I had just finished reading Nelson Madndela's "Long Walk to Freedom" and was reminiscing about his life when I heard about his death.
If only I had a piece of his ravenous zealousness and determination to pursue a certain cause that does not only include my benefits, but is for the good of all.
Though his personal life might have suffered under the struggle he fought for the multitude, alongside his many other companions who we ought not to forget, his selflessness is an attribute that very few men today have and through his braveness, commitment and determination, he died living in the South Africa that he had fought for his whole life and always endured on the long walk to freedom.
His book should not be seen as a book of a great leader from the past, but as a groundwork for all that is still to be done in the future. In the words of Mandela: "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."

What to say about one of the world’s most highly esteemed books? I am wholly inadequate to give a review of the book as such, but here, as usual, are a few notes to remind myself of the reading...


MANDELA

* M comes across as a person of deep determination, stubbornness, integrity and drive. Not a man to deviate from the path he has chosen, and throughout his life he seems wholly driven to do what he must do, whatever the odds against him.

* He spent a total of 27 years in jail as a political prisoner. Interestingly he was every bit as much a political animal in prison as he was when a free man. He would argue for the right to eat decent food, or wear long trousers, or for the rights of his fellow inmates – just as he would argue for the rights of his fellow men and women within the broader scope of Africa. He has always has an innate sense of justice, wherever he is.

* He seems incredibly generous towards people, and throughout this long book there was not one instance of him harbouring a grudge. Always, in every situation, he strives for justice, rationality and peacemaking. Not peacemaking at all costs (it was his idea to implement a militant arm of the ANC), but peacemaking wherever possible. He continued his behind-the-scenes talks with President de Klerk in the early 1990s when most people would simply have walked away in frustration. He continued talking and liaising with the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) movement in South Africa, in spite of the degree to which they tried to undermine the efforts of the ANC. Always, Mandela was trying to establish ties, rather than cause rifts. He is also generous when talking about his two ex wives, being supportive of Winnie in spite of the publicity against her. In all his relationships with people he seems to have strived to keep channels of communication open, and relations civil. Given my very human propensity for pettiness, I could hardly believe the magnanimity of M’s spirit. But there it is - page after page testifying a commitment to openness and communication.


THE ANC

* The ANC was founded in 1912. M joined in 1944. For the most part it was an organisation of peaceful protest, but in the early 1960s M called for militant opposition. This was mostly to take the form of sabotage. It was decided that this would be carried out under separate umbrella – a militant arm of the ANC. This was called Umkhonto we Siziue (The Spear of the Nation), or “MK” for short.

*M and the ANC were outstanding in their support of racial inclusiveness. They felt that the fight for black people’s freedom could be fought by black people, coloureds, Indians and whites, and they sought racial harmony, alongside seeking justice. White South Africans are incredibly lucky that it was the ANC that came to be the party of power, and that the proposed way forward was one of peaceful reconciliation.

* The ANC were not always supported by other black independence groups in South Africa. PAC objected to their liberal view/inclusiveness towards different racial groups. The Inkatha Freedom Party also objected to them, though I have not really been able to fathom out why. It was a very nasty divide though, with the IFP being very aggressive, and there were many attacks and killings in ANC strongholds done by the IFP, especially when talks between M and President de Klerk became serious. Investigations found that the IFP had been given finances by the police, and other bodies that were against the breakdown of apartheid.


POLITICS AND LAW IN SOUTH AFRICA

* I always thought that the treatment of Africans, before the arrival of The Nationalist Party (the Afrikaans’ party) - in 1948 - was pretty decent. But this is some of the legislation that was introduced under the auspices of earlier, British-friendly governments.

- 1926 The Colour Bar Act:
This banned Africans from practising skilled trades.

- 1927 The Native Administration Act:
This made the British Crown, rather than the Paramount Chiefs, the supreme chief over all African areas.

- 1936 The Representation of Natives Act:
This removed Africans from the common voters’ roll in the Cape.

So – the rot was setting in well before The Nationalist Party came to power. But things went from bad to worse under The Nationalist Party.
Here is some of the legislation that they introduced.

1949 The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act

1949 The Immorality Act:
This made sexual relations between whites and non-whites illegal.

1950 The Population and Registration Act:
This labelled all South Africans by race.

1950 The Group Areas Act.
This required separate urban areas for each racial group.

1950 The Suppression of Communism Act:
This outlawed the Communist Party in South Africa.

1959 The introduction of the Bantustan System by Dr. Verwoerd.
Separate ethnic enclaves or homelands were created for all African citizens. Three million whites would have 87% of the land. Eight million Africans would have 13% of the land.

1963 The Ninety-Day Detention Law:
- This waived the right of habeas corpus
- Any police officer could detain any person – without a warrant – on grounds of suspicion of a political crime
- Those arrested could be detained without trial, charge, access to a lawyer, or protection against self-incrimination – for up to 90 days.
- And the 90-day detention could be extended, as John Vorster (Deputy Minister) said “until this side of eternity”, i.e., when a sentence had expired, the prisoner could just be re-detained without charge, rather than being released.

There were various everyday crimes that faced Africans. In 1952 M opened a law practice with Oliver Tambo, and on a daily basis they were defending people against these charges. At this time theirs was the only black law practice in the country.

Typical crimes specific to Africans.
- To use facilities designated for “Whites only”, eg a doorway, a bus, a drinking fountain, a beach.
- To be on the streets after 11pm.
- To be found without a pass book.
- To have the wrong signature in your pass book.
- To be unemployed, and in the wrong place.
- To have no place to live.

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This book is a must read for anyone remotely interested in South Africa. At 750 pages it is a bit of a door stopper – but it is infinitely readable. Mandela writes wonderfully well, and his story is utterly gripping. It was a bittersweet read for me at this time, as he draws to the end of his life. He has been a monument on our landscape for so long, and such a great hero in the eyes of so many. Me included.

هي قصة نضال تصلح مثلا لكل شعوب الارض المظلومة التي تبحث وسط ظلام القهر عن الحرية . قصة تروي مسيرة نضال طويلة من الكوخ الى قصر الرءاسة ومن الجهل المفروض على السود في وطنهم الى المحاماة عرف خلالها مانديلا النضال بكل أشكاله السلمي والمسلحين والعصيان المدني والمظاهرات ودخول السجن للفت الأنظار الى قضيته . كان صاحب فكرة النضال المسلح وكان اول من تدرب على استعمال السلاح في اثيوبيا . لكن اعتقاله المبكر اثر بشكل كبير على مخططاته النضالية. اما السجن الذي استمر ٢٧ عاما فكان قاسيا بكل ما تعنيه الكلمة لكنه ورفاقه قاوموا السجن والسجان واعتبروا ان سجنهم هو شكل من اشكال النضال في جنوب افريقيا كما اعتبروا ان المفاوضات هي أيضاً شكل من اشكال النضال فيها .
مما اثار انتباهي ان مانديلا لم يكن من مؤسسي حزب المؤتمر بل انه التحق به متأخرا جداً ولم يتسلم قيادة الحزب الا بعد خروجه من السجن لكنه برز كأحد القادة المسموع كلمته مبكرا.

من عباراته في هذا الكتاب :
زوجة المناضل كالأ��ملة .
إن النضال من أجل الحرية يفرض على المناضل أن يقدم تنازلات وان يلتزم بضوابط ربما كان ينقدها عندما كان غرا متسرعا .

كان من المقرر أن أعود إلى المحكمة للاستماع إلى الحكم ، ومهما كانت النتيجة فإني لن أعود إلى البيت بعد ذلك فإما السجن وإما العمل السري.