an arch-conservative in Dick Cheney. my impression of the president is that this is a man with whom you can do business. But it is the men around him who are dinosaurs, who do not want him to belong to the modern age."
In fact, behind the scenes, the White House is attempting to portray Mandela, now 84, as something of a dinosaur himself - the former leader of an African country, embittered by the impotence that comes with retirement and old age. It is a charge they have found difficult to make stick. Mandela has never been particularly encumbered by delusions of grandeur. When asked whether he would be prepared to mediate in the current dispute, he replied. "If I am asked by credible organisations to mediate, I will consider that very seriously. But a situation of this nature does not need an individual, it needs an organisation like the UN to mediate. A man who has lost power and influence can never be a suitable mediator."
In truth, since leaving office he has shown consummate diplomatic skill. In 1999, he persuaded Libyan leader Colonel Gadafy to hand over the two alleged intelligence agents indicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. He was touted as a possible mediator in the Middle East - a suggestion quashed by the Israeli government, which was apartheid's chief arms supplier.
Last year he was personally involved in the arrangement - sanctioned by the UN - to send South African troops to Burundi as a confidence-building measure in a bid to forestall a Rwandan-style genocide. That does not mean he always gets it right. He advocated a softly-softly diplomatic approach towards the Nigerian regime when Ken Saro-Wiwa was on death row. Saro-Wiwa was murdered and Abacha's regime remained intact. Nor does it mean that he is above criticism. Arguably, he could have done more to redistribute wealth during his term in office in South Africa, and he maintained strong diplomatic relations with some oppressive regimes, such as Indonesia. In July, a representative of those killed in the Lockerbie disaster described Mandela's call for the bomber to be transferred to a muslim country as "outrageous". But it does mean that he is above the disparagement and disdain usually shown to leaders of the developing world that the west find awkward.
But if there is something wrong with Mandela it is chiefly that for the past decade he has been thoroughly and wilfully misunderstood. He has been portrayed as a kindly old gent who only wanted black and white people to get on, rather than a determined political activist who wished to redress the power imbalance between the races under democratic rule. In the years following his release, the west wilfully mistook his push for peace and reconciliation not as the vital first steps to building a consensus that could in turn build a battered nation but as a desire to both forgive and forget.
When he displayed a lack of personal malice, they saw an abundance of political meekness. There is an implicit racism in this that goes beyond Mandela to the way in which the west would like black leaders to behave. After slavery and colonialism, comes the desire to draw a line under the past and a veil over its legacy. So long as they are preaching non-violence in the face of aggression, or racial unity where there has been division, then everyone is happy. But as soon as they step out of that comfort zone, the descent from saint to sinner is a rapid one. The price for a black leader's entry to the international statesman's hall of fame is not just the sum of their good works but either death or half of their adult life behind bars.
In order to be deserving of accolades, history must first be rewritten to deprive them of their militancy. Take Martin Luther King, canonised after his death by the liberal establishment but vilified in his last years for making a stand against America's role in Vietnam. One of his aides, Andrew Young, recalled: "This man who had been respected worldwide as a Nobel Prize winner suddenly applied his non-violence ethic and practice to the realm of foreign policy. And no, people said, it's all right for black people to be non-violent when they're dealing with white people, but white people don't need to be non-violent when they're dealing with brown people."
So it was for Mandela when he came to Britain in 1990, after telling reporters in Dublin that the British government should talk to the IRA, presaging developments that took place a few years later. The then leader of the Labour party, Neil Kinnock, called the remarks "extremely ill-advised" Tory MP Teddy Taylor said the comments made it "difficult for anyone with sympathy for the ANC and Mandela to take him seriously."
He made similar waves in the US when he refused to condemn Yasser Arafat, Colonel Gadafy and Fidel Castro. Setting great stock by the loyalty shown to both him and his organisation during the dog days of apartheid, he has consistently maintained that he would stick by those who stuck by black South Africa. It was wrong, he told Americans, to suggest that "our enemies are your enemies. We are a liberation movement and they support our struggle to the hilt."
This, more than anything, provides the US and Britain with their biggest problem. They point to pictures of him embracing Gaddafi or transcripts of his support for Castro as evidence that his judgment has become flawed over the years. But what they regard as his weakness is in fact his strength. He may have forgiven, but he has not forgotten. His recent criticisms of America stretch back over 20 years to its "unqualified support of the Shah of Iran [which] lead directly to the Islamic revolution of 1979".
The trouble is not that, when it comes to his public pronouncements, Mandela is acting out of character. But that, when it comes to global opinion, the US and Britian are increasingly out of touch.
Additional reporting by Shirley Brooks.
Prison years
Mandela wasn’t put to death—but, in 1964, he was sentenced to life in prison. He was allowed only one 30-minute visit with a single person every year, and could send and receive two letters a year. Confined in austere conditions, he worked in a limestone quarry and over time, earned the respect of his captors and fellow prisoners. He was given chances to leave prison in exchange for ensuring the ANC would give up violence but refused.
Over his 27 years of imprisonment, Mandela became the world’s best-known political prisoner. His words were banned in South Africa, but he was already the country’s most famous man. His supporters agitated for his release and news of his imprisonment galvanized anti-apartheid activists all over the world.
In the 1960s, some members of the United Nations began to call for sanctions against South Africa—calls that grew louder in the decades that followed. Eventually, South Africa became an international pariah. In 1990, in response to international pressure and the threat of civil war, South Africa’s new president, F.W. de Klerk, pledged to end apartheid and released Mandela from prison.
Apartheid did not immediately end with Mandela’s release. Now 71, Mandela negotiated with de Klerk for a new constitution that would allow majority rule. Apartheid was repealed in 1991, and in 1994, the ANC, now a political party, won more than 62 percent of the popular vote in a peaceful, democratic election. Mandela—who now shares a Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk—became the president of a new nation, South Africa. (Here's how South Africa has changed since the end of apartheid.)
Nelson Mandela: Six things you didn’t know
1. He was a boxing fan. In his youth, Nelson Mandela enjoyed boxing and long-distance running. Even during the 27 years he spent in prison, he would exercise every morning.
"I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. I was intrigued by how one moved one's body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat, how one paced oneself over a match," he wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.
"Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, colour and wealth are irrelevant. I never did any real fighting after I entered politics. My main interest was in training I found the rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress. After a strenuous workout, I felt both mentally and physically lighter," he wrote.
Among the memorabilia in the Mandela Family Museum in Soweto, visitors can find the world championship belt given to Mandela by American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
2. His original name was not Nelson. Rolihlahla Mandela was nine years old when a teacher at the primary Methodist school where he was studying in Qunu, South Africa, gave him an English name - Nelson - in accordance with the custom to give all school children Christian names.
This was common practice in South Africa and in other parts of the continent, where a person could often be given an English name that foreigners would find easier to pronounce.
Rolihlahla is not a common name in South Africa. It is Xhosa, one of the 11 official languages in the country, spoken by about 18% of the population. It literally means "pulling the branch of a tree", but its colloquial meaning is "troublemaker".
His circumcision name was Dalibunga, meaning "founder of the Bunga", the traditional ruling body of the Transkei - the rural area where he was born. "To Xhosa traditionalists, this name is more acceptable than either of my two previous given names," he wrote in his autobiography. However, in South Africa, Mr Mandela was often called by his clan name - Madiba - which South Africans used out of respect.
3. He was on a US terror watch list until 2008. Prior to that, along with other former ANC leaders, Mr Mandela was only able to visit the US with special permission from the secretary of state, because the ANC had been designated a terrorist organisation by South Africa's former apartheid government.
"It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts - the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela," then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in 2008.
The bill scrapping the designation was introduced by Howard Berman, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who promised to "wipe away" the "indignity".
Ronald Reagan originally placed the ANC on the list in the 1980s.
4. He forgot his glasses when he was released from prison. Mr Mandela's release on 11 February 1990 followed years of political pressure against apartheid. On the day, he was "astounded and a little bit alarmed", he recalled later.
Mr Mandela and his then-wife Winnie were taken to the centre of Cape Town to address a huge and euphoric crowd. But when he pulled out the text of his speech, he realised he had forgotten his glasses and had to borrow Winnie's.
5. He dressed up as a chauffeur to evade police. After going underground because of his ANC activities, Mr Mandela's ability to evade the securities services earned him the nickname "the black Pimpernel", after the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel, about a hero with a secret identity.
Mr Mandela is known to have disguised himself as a chauffeur, a gardener and a chef in order to travel around the country unnoticed by the authorities. Nobody seems to know how Mr Mandela, who had been operating underground with a false identity, was ultimately exposed and arrested.
6. He had his own law firm, but it took him years to get a law degree. Mr Mandela studied law on and off for 50 years from 1939, failing about half the courses he took.
A two-year diploma in law on top of his university degree allowed him to practise, and in August 1952, he and Oliver Tambo established South Africa's first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo, in Johannesburg.
