LIVE AND DEATH OF A HERO
HE WAS AND FOREVER WILL BE MY GREATEST ROLE MODEL.
R.I.P My Daddy From Afar
By: ©Stachys Ross
Why Nelson Mandela should be your source of inspiration
BIOGRAPHY
NAME: Nelson Mandela
Full Name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
AKA: Nelson Mandela
AKA: Rolihlahla
Nickname: Madiba
OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, World Leader, Writer
BIRTH DATE: July 18, 1918
DEATH DATE: December 05, 2013
EDUCATION: Clarkebury Boarding Institute, Wesleyan College, University College of Fort Hare, University of London, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
PLACE OF BIRTH: Mveso, Transkei, South Africa
PLACE OF DEATH: Johannesburg, South Africa
Originally: Rolihlahla Mandela
Nickname: Black Pimpernel
Today, 5th of December, 2013 the world lost a hero, a father, grandfather, a son and my role model.
Though he was tagged a troublemaker, but he dies as a hero and the freedom fighter and the father of a free nation.
South Africa President made the announcement of 95 years old Nelson Mandela death on Thursday evening, saying the country had “lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.” He pass on peacefully, in the company of his family, around 20:50 on the 5th of December, 2013,” zuma said in a televised address “He is now resting he is now in peace.”
In Zuna’s words “Mandela tireless struggle for freedom earned me the respect of the world.”
I asked my mother this “would the world be able to produce another Nelson Mandela”?
His death stroked me and I thank God that he had lived a remarkable life style and I am thankful that I have learnt so much from his lifestyle. Although I never got the time to meet him in person, he mentored me from afar.
When I lack inspiration all I need do was to read his story and he is among the people who lived on this earth and never give up.
"Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. A symbol of global peacemaking, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993."
HE WAS AND FOREVER WILL BE MY GREATEST ROLE MODEL.
R.I.P my daddy from afar.
Why Nelson Mandela should be your source of inspiration
A Hero Was Born
Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918, in the tiny village of Mvezo, on the banks of the Mbashe River in Transkei, South Africa. "Rolihlahla" in the Xhosa language literally means "pulling the branch of a tree," but more commonly translates as "troublemaker."
Nelson Mandela's father, who was destined to be a chief, served as a counselor to tribal chiefs for several years, but lost both his title and fortune over a argument with the local colonial magistrate. Mandela was only an infant at the time, and his father's loss of status forced his mother to move the family to Qunu, an even smaller village north of Mvezo. The village was located in a narrow grassy valley; there were no roads, only foot paths that linked the pastures where livestock grazed. The family lived in huts and ate a local harvest of maize, sorghum, pumpkin and beans, which was all they could afford. Water came from springs and streams and cooking was done outdoors. Mandela played the games of young boys, acting out male rights-of-passage scenarios with toys he made from the natural materials available, including tree branches and clay.
Baptism And New Name
At the suggestion of one of his father's friends, Mandela was baptized in the Methodist Church. He went on to become the first in his family to attend school. As was custom at the time, and probably due to the bias of the British educational system in South Africa, Mandela's teacher told him that his new first name would be Nelson.
Nelson Mandela As A Child
History told me that when Mandela was 9 years old, his father died of lung disease, causing his life to change dramatically. He was adopted by Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people—a gesture done as a favor to Mandela's father, who, years earlier, had recommended Jongintaba be made chief.
Like the saying goes “in every cause, there must be an effect”
And the great Law of compensation made Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo to return the favor in an indirection manner. Mandela’s father lived a remarkable life of a good person and he did not only lived it alone he transferred such life to his great son Nelson Mandela.
Mandela subsequently left the lighthearted life he knew in Qunu, fearing that he would never see his village again. He traveled by motorcar to Mqhekezweni, the provincial capital of Thembuland, to the chief's royal residence. Though he had not forgotten his beloved village of Qunu, he quickly adapted to the new, more sophisticated surroundings of Mqhekezweni.
Important Lesson: Be good to your fellow human being and nature will compensate you in an indirect way.
History and Geography
It was during this period that Mandela developed his interest in African history from elder chiefs who came to the Great Palace on official business. He learned how the African people had lived in relative peace until the coming of the white people. According to the elders, the children of South Africa had lived as brothers, but the white man shattered this fellowship. While the black man shared his land, air and water with the white man, the white man took all of these things for himself.
When Mandela was 16, it was time for him to partake in the traditional African circumcision ritual to mark his entrance into manhood. The ceremony of circumcision was not just a surgical procedure, but an elaborate ritual in preparation for manhood. In African tradition, an uncircumcised man cannot inherit his father's wealth, marry or officiate at tribal rituals. Mandela participated in the ceremony with 25 other boys. He welcomed the opportunity to partake in his people's customs and felt ready to make the transition from boyhood to manhood. His mood shifted during the proceedings, however, when Chief Meligqili, the main speaker at the ceremony, spoke sadly of the young men, explaining that they were enslaved in their own country. Because their land was controlled by white men, they would never have the power to govern themselves, the chief said. He went on to lament that the promise of the young men would be squandered as they struggled to make a living and perform mindless chores for white men. Mandela would later say that while the chief's words didn't make total sense to him at the time, they would eventually formulate his resolve for an independent South Africa.
Nelson Mandela Goes To School
From the time Mandela came under the guardianship of Regent Jongintaba, he was groomed to assume high office, not as a chief, but a counselor to one. As Thembu royalty, Nelson attended a Wesleyan mission school, the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College, where, he would later state, he found interest and achieved academic success through "plain hard work." He also excelled at track and boxing. Mandela was initially mocked as a "country boy" by his Wesleyan classmates, but eventually became friends with several students, including Mathona, his first female friend.
In 1939, Mandela enrolled at the University College of Fort Hare, the only residential center of higher learning for blacks in South Africa at the time. Fort Hare was considered Africa's equivalent of Oxford or Harvard, drawing scholars from all parts of sub-Sahara Africa. In his first year at the university, Mandela took the required courses, but focused on Roman Dutch law to prepare for a career in civil service as an interpreter or clerk—regarded as the best profession a black man could obtain at the time.
Nelson Mandela Goes to Jail
Mandela was arrested on 5 August, 1962 after living on the run for 17 months, and was imprisoned in the Johannesburg Fort. In 1964, Mandela along with other leaders of the ANC, were put on trial charged with involvement in planning armed action and a conspiracy to help other countries invade South Africa. They were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, Mandela would spend only 18 years on Robben island prison.
His Thoughts To Plead
In the 27 years that Nelson Mandela spent imprisoned in South Africa, he wrote letters to his loved ones.
Razia Saleh of the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of a team that has spent considerable time cataloging these historical snapshots from Mandela's life before he became the first president of South Africa to be chosen in a fully representative democratic election.
In the early years, Mandela -- sentenced in 1964 to life imprisonment -- was only allowed to write one letter every six months. He was forced to choose his words carefully so they could get past his jailers and be read by those he longed to speak with.
He repeatedly asked for permission to write more letters than he was allowed. After learning that his wife Winnie was having heart trouble, he asked the guards in their Afrikaans language, hoping it would persuade them to change their minds.
His Letter Of Assurance
In his notebooks, he would write a first draft of every letter, cataloging his thoughts from his days imprisoned on Robben Island and later in Pollsmoor Prison.
When he was released on Feb. 11, 1990, he carried with him his treasured correspondence.
"He walked out with it when he left prison, so he took it with him," Saleh told ABC News' David Muir.
The handwritten letters in his notebook to his children were reassuring.
"I do not know, my darlings, when I will return," Mandela wrote. "I told you that the white judge had said I should stay in jail for the rest of my life. It may be long before I come back. It may be soon. Nobody knows when it will be, not even the judge who said I should be kept here."
Mandela also wrote to a cherished friend he had not heard from in some time.
"Do you forget your friend so easily? Why are you not writing?" he asked. "Why have you not written?"
On his 71st birthday, a note documented a visit from Winnie, his children and grandchildren. The real gift to the future president would come a year later, when he was released from prison as the whole world watched.
Mandela never seemed to waver in his optimism for the future, recalled in a promise he made to his children two decades before he was freed.
"I am certain that one day I will look back," he wrote. "I will be back at home to live in happiness until the end of my days."
Prison Release and Presidency
Upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela immediately urged foreign powers not to reduce their pressure on the South African government for constitutional reform. While he stated that he was committed to working toward peace, he declared that the ANC's armed struggle would continue until the black majority received the right to vote.
In 1991, Mandela was elected president of the African National Congress, with lifelong friend and colleague Oliver Tambo serving as national chairperson. Mandela continued to negotiate with President F.W. de Klerk toward the country's first multiracial elections. White South Africans were willing to share power, but many black South Africans wanted a complete transfer of power. The negotiations were often strained and news of violent eruptions, including the assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani, continued throughout the country. Mandela had to keep a delicate balance of political pressure and intense negotiations amid the demonstrations and armed resistance.
In 1993, Mandela and President de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward dismantling apartheid.
Apartheid...according to Babylon definition it means: racial segregation and discrimination which was made from two words....apart ....and hate.
Find few below after cut....
– Nelson Mandela
"Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
– Nelson Mandela
"Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty."
– Nelson Mandela
"Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do."
"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days."
– Nelson Mandela
– Nelson Mandela
"Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way."
– Nelson Mandela
"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw."
– Nelson Mandela
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it....The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
– Nelson Mandela
List of awards and honors bestowed upon Nelson Mandela
1940s
· 1942 - Bachelor of Arts degree, University of South Africa[1] 1960s
· 1965 - Elected Honorary President of the Students' Union, University of Leeds 1970s
· 1973 - A nuclear particle discovered by scientists at the University of Leeds is named "Mandela nelson"[2]
· 1975 - Honorary life membership of the Students' Union, University of London
· 1979 - Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Law, University of Lesotho, Maseru, 29 September[3]
· 1979 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations New Delhi, India[4]
1981
· Freedom of the City of Glasgow,and became local president 4 August[5] Road named after Mandela by the London Borough of Brent Bruno Kreisky
· Award for merit in the field of human rights, chosen by a panel of international judges, Vienna, Austria[6]
1982
· Elected Honorary Life President of the Students' Union at the London School of Economics and Political Science
1983
· Honorary citizenship of Rome, February.
· Honorary citizenship of Olympia, Greece, 17 March Honorary Doctorate of Laws. City College of New York, 5 June City Council of Dublin, Ireland, unveiled sculpture in a city park by Elisabeth Frink dedicated to Nelson Mandela, 26 June Award of the order Star of International Friendship in gold by the German Democratic Republic, 18 July City Council of Harlow, United Kingdom, renamed one of its major roads in honour of Nelson Mandela, 18 July AUEW/TASS, one of United Kingdom's major trade unions, held a special ceremony to rename their executive committee room the 'Nelson Mandela Room', 18 July Freedom of London Borough of Greenwich, 20 July UNESCO awards its first Simon Bolivar International Prize jointly to Nelson Mandela and King Juan Carlos of Spain at a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Simón BolÃvar, 24 July[7] City Council of Leeds, United Kingdom, names the Civic Hall 'Nelson Mandela Gardens', 10 December Park in Hull, United Kingdom, named 'Mandela Park'
· Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Lancaster University, United Kingdom The Students Unions of Warwick University, Coventry Polytechnic (now Coventry University) and South Bank Polytechnic (now London South Bank University) named rooms in honour of Nelson Mandela New York City renamed square in front of South African mission to the United Nations 'Nelson and Winnie Mandela Plaza'
1984
· Honorary Degree, Free University of Brussels, 13 January
· London Borough of Camden Council, names the street where the Anti-Apartheid Movement has its headquarters as 'Mandela Street'.
· London Borough of Hackney Council, renames a housing block after Nelson Mandela, April Playa Giron Award, Cuba, awarded by Fidel Castro
· Honorary membership of National Association of Local Government Officers [NALGO] United Kingdom London Borough of Haringey Council, names housing development after Nelson Mandela Monument to Nelson Mandela unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin Elected
· Honorary Member of the Students Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland Freedom of the City of Wijnegem, Belgium
· Awarded Star of International Friendship, German Democratic Republic, 27 August[8]
· Freedom of the City of Aberdeen conferred on both Nelson and Winnie Mandela, 29 November School in German Democratic Republic named 'Nelson Mandela School'
1985
· Revenue Staff Federation, United Kingdom, names its Commonwealth trade union scholarship after Nelson Mandela
· London Borough of Southwark names new road 'Mandela Way'
· Nottingham City Council names a room in a sports centre
· The Third World Prize, awarded annually by the London-based Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies, awarded jointly to Nelson and Winnie Mandela
· Awarded freedom of the City of Hull, United Kingdom.
· Awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize by Human Rights Institute of The Bar of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, 29 March
· Nigerian writers organisation, Writers and Journalists Against Apartheid (WAJAAP), confers title of Life Patron
· Town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, renames its speakers' corner Nelson Mandela Corner, September
· Freedom of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
· Honorary citizenship of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
· Diploma of Honour and Friendship from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October
· Statue of Nelson Mandela erected in London by Greater
· London Council, unveiled by Oliver Tambo on 28 October
· Senegal's President Abdou Diouf inaugurates Soweto Square and Nelson Mandela Avenue in the centre of Dakar, Senegal, 6 December
· Awarded Doctor of Laws degree by Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, December
1986
· Elected Honorary Life President of the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa
· Awarded the W.E.B. DuBois International Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
· Coventry City Council named new building after Mandela
· Presented with the Alfonso Comin Foundation Peace Award in Barcelona, Spain Freedom of the Borough of Islwyn, Wales, given to Winnie and Nelson Mandela International Peace and Freedom
· Award by the Workers International Centre, Stockholm Sweden
· Awarded, with Winnie Mandela, the Third World Prize by the Strategic and International Studies Group of Malaysia, 5 May
· Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Zimbabwe
· Nelson Mandela Park in Leicester, England, named after Mandela
· Honorary membership awarded to Winnie and Nelson Mandela by the National Union of Seamen, United Kingdom
· St George's Place in Glasgow, Scotland, the location of the South African consulate is renamed Nelson Mandela Place.[10]
· Made Honorary Freeman of Newcastle
1987
· First person to receive the Freedom of the City of Sydney, Australia, 9 January.
· Honorary Degrees, Winnie and Nelson Mandela, United States Ross University Medical School in the Caribbean Named Patron of Isipingo and District Football Association, Natal
· Honorary Degree, University of Michigan, USA
· Honorary Degree. University of Havana, Cuba
· Honorary Citizen, City of Florence, Italy
· Honorary Doctorate, Karl Marx University of the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig, 11 November
· Dutch football player Ruud Gullit dedicates his European Footballer of the Year award to Nelson Mandela
1988
· Park in Montreal named "Parc Winnie-et-Nelson-Mandela" (Winnie's name removed in 1998)
· Awarded Bremen Solidarity Prize, Federal Republic of Germany
· Nelson and Winnie Mandela given honorary membership of the National Union of Teachers, United Kingdom
· Awarded freedom of the City of Dublin, Ireland
· Awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, by the European Parliament
· Honorary Doctorate conferred, University of Carabobo, Venezuela, June
· People of Lefkada, Greece, award the Medal of Peace, August
· Honorary citizenship conferred by nine Greek municipalities Egaleo, Ellenikon, Glyfada, Ilioupolis, Daissariani, New Filadelfia, Nikaea, Preveza and Zogrofu
· Honorary degree in Political Science awarded by the University of Bologna, Italy, 12 September
· Honorary citizenship bestowed by the Town Council of the city of Bologna, Italy, September
· Awarded the United Nations Human Rights Fourth Award, 10 December
· Nelson Mandela Road named, New Delhi, India, 10 December
· Bachelor of Laws degree, University of South Africa
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Stachys Ross
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