Column: The personal touch of Mandela

6:49 AM, Dec. 15, 2013  |  Comments
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It's hard to describe the emotional atmosphere in Africa as tributes flood in from around the globe for former South African president and human rights icon Nelson Mandela. But imagine if George Washington, John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had died on the same day. It would be close in significance.

As I strolled down Cape Town streets, people were hanging huge banners from buildings that also listed the other names he is called by a devoted following - "Ta Ta," which means "father," and Madiba, a reference to his clan, a show of respect. Johannesburg airport signs marked his accomplishments. All over the country, stations were set up for people to express their thoughts in remembrance books. The world knows him as a statesman and leader, a symbol for forgiveness and hope. He was that.

But to people in South Africa and neighboring countries like Botswana, he represented something far more personal. The relation to him was that of family member - for blacks and whites. Many told me they felt like they lost a parent or favorite uncle. Here, deep in the Botswana bush, safari camp employees watched his memorial service on satellite television. He may have been South Africa's official leader while in office. But he has been thoroughly African all his life. That someone with his humble background could reach such heights is a source of pride.

President Barack Obama noted in remarks at Mandela's memorial in Johannesburg that Mandela was raised herding cattle and tutored by the elders of his Thembu tribe. Mandela said he inherited a sense of fairness and rebelliousness from his father, who was a tribal chief.

Mandela stood up for what he believed and paid a high price; he was a profile in courage.

While some have reported a sadness hanging over South Africa, I have not found that. The bush pilot who flew me here in a single-engine plane was a 20-something woman from Spain named Christina. Her mother told her that in Europe there was great sadness over Mandela's passing. "I think it so much better to do what they're doing in Africa - celebrating his achievements, being happy that he was here."

Ian, 28, grew up in South Africa, and had no real concept of Mandela until, when Ian was 9, Mandela walked onto a rugby field. "I wasn't sure what he was doing there. I guessed it had something to do with being our president."

It had to do with Mandela's understanding of how to bring a nation together. Rugby is big in South Africa with whites. There were no black players or support. Colleagues of Mandela's wanted to ban the sport after he took office, but he knew that would lead to more strife and ignored them.

Under Mandela, South Africa gained a positive image on the world stage. With political stability came financial investment. The country was on its way. There is a concern, however, that era may be gone along with Mandela. The people who came after Mandela, members of his party, have not reached the high goals he set or even come close.

The other day at the Robbens Island prison where Mandela was held for 18 years, one of the political prisoners held there before it was closed addressed that in an emotional speech. He said corruption dented the movement. He was acknowledging there is plenty more that needed to be done to fulfill Mandela's vision, but he also was saying he and the others didn't spend years in a hellhole so corrupt politicians and their families and their friends could get rich off the government.

The current president spent the equivalent of $20 million on a home with a bunker in it. They bought fighter jets without any pilots to fly them. Some got wealthy in the deal.

While the president lives in high style, millions live in tin shacks in townships on the outskirts of cities. Going back to the turn of the 20th century, there was a class system that categorized people as white, colored and black in that order of acceptance. Blacks were banned from cities, so they moved to these shanty towns that sometimes abut nice neighborhoods. Like ghettos everywhere, they are filled with crime.

Some politicians have played to that shanty town audience, promising relief if they're elected. What they saying doesn't add up; it's too often a racist message. The people who live in these places don't have the education to know what's going on, but they are large in number and represent a significant number of votes.

There is an election next year that will decide the near future of the country.

In 2008, they launched Mandela Day in South Africa to annually celebrate his accomplishments. He told them at the first one the future was in their hands. Mandela's place in history is safe. He will be loved and admired by generations yet born. The future of South Africa, however, is not clear.

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