Do you know why July 18 is an important day every year?
Because it is Mandela Day.
Why do we have a day dedicated to Nelson Mandela?
Most of us know the facts of his life: his fight against apartheid, his imprisonment for 27 years first at Robben Island, then at Pollsmoor Prison and finally at Victor Verser Prison, how he became the first Black President of South Africa, his winning the Nobel Peace Prize etc. But what is it that makes him important? Why do we put him on a par with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King?
The answer to this is best expressed by academician Bill Freund in his book, The Shadow of Nelson Mandela. “First, he has provided through his personal presence as a benign and honest conviction politician, skilled at exerting power but not obsessed with it to the point of view of excluding principles, a man who struggled to display respect to all. Second, in so doing, he was able to be a hero and a symbol to an array of otherwise unlikely mates through his ability to speak to very different audiences effectively at once.”
Greatness in action
These stories explain what Freund meant.
Speaking to the Time magazine of December 2013, soon after Mandela’s death, South African photographer Steve Bloom tells us how Mandela once saw a white woman standing by her car which had broken down. He helped fix it but refused the payment she offered. She asked him why he, a Black man, did her a favour without expecting money. “Because you were stranded on the road,” he replied.
On the website of American broadcaster, PBS, is an interview with Fikile Bam, Mandela’s fellow prisoner on Robben Island. Bam tells of how a new governor, Badenhorst, was planning to make life difficult for the prisoners by removing certain privileges and making other rules harsher. Around this time, three judges visited the prison and met Mandela. In Badenhorst’s presence, Mandela complained about what was happening. An annoyed Badenhorst yelled that he would still be around after the judges left. This message was taken back and Badenhorst was soon transferred. This shows Mandela’s fearlessness and also helps you understand what he meant when he said, “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Again on PBS, is another tale by Strini Moodley who was also imprisoned in Robben Island at the same time. Moodley was in the cell opposite Mandela. Their warden was a young 17-year-old who greeted Mandela with a “Good morning, Nelson”. An upset Moodley remonstrated with Mandela about allowing a teenager to call him ‘Nelson’.
“He should call you ‘Mr. Mandela’ or ‘Sir’,” he said. Mandela replied, “These are little things. We’re in prison now. We’ve got to take it in our stride.” A man who was brave enough to complain openly about his jailor was also big enough to not let little things get to him.
A last story of how he got the name Nelson. At birth, he was given the name Rolihlahla, which meant ‘troublemaker’ in the Xhosa language. Later, he was known as Madiba, his clan name. The name Mandela was taken from his grandfather. In his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom , he writes “On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name I have no idea.”
At the famous Rivonia Trial, Mandela said, “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 will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” It is an ideal that the world is still waiting to see.
What is Mandela Day?
July 18 (Mandela’s birthday) was declared Nelson Mandela International Day in 2009 through an unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly. In 2008, Mandela called on the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices. Mandela Day is a global movement to not just honour his life’s work but also to act to change the world for the better. The message behind Mandela Day is that each individual has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better.
To know more about Mandela Day, go to www.mandeladay.com
Mandela timeline
July 18, 1918: Born Rolihlahla Mandela in Mvezo village
1944: Co-founds the ANC Youth League
1951: Is elected President of the ANC Youth League
1952: Is Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign; is sentenced to nine months in prison
1964: Sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial
1986: Starts meeting with the government to persuade them to talk to the ANC
1990: Released from Victor Verster Prison; leads ANC delegation in talks with the government
1993: Is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with FW de Klerk for their efforts to end apartheid
1994: Is elected President in South Africa’s first democratic election
1999: Steps down after only one term as president; starts the Nelson Mandela Foundation
2003: Starts the 46664 campaign to highlight issues of HIV and AIDS
2004: Finally retires, saying, “Don’t call me, I’ll call you”
2013: Dies at age 95 at his home in Johannesburg
