Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Remembering  Nelson Mandela:   He is gone, but just like Michael Jackson, his Melody will linger on for GENERATIONS to come Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done” by Nelson Mandela. For me, he was the epitome of humility!
	I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days. Source: WIKIPEDIA

US President Barack Obama’s Speech at the Nelson Mandela Funeral Service

Remembering Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa
December 10, 2013

Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of state and government, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other.  To the people of South Africa - people of every race and walk of life - the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us.  His struggle was your struggle.  His triumph was your triumph.  Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.

It is hard to eulogize any man - to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person - their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul.  How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.

Born during World War I, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by elders of his Thembu tribe - Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century.  Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement - a movement that at its start held little prospect of success.  Like King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of racial justice.  He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War.  Emerging from prison, without force of arms, he would - like Lincoln - hold his country together when it threatened to break apart.  Like America’s founding fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations - a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power.

Given the sweep of his life, and the adoration that he so rightly earned, it is tempting then to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men.  But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories.  I’m not a saint, he said, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection - because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried - that we loved him so.  He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood - a son and husband, a father and a friend.  That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still.  For nothing he achieved was inevitable.  In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith.  He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well.

Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals.  Perhaps Madiba was right that he inherited, a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness from his father. Certainly he shared with millions of black and colored South Africans the anger born of, a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, a thousand unremembered momentsa desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people.

But like other early giants of the ANC - the Sisulus and Tambos - Madiba disciplined his anger; and channelled his desire to fight into organization, and platforms, and strategies for action, so men and women could stand-up for their dignity.  Moreover, he accepted the consequences of his actions, knowing that standing up to powerful interests and injustice carries a price.  I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination, he said at his 1964 trial.  I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.  It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you donate.  He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet.  He turned his trial into an indictment of apartheid because of his eloquence and passion, but also his training as an advocate. He used decades in prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement.  And he learned the language and customs of his oppressor so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depended upon his.

Mandela demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough; no matter how right, they must be chiseled into laws and institutions.  He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history.  On core principles he was unyielding, which is why he could rebuff offers of conditional release, reminding the Apartheid regime that, prisoners cannot enter into contracts.  But as he showed in painstaking negotiations to transfer power and draft new laws, he was not afraid to compromise for the sake of a larger goal.  And because he was not only a leader of a movement, but a skillful politician, the Constitution that emerged was worthy of this multiracial democracy; true to his vision of laws that protect minority as well as majority rights, and the precious freedoms of every South African.

Finally, Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit.  There is a word in South Africa- Ubuntu - that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.  We can never know how much of this was innate in him, or how much of was shaped and burnished in a dark, solitary cell.  But we remember the gestures, large and small - introducing his jailors as honored guests at his inauguration; taking the pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS - that revealed the depth of his empathy and understanding.  He not only embodied Ubuntu; he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.  It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailor as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion, generosity and truth. He changed laws, but also hearts.

For the people of South Africa, for those he inspired around the globe –Madiba’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate his heroic life.  But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or circumstance, we must ask:  how well have I applied his lessons in my own life?

It is a question I ask myself - as a man and as a President.  We know that like South Africa, the United States had to overcome centuries of racial subjugation.  As was true here, it took the sacrifice of countless people - known and unknown - to see the dawn of a new day.  Michelle and I are the beneficiaries of that struggle.  But in America and South Africa, and countries around the globe, we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not done.  The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality and universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important.  For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger, and disease; run-down schools, and few prospects for the future.  Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs; and are still persecuted for what they look like, or how they worship, or who they love.

We, too, must act on behalf of justice.  We, too, must act on behalf of peace.  There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality.  There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people.  And there are too many of us who stand on the sidelines, comfortable in complacency or cynicism when our voices must be heard.

The questions we face today - how to promote equality and justice; to uphold freedom and human rights; to end conflict and sectarian war - do not have easy answers.  But there were no easy answers in front of that child in Qunu.  Nelson Mandela reminds us that it always seems impossible until it is done.  South Africa shows us that is true.  South Africa shows us we can change.  We can choose to live in a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes.  We can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice and opportunity.

We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again.  But let me say to the young people of Africa, and young people around the world - you can make his life’s work your own.  Over thirty years ago, while still a student, I learned of Mandela and the struggles in this land.  It stirred something in me.  It woke me up to my responsibilities - to others, and to myself - and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today.  And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better.  He speaks to what is best inside us.  After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength - for his largeness of spirit - somewhere inside ourselves.  And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach - think of Madiba, and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of a cell:
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

What a great soul it was.  We will miss him deeply.  May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela.  May God bless the people of South Africa.

Source: US GOVERNMENT WEBSITE

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Malawi: President Joyce Banda's Speech at Mandela's Burial in Qunu
15 December 2013

- Your Excellency Mr. Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa;
- Madam Graça Machel;
- Mama Winnie Madikizela- Mandela
- The Mandela Family;
- Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, and Heads of Delegations;
- Distinguished Guests;
- Ladies and Gentlemen.

I stand before you today to join you, the people of South Africa, and the world, to mourn the loss of a great leader: Nelson
Rohlihlahla Mandela.

I join you, the people of this rainbow nation, to celebrate a life of one of Africa’s unique leaders who gallantly fought for freedom and peace for this great country and the world. The first time I was privileged to meet Mandela was during his visit to Malawi in 1990, after his release from prison, when he came to meet the late President, Kamuzu Banda. I was amazed with the humility in this great African leader.

In 1996, I was further privileged to be invited to visit Robben Island together with a team from Malawi. After the tour of Robben Island, I was greatly touched by the life and story of Tata Mandela and since then I sought to know and understand this great son of Africa. In 1997, I met Tata Mandela at a Conference for Smart Partnership in Kasane, Botswana. I was inspired by this great leader who was focused, calm and collected.

In 2011, I had an opportunity to visit Tata Mandela at his home in Johannesburg. We had a very moving conversation. I was deeply touched by his spirit of forgiveness, his passion to put people first and courage.

These attributes have greatly influenced my life. After three years of isolation, humiliation and name calling, I found myself in a situation where I had to work with those who had desired to prevent me from becoming President of my country. I had to forgive them without effort.

Tata’s courage, determination, love and passion for his people inspired me on my journey to becoming the first elected woman President in my country. I learned that leadership is about falling in love with the people and the people falling in love with you. It is about serving the people with selflessness, with sacrifice and with the need to put the common good ahead of personal interests.

Today, I stand before you, on behalf of our regional grouping and family, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), to extend a collective hand of comfort to the Mandela Family, the Government of the Republic of South Africa, the African National Congress and to all South Africans on this irreplaceable loss of one of its true sons, Tata. The passing on of Tata Mandela is not only a loss to South Africa, but also to the SADC Region, and indeed to the world. As we celebrate the life of this icon, it is also time to take stock of the things that Tata taught us during his time with us.
I know that much has already been said about Tata by those whose lives have been touched and inspired by his works.

The SADC region will remember him for his wisdom and statesmanship; his humility and sense of humour; and his servant leadership style.
Tata Madiba believed that all people are created equal. The way he conducted himself, he saw no boundaries between and among the countries of the region. He championed the freedom of not only South Africans but also all Africans.

Tata Madiba taught us that even when the challenges of life seem insurmountable, with courage and determination, we can overcome the evils of our societies. The struggle Tata Madiba led against the apartheid system was not just a struggle against racial inequality, but a struggle against all forms of oppression against humanity; a struggle for democracy and human dignity.

It was the struggle for the emancipation of the youth. It was a struggle for the social security of children.
It was a struggle for the participation of women in politics, in commerce and in high offices.
It was a struggle to overcome poverty. Yes, it was a struggle for Africa’s freedom.

We in the SADC Region will remember Tata as a great reformer who championed the cause of humanity, deepening democracy and dedicated his life to selfless service, a man who worked tirelessly to promote national, regional and world peace. We in the SADC Region, whilst mourning his death, we also see this as an opportunity to celebrate the life of a great Statesman, an icon from our region. The life of Tata Mandela will continue to inspire those of us left behind, promote peace and security, deepen regional integration and work to support one another as it was during the fight against apartheid. We will strive to emulate Tata Mandela’s stature and spirit so that his legacy can live on.

The ideals of political, social and economic emancipation that he stood for will inspire us forever as a Region. In conclusion, I believe I am speaking for many within the region.

Tata’s words are still echoing in our minds, his call to get millions of our young people in the region decent jobs. His call to get millions of our women and men out of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment. His call to get food for the hungry, to eradicate preventable diseases, to let people find their voice, and restore their dignity. These words will inspire SADC long after Tata Madiba is gone. Our Dear Father and compatriot, Tata Nelson Mandela, fought a good fight and he finished the race well. As an African woman and leader, I wish to acknowledge Mama Winnie Madikizela Mandela for her efforts and steadfastness for standing with Tata Mandela before and during Tata’s imprisonment and for being in the forefront of ANC’s struggle for liberation.

And to you, Mama Graca Machel, I wish to thank you for your visible love and care especially during Tata’s last days. To both of you, the love and tolerance you have demonstrated before the whole world during the funeral has shown us that you are prepared to continue with Tata’s ideals. I wish to therefore appeal to all South Africans to remain united and continue to be a rainbow nation for this is what Tata Madiba cherished for.

It is our hope and prayer that South Africa will remain a country of all people regardless of race, colour, religion and tribe. SADC will stand with you and look forward to a continued engagement in our joint efforts to deepen democracy and regional integration.

It is now up to us as leaders, as citizens, as a Continent to continue from where Tata Madiba left, so that his legacy lives on, so that what he stood for, should not die.

May his soul Rest in Peace!
I thank you.

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Our Hero and Gread Leader Nelson Mandela is gone
Professor Isaac O Akinyele
oluakins@gmail.com
AFROFOODS REGIONAL COORDINATOR

On behalf of All AFROFOODS Sub regional Coordiantors

On December 5 2013 the world awoke to the news of the transition of our beloved inspiration leader, friend of the poor and oppressed, freedom fighter former President of the Republic of South Africa Nelson Mandela. While we are sad at his transition we thank God for his life and his legacy which has inspired other leaders in Africa and around the world. We celebrate  his life, his vision and passion which  gave him the heart of forgiveness so difficult for many people .In 1994 in an interview  after his release from prison he said and I quote” the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling…but in rising up every time we fall…do not judge me by my successes judge me by how many times I fall down and get back up…I learnt that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it “On death he said” Death is something inevitable, when a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and country he can rest in peace .I believe I have made that effort and that is therefore why I will sleep in eternity”” He said in 2002 “what  counts in life is not the mere fact that we lived. It is what difference to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead “in December 2009 he said “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve successes if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do” Let these quotations of our hero and leader inspire us the AFROFOODS Sub Regional coordinators to rededicate ourselves to producing a veritable food composition data base for Africa comparable to other INFOODS Region irrespective of our circumstances. We salute Nelson Mandela’s courage and leadership in bringing changes to South Africa after being imprisoned for 27 years. His vision and determination to live saw him through the trying times. On his release from prison he said if we have confidence in ourselves, in our country and in our future we will succeed in our efforts because the goodwill of the people will see us through” I on behalf of the Sub Regional Coordinators of AFROFOODS commiserate with our colleagues in South Africa for the loss of one of the greatest leaders of all time. We celebrate with them because the world would never be the same again because Nelson Mandela lived. As he is laid to rest in his home township tomorrow Sunday the 15th December 2013 we bid him farewell until we meet to part no more. Rest in Peace.