July 18 is Nelson Mandela’s Birthday!
Dear colleagues and friends,
Nelson Mandela (July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013) is known for his long and successful struggle to end the apartheid rule in South Africa and for initiating racial reconciliation between the white minority rulers and the black majority of the country.
He has many quotes associated with him, but the following stands out for us today because it sums up his own life and is a roadmap for those of us committed to the equality of all human beings, regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds, gender and any other identities:
“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up”
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in a small village, Mvezo in South Africa. His patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was the ruler of the Thembu Kingdom in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's modern Eastern Cape Province. One of Ngubengcuka's sons, named Mandela, was Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. He grew up in the village of Qunu, where he tended herds as a cattle-boy.
Although both of his parents were illiterate, they sent him to the local Methodist school, where his teacher gave him the English name, Nelson. After obtaining his law degree and practicing law in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944.
After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following the Rivonia Trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state. Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison.
Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president.
Leading a broad coalition government, which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, split with F. W. de Klerk, for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.
Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013, as a hero for South Africa, for the Black people of Africa and all human beings who believe in the equality of people regardless of their ethnic and religious background, gender and any other identities.
Mandela is held in high esteem by Canada. In recognition of his leadership in the fight against apartheid and his contributions to a more inclusive South Africa, Canada awarded him the distinction to become an Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada on September 3, 1998, and an Honorary Canadian Citizenship on June 7, 2001.
Stay safe, stay well!
Respectfully,
Waheed Khan
President, National Consultation Team