“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up”. These words belong to the
first black president of the South-African Republic Nelson Mandela, whose life long fight against the apartheid regime and racial prejudice brought him a brilliant success after 27
years spent in prisons. Is it possible, you may ask, to stand up for liberty, averting at the same time a civil war in your country? For Nelson
Mandela, it was. Having won the respect
of his compatriots as the Father of the Nation, he had an excellent grasp of
how to do it. Among all towering figures of the 20th century history I find Nelson Mandela especially inspiring because he made a breakthrough in preserving peace
in his Motherland and showed to the whole world how wisdom and patience could
triumph over the brute force.
Born in a tiny village in Transkei, South Africa on July 18th 1918 to a family of Gadla Henry, a respected advisor to the Thembu royal family, Rolihlahla Mandela was later renamed “Nelson” by one of his teachers because his previous name meant “troublemaker”. Numerous stories about the ancestors’ valour during the wars of resistance had a huge effect on the boy who dreamt of making his own contribution to the struggle for freedom. Nelson made good progress with his school studies and gained good marks at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree of BA as he was expelled for joining a student demonstration. Nevertheless, in 1942 he continued his education at the University of the Witwatersrand qualifying in law. Soon Nelson became considerably involved in the political opposition to the white minority regime. After joining the African National Congress (ANC) he assisted in founding its more dynamic Youth League in 1944.
Born in a tiny village in Transkei, South Africa on July 18th 1918 to a family of Gadla Henry, a respected advisor to the Thembu royal family, Rolihlahla Mandela was later renamed “Nelson” by one of his teachers because his previous name meant “troublemaker”. Numerous stories about the ancestors’ valour during the wars of resistance had a huge effect on the boy who dreamt of making his own contribution to the struggle for freedom. Nelson made good progress with his school studies and gained good marks at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree of BA as he was expelled for joining a student demonstration. Nevertheless, in 1942 he continued his education at the University of the Witwatersrand qualifying in law. Soon Nelson became considerably involved in the political opposition to the white minority regime. After joining the African National Congress (ANC) he assisted in founding its more dynamic Youth League in 1944.
Meanwhile, in 1948 the National Party came to
power and began to implement a policy of "apartheid", or forced segregation on
the racial basis. It was then, when the ANC staged a campaign of passive
resistance against apartheid laws and soon Mandela together with his friend
Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo. Nelson became the
National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign against six unjust laws
that caused an uproar in the government, and, as the leader, he was sentenced
to nine months hard labor for civil disobedience.
Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle, Mandela and his colleagues accepted the case for armed action after shooting of unarmed protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and banning of anti-apartheid groups. Appointed the commander-in-chief of the ANC's military branch called “The Spear of the Nation”, Nelson Mandela secretly left South Africa on January 11th 1962 using the adopted name David Motsamayi. He travelled around the continent and to England to attract the support for the armed struggle. But the hopes were totally dashed when on his return in July 1962 Mandela was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for planning the guerrilla warfare to overthrow the government. Two years later, Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. Those were the years that made him an international symbol of freedom, equality and resistance to apartheid.
Only after 27 years the political prisoner was released. It happened on February 11th 1990 when the ban on the ANC was lifted. Three years later Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the running President de Klerk for their remarkable achievements in ending apartheid. In 1994 he enjoyed even more fruits of his hard revolutionary work when all races were allowed to vote in the presidential elections. Nelson won the campaign and became the President of SAR. Despite the threats of violence which was about to break out several times after that, Mandela managed to keep the calm and prevent a major civil war in the country. This was, perhaps, the crowning achievement of all his life.
…The great peace activist passed away at the age of 95 on December 5th 2013 of a lung infection. To finish up, I’d like to remind his quote, which is so up-to-date concerning the situation in Ukraine: “Those who sought their freedom in domination of others were doomed in time to ignominious failure”.
Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle, Mandela and his colleagues accepted the case for armed action after shooting of unarmed protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and banning of anti-apartheid groups. Appointed the commander-in-chief of the ANC's military branch called “The Spear of the Nation”, Nelson Mandela secretly left South Africa on January 11th 1962 using the adopted name David Motsamayi. He travelled around the continent and to England to attract the support for the armed struggle. But the hopes were totally dashed when on his return in July 1962 Mandela was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for planning the guerrilla warfare to overthrow the government. Two years later, Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. Those were the years that made him an international symbol of freedom, equality and resistance to apartheid.
Only after 27 years the political prisoner was released. It happened on February 11th 1990 when the ban on the ANC was lifted. Three years later Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the running President de Klerk for their remarkable achievements in ending apartheid. In 1994 he enjoyed even more fruits of his hard revolutionary work when all races were allowed to vote in the presidential elections. Nelson won the campaign and became the President of SAR. Despite the threats of violence which was about to break out several times after that, Mandela managed to keep the calm and prevent a major civil war in the country. This was, perhaps, the crowning achievement of all his life.
…The great peace activist passed away at the age of 95 on December 5th 2013 of a lung infection. To finish up, I’d like to remind his quote, which is so up-to-date concerning the situation in Ukraine: “Those who sought their freedom in domination of others were doomed in time to ignominious failure”.
