“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” [1]
– Nelson Mandela
July 18 is Nelson Mandela International Day – a day when we’re urged to think of ways to be of service to others. This year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation is asking all citizens of the world to devote 67 minutes to community service in honour of the 67 years Mandela spent helping others.
Nelson Mandela led the resistance against apartheid in South Africa after 1948. In 1964, Mandela and other leaders of the African National Congress were brought to stand trial for plotting to overthrow the government by violence; acts that were designed to overthrow the apartheid system. Mandela was sentenced to life in prison, effectively becoming a prisoner of conscience.
Nelson Mandela’s time in prison, which amounted to just over 27 and a half years’, was marked by many small and large events which played a crucial part in shaping the personality and attitudes of the man who was to become the first President of a democratic South Africa. Many fellow prisoners and warders influenced him and he, in his turn, influenced them. While he was in jail his mother and son died, his wife was banned and subjected to continuous arrest and harassment, and the liberation movement was reduced to isolated groups of activists. [2]
After his release, Mandela represented the African National Congress in negotiations that finally led to South Africa’s first multi-racial elections. In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president during the nation’s first democratic elections.
“We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign.” [3]
The 1993 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nelson Mandela (along with Frederik Willem de Klerk) “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.” [4]
[1] http://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/inhiswords.shtml
[2] http://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography
[3] http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Inaugural_Speech_17984.html
[4] http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/presentation-speech.html