One of the most famous and respectful people in South Africa and also all over the world! I can not last this blog without talking about Nelson Mandela.
He was born and grown up in a rural environment. Instead of bowing down to this unjust system of government, he became a lifelong warrior in the battle to free South Africa.
He fought for the equality, against the discrimination, and the segregation of people based on their skin color.
Imagine growing up in a country where drinking out of the wrong water fountain might get you thrown into jail; where a man might have the very same job as his neighbor, but because of the color of his skin, get paid less in a year than the other man made in a week.
Nelson Mandela couldn't handle it. He started out as a leader of an underground political movement called the African National Congress (ANC), Nelson Mandela played a part in many dramatic demonstrations against the white-ruled government “the Apartheid” (White supremacy).
In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison.
At the end of his four hour statement to the court Nelson Mandela stated:
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. 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 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."
Then the liberation...
At the end of his four hour statement to the court Nelson Mandela stated:
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. 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 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."
Then the liberation...
It was one of the great theatrical and emotional moments of contemporary history. At 4:14 pm, on the afternoon of February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked away from the Victor Verster detention center, outside Cape Town, South Africa. The world’s best-known political prisoner was a free man at last, after 27 years in captivity... His release marked the beginning of the end for apartheid. In less than five years after his release, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and elected president of South Africa.
Today, thanks to the self-sacrifice of Nelson Mandela, apartheid has been outlawed. Everyone in South Africa now has an equal opportunity at home and at work to live comfortable, productive lives. Nelson Mandela is one of the world's true freedom fighters, and his life and personal triumphs will be remembered long after the world has forgotten the evils of Apartheid.
This is one of my favorite history stories, I have been told...and have been part of...
