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nelson mandela’s dream wasn’t just ‘reconciliation’: black south africans need education & resources

July 18, 2018
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Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the late and great Nelson ‘Rolihlahla’ Mandela, the first Black president of the Republic of South Africa. Mandela (affectionately known as Madiba) is an international hero whose legacy has placed him as the human embodiment of democracy, freedom and social justice. Mandela will forever be revered and that is why it is so crucial for us to dig deep into the legacy of the man before we go another 100 years only knowing the white-washed version of his story.

Madiba believed wholeheartedly in peace and the power of forgiveness which is why he was considered the face of the “rainbow nation” – an ideal introduced at the dawn of South Africa’s democracy that was meant to bring South Africans from all walks of life together as one nation. The side of Mandela that people don’t know is the man who understood that the ability to vote in a democratic election was merely the ground floor of the quest to true freedom. His exact words on the matter were, “The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right to not be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of the journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road.” Contrary to popular belief, Mandela believed reconciliation was merely the beginning.

As Mandela put it, “Freedom can never be taken for granted. Each generation must safeguard it and extend it. Your parents and elders sacrificed much so that you should have freedom without suffering what they did. Use this precious right to ensure that the darkness of the past never returns.” – News24

Mandela believed that with freedom, came responsibility. The responsibility of those in power to ensure that all South Africans had the resources to live complete and fulfilled lives. Unfortunately, that reality has still not been realized today. “As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom,” said Mandela. These ideals are the reason why Mandela’s legacy cannot just be confined to “peace” and “reconciliation” – it is this narrow view of his legacy that has allowed critics of Mandela to accuse him of “selling out” black South Africans. Black South Africans constitute 79% of the population but own only roughly 8.2% of the land while white South Africans at 9% of the population own roughly 45% of the land according to a land audit report. The discussion around the redistribution of land is not a simple one but knowing who Mandela really was, he wouldn’t be happy with these numbers and the implications they have for the livelihoods of Black South Africans.

“Often, those who want to raise him to the level of deity always praise him alone as though there were no other people involved in the peaceful transition. Even Mandela himself has said: “I must not be isolated from the collective who are responsible for the success.” – News24

This narrative around Mandela has left out instances like Mandela being furious when F.W De Klerk (Former leader of the National Party and president at the time of Mandela’s release) didn’t admit to the atrocities committed against black people when they were awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize. Former comrade Tokyo Sexwale also recounts that Mandela was so unhappy with negotiations with the apartheid government that he wanted to them to cease. For a moment in time, the infamous peacemaker Nelson Mandela had to be talked down and convinced that peaceful negotiations were the way forward. Overall, Mandela understood that a peaceful transition towards democracy was better than the violent alternative but he arrived at that position, he did not create it.

“The enemy is not surrendering. We have defeated him morally, internationally, politically. In our own country, it is ungovernable and apartheid is unworkable. All he is left with is his army. Intact.” That’s what Mandela said. “All the enemy can do is go for a scorched earth policy and ruin the country that we have struggled for so long–in prison, in jail, in other parts of the country, underground, inside the country, abroad. The enemy does not want to blink. To acknowledge that he has been wrong. The question is do we wait for the enemy to acknowledge that he is defeated, or do we proceed and say to the enemy, ‘You have been defeated–surrender’.” – Tokyo Sexwale on Nelson Mandela’s briefing during negotiations.

The thing we need to remember most is that Nelson Mandela was also still a man. A human. His journey wasn’t always defined by peace and forgiveness. Mandela recognized that he was not the only person responsible for South Africa’s liberation. On the day of his release he said, “I am your servant, I am not your messiah and I am not your savior.” When we remember the man, let us the remember the whole man because then we can understand that peace is something we can ALL work towards.

Happy 100th birthday Madiba.

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