To deny people human rights, is to challenge their very humanity. – Nelson Mandela.
On 5th December 2013, as the sun set on South Africa, it took with itself the country’s favorite son. Madiba breathed his last.The voice of Tributes flowed in fast across to demonstrate how revered Mr. Mandela was. That aura, the determined smile and that trademark steely gaze were quite enough to break the resolve of his opponents.
Mandela and his comrades were charged with treason in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment as the fight for equality got more profound. After 27 years of struggle, Mandela was acquitted. South Africa was reborn.
A brilliant statesman, he single-handedly bestowed a balm of forgiveness as South Africa reeled from the blemishes apartheid had left behind. Mandela taught his fellow countrymen and the world at large, what undeterred stubbornness for a good cause was capable of.
The pretext of his legacy is largely based on the principles he stood for. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, 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”, he had once said. Mandela’s vision averted a civil war from breaking out following South Africa’s transition from apartheid and segregation to a peaceful democracy.
Much like the legacy that he has left behind, the great man is now at peace.
