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| Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 1918 ~ 2013 |
Undeniably one of the greatest figures of our time has been silenced.
Nelson Mandela, who rose from the imprisonment of apartheid to become South Africa’s first black president, has passed away.
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Madiba (his tribal name) succumbed to a respiratory infection at the age of 95, which he first contracted during the 27 years he was a political prisoner on Robben Island in the South African apartheid system.
After enduring years in prison for fighting against apartheid, Mandela was finally released February 11, 1990. He went on to international acclaim as the man who almost single-handedly disassembled the country’s system of racial segregation, jointly winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with then-South African President F.W. de Klerk. Mandela was elected the nation’s first black president a year later and served only 1 term, as promised. He went on to become a heroic icon in the hearts and minds of the South African people and a global figure of courage and peace.
Over the years, Mandela’s health deteriorated and he was seen less and less in public, making his last public appearance in 2010 when South Africa hosted the World Cup.
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In a article in South Africa’s Sunday Times from earlier this year, Mandela’s longtime friend, Andrew Mlangeni, warned the nation that the time may have come for South Africans to say goodbye to the beloved icon.
“You have been coming to the hospital too many times. Quite clearly you are not well and there is a possibility you might not be well again,” Mlangeni said of Mandela. “Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow. We will say thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too.”
South African presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj added: “He has taught us … that we enhance our own humanity when we serve and make a difference to other people’s lives. It’s easy to serve oneself, own interests, but serving the interests of others, making their lives better changes the quality of all humanity.”
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Upon news of the passing of Mandela, President Obama said:
“We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again — so it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love, to never discount the difference that one person can make, to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.”
