The collective sense of relief felt throughout the international community for the sustained life of Nelson Mandela over the last few months has been punctuated by a simultaneous nervousness; it seems that for months this year the former President of South Africa condition grew from ‘serious’ to ‘stable’, and back again. Tonight on 5th December 2013, the world holds its breath, at the loss of Africa’s Papa.
In Mandela we have a man who has overcome countless trials and tribulations, and symbolises much of the progressive social values that embody the modern era we live in. From his immersion in radical political theory in the early 1940s, to his 20 year imprisonment on Robben Island in 1962, his election as South Africa’s first democratically elected President in 1994, right through to the present day, there are few people who hold such a degree of social and cultural capital. Revered by people from all walks of life, Mandela appears to possess an eternal magnanimity and quiet command in his mild expression.
Today we will see a widespread gushing and fawning from all sides of the media for a man who fought tirelessly for the dissolution of the anachronistic apartheid legislation that plagued South Africa during the mid-20th century. Amidst all this, however, one must ask oneself, where are those who once so unabashedly branded Mandela as a ‘terrorist’? We all recognise the smiling portrait of a grey-haired Mandela, waving in acknowledgement to an adoring crowd. Yet how many of us associate this image with the younger, stern-faced leader of Spear of the Nation (Umkhonto we Sizwe)? How many of us think of the words “I am prepared to die” when our thoughts rest upon the late Mandela?
The 20th century Western historical perspective has upheld social revolutionaries such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King, flag bearers of peaceful protest and those who were willing to walk the long and often exasperating road of democratic legislative change. For large parts of his career, Mandela saw peaceful demonstration as ineffective and to some extent counter-productive; it is for this reason that in 1962, Mandela travelled to Ethiopia to train as a guerrilla commander. Ultimately this led to his arrest and a total of 26 years in prison, after which he conceded to peace and cooperation with the white minority of South Africa. With this being said, it is remarkable that Mandela is often placed alongside the pantheon of civil right leaders. It is perhaps that the western education of Mandela is too often subsumed by his post-radical activism, culminating in his presidential election in 1994.
These hallowed figures all sought to challenge and rectify the governmental practices of the ruling white population, and yet it is still these ruling powers that dictate our contemporary perceptions of them as heroes. This evident contradiction is explored in readings of Malcolm X, whose radical and violent views are still often perceived as the ‘wrong’ or ‘divisive’ way to go about seeking change. The branding of the ANC (African National Congress) as a ‘terrorist’ organisation by both British and American governments reflects the way in which these western governments have sought to fashion and shape our attitudes regarding resistance by ethnic minorities towards white majorities.
Of course I mean not to explicitly condone violent protest as a way of attaining forms of equality, but rather that we should be wary of how the media, as well as governments who harbour these figures, attempt to control and shape these socio-political leaders. We should remember Mandela as an active man of power, purpose and direct action in his most political context; not as a meekly smiling old man, paraded in front of the world press with football players pop stars.
He fought against apartheid, was imprisoned for 26 years for his beliefs, most people would be plotting revenge, but Madiba plotted forgiveness and lead his country to democracy. Tata Mandela dies aged 95.
Rest In Perfect Peace x
By Jack McSweeney