RIP- a nations father

"To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela

To live to be 95 years old after all the pain mentally & physically he went through to make life easier for others=Hero #RIPNelsonMandela

agra an et all, i was watching the UTD game with my father,can you think of anyone else in your lifetime who`s death has been respected world wide like Madiba`s?

Probably not , others that come to mind

JF Kennedy, Martin Luther, Churchill, Gahandi, Mother Threasa

However Madiba was something very special and his funeral will be massive

The Empire State Building carried the South African Colors tonight in tribute to Madiba...great gesture..

As will the Eiffel Tower

Those 2 pictures sum up everything about the man

Loved and respected and admired the world over

Not a malicious bone in his body and forgave without condition.

Hard to see anyone else like that ever again

I took my 12 year old to play football this morning,there was 5 matches all played on adjacent pitches and all games had a minutes silence.
The kids ages ranged from 9 to 15,Mandela is still inspiring the kids from all backgrounds.

This week will be a massive logistical excercise with many overseas as well as locals paying their last respects,
FNB stadium Tuesday, plenty info on TV

North of the Limpopo............................. news and reactions

www.newzimbabwe.com/news-13407-53+heads+...a+memorial/news.aspx

FYI:

During the late 80's (when activism was at its height), I had a video hiring shop in Stanger (KwaDuguza). One of my suppliers of pirated and blue films handed me a video copy of " BBC- Prisoners of Conscience; Nelson Mandela", the lead role played by Sydney Poittier. The Rivonia Trial was replayed with Mandela stating 'Brought in by a white police, white prosecutor and white judge...in the country of my birth...where I have n say...'

The prelude on the video was 'Not the 9 o'clock news'. I made 2 copies and labelled the 45min tapes as M1 and M2 and began circulating them amongst my Natal Indian Congress colleagues, one of whom was Moon Ramlakan (he was Chief Magistrate at the Johannesburg Court couple years back).

A few months later the local security branch head phoned me to meet him urgently at my house where I made copies of videos (he was my client for the blue movies and kept me informed of happenings!).

Anyway, he came accompanied by this burly security cop who made me make a copy of the films (M1 & M2) which he said he received from a 'source' and had to return them within 2 hours!

The man who allegedly gave the tapes (Moon and I traced) was none other than a chap who stood up at Billy Nair's welcoming, shouting 'Down with apartheid! Forward to freedom!'

I was also amongst that band of 'sellouts' who said we must rather engage in discussions with the regime; yet, Madiba was already holding meetings with Botha about unbanning the ANC and release of political prisoners!

Yes! But, who is going to admit that?

Cheers Hanif

Your contributions to the site over the years have been very much appreciated and very informative

Thank you