Totally agree with you Eaglemax we lived in South Africa in 1995/96 just after Mandiba became the president. Without his push for forgiveness and reconciliation between the races I reckon that the country would have torn itself apart. I was also fortunate enough to have seen him in person when he attended an official opening ceremony for the aluminium smelter that we had been commissioning in Richards Bay. My wife and I visited Cape Town before we came home and like most tourists we took the ferry ride out to Robin Island to see where Mandella had been imprisoned for so many years - not a very pleasant place.
Totally agree with you Eaglemax we lived in South Africa in 1995/96 just after Mandiba became the president. Without his push for forgiveness and reconciliation between the races I reckon that the country would have torn itself apart. I was also fortunate enough to have seen him in person when he attended an official opening ceremony for the aluminium smelter that we had been commissioning in Richards Bay. My wife and I visited Cape Town before we came home and like most tourists we took the ferry ride out to Robin Island to see where Mandella had been imprisoned for so many years - not a very pleasant place.
Cheers
BB
Interesting BB. I liked his humility and forgiveness.
Tony
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Be nice... if I wanted my school teacher here I would have invited him...
Mentioning Nelson Mandela is great counter to those who automatically put someone down on the grounds that "A leopard does not change its spots". I once had a long conversation with a guy who had been the head of Mandela's personal security detail for several years. My contact says Mandela was the most genuine person he had ever met.
Iza
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Iza
Semi-permanent state of being Recreationally Outraged as a defence against boredom during lockdown.
Why would you say that? I have nothing but admiration for the man.
"Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Although critics on the right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the far-left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid's supporters, he gained international acclaim for his activism. Widely regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honoursincluding the Nobel Peace Prizeand became the subject of a cult of personality. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, and described as the "Father of the Nation"
ANC and their method of discouraging opposition. Necklacing was a favourite.
What has that got to do with Mandela who was in prison during that period?
'Necklacing was used by the black community to punish its members who were perceived as collaborators with the apartheid government. Necklacing was primarily used on police informants; the practice was often carried out in the name of the struggle, although the executive body of the African National Congress (ANC), the most broadly supported South African opposition movement, condemned it. In 1986, Winnie Mandela, then-wife of the imprisoned Nelson Mandela, stated, "With our boxes of matches, and our necklaces, we shall liberate this country", which was widely seen as an explicit endorsement of necklacing, which at the time caused the ANC to distance itself from her.'