|
Mandela ... The
Book
Mandela-
the Book:
Just recently our editorial staff received
a beautifully bound book on the life and
times of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's
gift to the world. We will present our
review of this timely treasury on this
website and in coming editions of Africa
Travel Magazine. We will also give you the
details and how you can obtain your
personal copy, which we are sure yoiu will
value for a lifetime. Jerry W. Bird,
Editor
Profile
of Nelson R.
Mandela
From
ANC Web Site
Nelson
Mandela's greatest pleasure, his most
private moment, is watching the sun set
with the music of Handel or Tchaikovsky
playing. Locked up in his cell during
daylight hours, deprived of music, both
these simple pleasures were denied him for
decades. With his fellow prisoners,
concerts were organized when possible,
particularly at Christmas time, where they
would sing. Nelson Mandela finds music
very uplifting, and takes a keen interest
not only in European classical music but
also in African choral music and the many
talents in South African music. But one
voice stands out above all - that of Paul
Robeson, whom he describes as our hero.
The
years in jail reinforced habits that were
already entrenched: the disciplined eating
regime of an athlete began in the 1940s,
as did the early morning exercise. Still
today Nelson Mandela is up by 4.30 am,
irrespective of how late he has worked the
previous evening. By 5 am he has begun his
exercise routine that lasts at least an
hour. Breakfast is by 6.30, when the days
newspapers are read. The day s work has
begun.
With a
standard working day of at least 12 hours,
time management is critical and Nelson
Mandela is extremely impatient with
unpunctuality, regarding it as insulting
to those you are dealing
with.
When
speaking of the extensive traveling he has
undertaken since his release from prison,
Nelson Mandela says: I was helped when
preparing for my release by the biography
of Pandit Nehru, who wrote of what happens
when you leave jail. My daughter Zinzi
says that she grew up without a father,
who, when he returned, became a father of
the nation. This has placed a great
responsibility of my shoulders. And
wherever I travel, I immediately begin to
miss the familiar - the mine dumps, the
color and smell that is uniquely South
African, and, above all, the people. I do
not like to be away for any length of
time. For me, there is no place like
home.
Mandela
accepted the Nobel Peace Prize as an
accolade to all people who have worked for
peace and stood against racism. It was as
much an award to his person as it was to
the ANC and all South Africa s people. In
particular, he regards it as a tribute to
the people of Norway who stood against
apartheid while many in the world were
silent.
We know
it was Norway that provided resources for
farming; thereby enabling us to grow food;
resources for education and vocational
training and the provision of
accommodation over the years in exile. The
reward for all this sacrifice will be the
attainment of freedom and democracy in
South Africa, in an open society which
respects the rights of all individuals.
That goal is now in sight, and we have to
thank the people and governments of Norway
and Sweden for the tremendous role they
played.
More of
Nelson Mandela Profile to
come
|
