I spent about half of my day today searching different news
sites and facebook and any outlet where I might be able to get news on Nelson
Mandela. As many people may know the 94 year old former South African president
is not doing well at all. In fact, he’s fighting for his life. While I spent my
breaks at work searching any outlet I could find I started to wonder why I was
so emotional at the news of Mandela’s turn for the worse, I was stressing about
his health and dreading the eventual word that he had passed, as if he was my
own grandfather. I reached out to friends who had also lived in South Africa,
asked them if they were just as upset, luckily for my view of my sanity, they
were. It is my humble opinion that everyone should be somewhat upset about the
possibility that we may lose one of the greatest human beings in history any
day now. It would be selfish of us really to refuse to believe the reality of
Mandela’s passing. We all must eventually accept the morality of even our
greatest heroes. And Mandela is and always will be one of our greatest heroes.
He wasn’t perfect, no one is, but he achieved what most thought to be
impossible. He united a broken nation, not only that but he did it using the
power of speech and the wisdom that comes with the ability to forgive. He did
not demand people to pick up their weapons and fight, only to raise their voices
in unity. The South Africa of today is a beautiful place, like most countries
there are flaws, but when you think about where they started such a short time
ago, it is miraculous to see where they are and we can thank Nelson Mandela for
that.
While thinking about all of this today I couldn’t help but
be flooded by my memories of South Africa. All day I could hear my kids from
the crèche signing the national anthem, I could smell corn being roasted on the
sidewalk, and I could feel the hugs of my friends and family who still live
there. South Africa and the people I love there have become such a huge part of
me but today, while sending prayers to all of them, it took me over. That South
Africa, the country and culture and way of life that I feel so strongly
connected to can be directly linked to the work of Nelson Mandela. And I think
that that is why I feel so affected by his eventual passing. He was
instrumental in creating something that I will love and respect forever. So,
despite the fact that I am not South African and that I was only able to spend
a very short year there, I will still be greatly hurt when the eventual news
comes through that we have lost one of our heroes. Not just because I have a
connection to his country, but because I have a great and deep respect for his
accomplishments, and a gratitude for the way in which he acted in the face of
such hateful circumstances. He was the man who after 27 years of imprisonment
walked away free and shook the hands of his previous captors and said “I forgive
you”. That, above everything is his most powerful legacy. His ability to
forgive when he had no reason to.
So, thank you Madiba… thank you for teaching the world how
to forgive, thank you for being the architect behind one of the greatest places
I’ve ever been to, thank you for the joy you brought to this world. I can
honestly say, I don’t know where we as a human race would be without you. I
wish you a restful recovery, but if that is not what is to be then I hope for a
peaceful passing. After the life you have lived and the things you have done
you deserve happiness and peace at this time, because it is the same happiness
and peace that you wished for all of your people both in South Africa and
around the world. Hamba khale Madiba…
No comments:
Post a Comment