Black on White: Tribute to Tata Madiba
“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.” – Nelson Mandela
I had just turned eight and for me it was just another Sunday afternoon with family; one thing I remember is admiring my mother’s cooking as I noticed the man they referred to as Nelson Mandela on the television set.
All I needed to know at the time was that the man was released from prison and the decision to release Mandela along with other prisoners was an indication of hope in South Africa. Those were the first steps towards a new South Africa.
Today I remember two of his popular speeches, one he made during the Rivonia trial and the other during his inauguration as the President of South Africa.
Mandela electrified the court room when he 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 with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realised. But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Reading and listening to the statement over and over again, I paused to think about the first part of his speech… We all understand White domination, unfortunately not all of us quite understand what he meant by black domination. However, those who studied the story of his life would understand Mandela’s utterances.
His life was a model of someone who truly believed in equality. He understood it equality was not only a white man dominating a black person, but it could also be a black person dominating another human being.
This aspect of his life resonated well with me as I strongly believe equality is not a racial factor but a social factor. As Mandela said, “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Mandela again celebrated his commitment to a free and equal South Africa during his inauguration when he said, “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…”
After bidding our final farewell to Madiba, we need to uphold his values more than ever before. We cannot afford to allow discrimination to continue in society or displayed by our leaders in some way. Madiba broke the ice between black and white, it is our responsibility to continue moulding South Africa together to be a country which looks past the skin colour.
Starting with society, we need to look at the content of character. As Martin Luther King said in his famous speech, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”
This is our time to honour our past by taking responsibility of our future. It is about time we put aside the issue of race and start building a truly free South Africa.
I would like to plead with all political parties, not to use the death of Mandela as an opportunity to launch an election campaign. Let us respect Mandela the man as we uphold the values he stood for. A country where both black and white belong without any prejudice, it is time to step into our future.
Tata Madiba has completed his mandate; he can finally rest in peace as we dare move towards the future truly free from all racial segregation.
Also Read:
Black on White: Long live Madiba
