Address by Nkosi Zwelivilile Mandela at the Nelson Mandela First Anniversary Memorial held at Freedom Park, Pretoria on Friday, 5th December 2014 at 10:00
Programme Director
The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa;
Minister of Social Development The Honourable Bathabile Dlamini;
Honourable Ministers, Premiers and MECs;
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela Family;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Dignatories and delegations present;
Honourable guests and comrades;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
AAH DALIBHUNGA!
I greet you this morning and my mind races back a year to this day when a great soul loved by so many the world over finally closed his eyes. Though the moment was long expected, speculated upon by global media and predicated upon by ‘those in the know’, nothing prepared us for his sudden departure when that somber moment dawned. The 5th of December 2013 was a difficult day for our family, our country and indeed the rest of the world. The loss of Nkosi Dalibhunga Nelson Mandela was one that was deeply felt by both young and old, friend and family, and those near and far. For a moment the world stopped in order to pay its respects to one who made colossal strides against the mightiest of odds yet who remained unflinching in his conviction that we shall overcome.
This first anniversary of Madiba’s passing perhaps asks of each of us to dig deep and address the fundamental questions of legacy and memory. What is it that we want to achieve in life, individually and collectively? Do we want to be remembered and for what do we want to be remembered? What is it that motivates us in life and what are the causes that we champion? As a nation what is it that has contributed to our hegemony and cohesion? What do we have to do to build upon the proud legacy that we have inherited? These are the issues I suppose that Herodotus reflected on when he said:
Man, supposing you and I, escaping this battlewould be able to live on forever, ageless, immortal,so neither would I myself go on fighting in the foremostnor would I urge you into the fighting where men win glory.But now, seeing that the spirits of death stand close about usin their thousands, no man can turn aside nor escape them,let us go on and win glory for ourselves or yield it to others.
Today, we look back over this year since Madiba’s passing and indeed over his lifetime of struggle, his legacy and the fruits of his labour which we all enjoy. We are reminded of those epic words of the poet John Keats in Endymion:
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness;
Madiba’s legacy lives on and will never pass into nothingness. A beautiful life it was indeed, even in the midst of struggle he was the paragon of humility and always deferred credit to others and especially the collective. He loved to attribute his achievements to the efforts of ordinary women and men and is quoted as saying: “and I smiled, for every day ordinary South African men and women are making a difference.”
In his passing the world united as we all mourned the passing of this truly great icon, statesman, activist and hero of our nation. Even as we mourned his passing, we were aware that our beloved Madiba would have preferred that we rather celebrate his life and dedicate our own lives to pick up where he left off.
Madiba often reminded us that he stood upon the shoulders of giants of our struggle the likes of Oliver Tambo, Walter and Albertina Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Yusuf Dadoo, Nkosi Albert Luthuli and countless generations of men and women who sacrificed life and limb for our freedom. Along with every freedom loving person that supported our struggle, each of them made a unique contribution that enabled millions to cast the ballot on that beautiful day of the 27th April 1994; when the pain of 27 years of incarceration melted into a smile that gave expression to what was in the hearts of an entire nation: ‘Free, free, free at last, thank God we are free!’
My grandfather of course would remind us that freedom wasn’t free but that ‘After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.’ Today, we have full appreciation that his life was just not an ordinary hill nor an ordinary climb, it was a lofty beacon to which we can look up towards as we commit ourselves to continue striving towards a truly national democratic society in which all can enjoy peace and prosperity.
Now that mantle rests upon our shoulders as a collective. Madiba left us with a valuable legacy that challenges all of us to play a role in alleviating the plight of the downtrodden the world over. He was fearless in his criticism of oppression and suffering wherever it manifested. A true believer in Che’ Guevara and Fidel Castro’s dictum that ‘our struggle can never be over as long as there is a single human being suffering anywhere in the world’.
Madiba always remained dignified in strongly asserting the veracity of his convictions and was bold in his defence of whoever supported our struggle for liberation and the anti-apartheid movement more generally. Over the last two decades of his life, his voice especially became a bastion of reason and was often sought on issues of global import for his wisdom, sagacity and leadership. Leaders from all walks of life and every corner of the world flocked to his presence and to bask in the glory of his understated charisma.
Madiba is renowned for his commitment to development, peace and reconciliation. He walked the dusty roads of the deepest rural villages in our country and met with the most ardent friends and foe. He understood that unless we worked together as a collective and weave the threads of social cohesion, our many years of struggle would be in vain. As we observe the first year after his passing, let it remind us what he would have wished for our country and our world today.
Madiba was blessed with witnessing the first two decades of our democracy and took great pride in its many achievements. To him it was a great solace that millions could now enjoy decent shelter that they were previously deprived of.
It was a great joy to him that millions of young children could enjoy a meal at school and have access to clean water and sanitation. Madiba took great comfort in the fact that many millions were being saved from poverty through the social safety net that government provides.
Yet few would argue that one of the greatest joys that he experienced was that every South African child had access to education. Having been a herder of cattle in a remote village that grew up to be the first president of a free and democratic South Africa, Madiba understood the value of education and its transformative role in society. His life bore testimony to its value and is a source of encouragement for all young people. We will forever remember and find encouragement and motivation in his words that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’
It was perhaps the qualities of maturity, education and dignified action that Madiba exemplified that we missed most since the onset of the sitting of our 5th Parliament this year. Madiba would have been horrified by the fact that most of the work that needs to be carried out by the representatives of our people has been delayed because of differences and conflicts of members of our National Assembly. This is a matter of national concern that requires serious attention and collective commitment to serving the mandate entrusted by our fellow compatriots.
Whilst our country continues to face major challenges of poverty and unemployment and millions of our people still yearn for a better life, we are collectively responsible to ensure that the institutions of democracy such as Parliament can fulfill the role envisioned in our glorious constitution. South Africans in all their diversity look up to our leaders in parliament to play their role in ensuring the realization of the vision of a better life for all. Madiba was a true democrat and would therefore not be impressed by all the current happenings in our parliament. True to his character he would have called for discipline, peace and the need for reconciliation so that parliament can always be a place of respect, dignity, and constructive debate
The legacy of Madiba is the greatest wealth he has left the world. Madiba would therefore wish that all people of goodwill in the world collectively join hands in humanitarian actions to serve marginalized individuals and communities of our world. We must decide whether we too will walk this road and leave deep tracks that posterity will bear witness to or whether we will be forgotten in the pages of history. I am reminded of those powerful words from Homer’s, The Iliad:
“Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away.”
Madiba would wish that his legacy lives on in us and that all of us in our country recommit ourselves to the important journey that we all initiated in 1994 of rebuilding and transforming this country so that all can fully enjoy a sense of belonging and the fruits of democracy. This is the best way we can honour Madiba and his legacy. Each of us have a responsibility to posterity to keep his memory alive. The question is how shall we remember him?
We remember him as a freedom fighter, revolutionary, activist, global icon, and father of our nation. Madiba cared deeply about all of us and held deep friendships and associations with many individuals and communities in this diversity we call South Africa. He cared deeply about the welfare, well-being and rights of the diverse and valuable threads that makes us unique; a tapestry of diverse religious, cultural and political hues that makes up the colourful South African nation.
Madiba has passed on but his legacy lives on in the organisation that he joined as a young man, becoming the founding member and former president of its youth league, commander in chief of its armed wing, chief negotiator, and first President of a democratically elected government. I urge you to carefully reflect on this bold legacy and follow in his footsteps.
Madiba has passed on, but the struggle lives on and the dream shall never die! Allow me to conclude with a few lines written as Madiba closed his eyes:
How shall we remember you?We shall remember you in the cries and laughter of childrenWe shall remember you in the song and dance of youthWe shall remember you in the undying hope of our mothersWe shall remember you in the fighting spirit of our fathersWe shall remember you in the wisdom and tales of elders
Aah Dalibhunga!
I thank You!
Mandla Mandela's speech at Madiba's memorial
Address by Nkosi Zwelivilile Mandela at the Nelson Mandela First Anniversary Memorial held at Freedom Park, Pretoria on Friday, 5th December 2014 at 10:00
Programme Director
The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa;
Minister of Social Development The Honourable Bathabile Dlamini;
Honourable Ministers, Premiers and MECs;
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela Family;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Dignatories and delegations present;
Honourable guests and comrades;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
AAH DALIBHUNGA!
I greet you this morning and my mind races back a year to this day when a great soul loved by so many the world over finally closed his eyes. Though the moment was long expected, speculated upon by global media and predicated upon by ‘those in the know’, nothing prepared us for his sudden departure when that somber moment dawned. The 5th of December 2013 was a difficult day for our family, our country and indeed the rest of the world. The loss of Nkosi Dalibhunga Nelson Mandela was one that was deeply felt by both young and old, friend and family, and those near and far. For a moment the world stopped in order to pay its respects to one who made colossal strides against the mightiest of odds yet who remained unflinching in his conviction that we shall overcome.
This first anniversary of Madiba’s passing perhaps asks of each of us to dig deep and address the fundamental questions of legacy and memory. What is it that we want to achieve in life, individually and collectively? Do we want to be remembered and for what do we want to be remembered? What is it that motivates us in life and what are the causes that we champion? As a nation what is it that has contributed to our hegemony and cohesion? What do we have to do to build upon the proud legacy that we have inherited? These are the issues I suppose that Herodotus reflected on when he said:
Man, supposing you and I, escaping this battlewould be able to live on forever, ageless, immortal,so neither would I myself go on fighting in the foremostnor would I urge you into the fighting where men win glory.But now, seeing that the spirits of death stand close about usin their thousands, no man can turn aside nor escape them,let us go on and win glory for ourselves or yield it to others.
Today, we look back over this year since Madiba’s passing and indeed over his lifetime of struggle, his legacy and the fruits of his labour which we all enjoy. We are reminded of those epic words of the poet John Keats in Endymion:
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness;
Madiba’s legacy lives on and will never pass into nothingness. A beautiful life it was indeed, even in the midst of struggle he was the paragon of humility and always deferred credit to others and especially the collective. He loved to attribute his achievements to the efforts of ordinary women and men and is quoted as saying: “and I smiled, for every day ordinary South African men and women are making a difference.”
In his passing the world united as we all mourned the passing of this truly great icon, statesman, activist and hero of our nation. Even as we mourned his passing, we were aware that our beloved Madiba would have preferred that we rather celebrate his life and dedicate our own lives to pick up where he left off.
Madiba often reminded us that he stood upon the shoulders of giants of our struggle the likes of Oliver Tambo, Walter and Albertina Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Yusuf Dadoo, Nkosi Albert Luthuli and countless generations of men and women who sacrificed life and limb for our freedom. Along with every freedom loving person that supported our struggle, each of them made a unique contribution that enabled millions to cast the ballot on that beautiful day of the 27th April 1994; when the pain of 27 years of incarceration melted into a smile that gave expression to what was in the hearts of an entire nation: ‘Free, free, free at last, thank God we are free!’
My grandfather of course would remind us that freedom wasn’t free but that ‘After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.’ Today, we have full appreciation that his life was just not an ordinary hill nor an ordinary climb, it was a lofty beacon to which we can look up towards as we commit ourselves to continue striving towards a truly national democratic society in which all can enjoy peace and prosperity.
Now that mantle rests upon our shoulders as a collective. Madiba left us with a valuable legacy that challenges all of us to play a role in alleviating the plight of the downtrodden the world over. He was fearless in his criticism of oppression and suffering wherever it manifested. A true believer in Che’ Guevara and Fidel Castro’s dictum that ‘our struggle can never be over as long as there is a single human being suffering anywhere in the world’.
Madiba always remained dignified in strongly asserting the veracity of his convictions and was bold in his defence of whoever supported our struggle for liberation and the anti-apartheid movement more generally. Over the last two decades of his life, his voice especially became a bastion of reason and was often sought on issues of global import for his wisdom, sagacity and leadership. Leaders from all walks of life and every corner of the world flocked to his presence and to bask in the glory of his understated charisma.
Madiba is renowned for his commitment to development, peace and reconciliation. He walked the dusty roads of the deepest rural villages in our country and met with the most ardent friends and foe. He understood that unless we worked together as a collective and weave the threads of social cohesion, our many years of struggle would be in vain. As we observe the first year after his passing, let it remind us what he would have wished for our country and our world today.
Madiba was blessed with witnessing the first two decades of our democracy and took great pride in its many achievements. To him it was a great solace that millions could now enjoy decent shelter that they were previously deprived of.
It was a great joy to him that millions of young children could enjoy a meal at school and have access to clean water and sanitation. Madiba took great comfort in the fact that many millions were being saved from poverty through the social safety net that government provides.
Yet few would argue that one of the greatest joys that he experienced was that every South African child had access to education. Having been a herder of cattle in a remote village that grew up to be the first president of a free and democratic South Africa, Madiba understood the value of education and its transformative role in society. His life bore testimony to its value and is a source of encouragement for all young people. We will forever remember and find encouragement and motivation in his words that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’
It was perhaps the qualities of maturity, education and dignified action that Madiba exemplified that we missed most since the onset of the sitting of our 5th Parliament this year. Madiba would have been horrified by the fact that most of the work that needs to be carried out by the representatives of our people has been delayed because of differences and conflicts of members of our National Assembly. This is a matter of national concern that requires serious attention and collective commitment to serving the mandate entrusted by our fellow compatriots.
Whilst our country continues to face major challenges of poverty and unemployment and millions of our people still yearn for a better life, we are collectively responsible to ensure that the institutions of democracy such as Parliament can fulfill the role envisioned in our glorious constitution. South Africans in all their diversity look up to our leaders in parliament to play their role in ensuring the realization of the vision of a better life for all. Madiba was a true democrat and would therefore not be impressed by all the current happenings in our parliament. True to his character he would have called for discipline, peace and the need for reconciliation so that parliament can always be a place of respect, dignity, and constructive debate
The legacy of Madiba is the greatest wealth he has left the world. Madiba would therefore wish that all people of goodwill in the world collectively join hands in humanitarian actions to serve marginalized individuals and communities of our world. We must decide whether we too will walk this road and leave deep tracks that posterity will bear witness to or whether we will be forgotten in the pages of history. I am reminded of those powerful words from Homer’s, The Iliad:
“Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away.”
Madiba would wish that his legacy lives on in us and that all of us in our country recommit ourselves to the important journey that we all initiated in 1994 of rebuilding and transforming this country so that all can fully enjoy a sense of belonging and the fruits of democracy. This is the best way we can honour Madiba and his legacy. Each of us have a responsibility to posterity to keep his memory alive. The question is how shall we remember him?
We remember him as a freedom fighter, revolutionary, activist, global icon, and father of our nation. Madiba cared deeply about all of us and held deep friendships and associations with many individuals and communities in this diversity we call South Africa. He cared deeply about the welfare, well-being and rights of the diverse and valuable threads that makes us unique; a tapestry of diverse religious, cultural and political hues that makes up the colourful South African nation.
Madiba has passed on but his legacy lives on in the organisation that he joined as a young man, becoming the founding member and former president of its youth league, commander in chief of its armed wing, chief negotiator, and first President of a democratically elected government. I urge you to carefully reflect on this bold legacy and follow in his footsteps.
Madiba has passed on, but the struggle lives on and the dream shall never die! Allow me to conclude with a few lines written as Madiba closed his eyes:
How shall we remember you?We shall remember you in the cries and laughter of childrenWe shall remember you in the song and dance of youthWe shall remember you in the undying hope of our mothersWe shall remember you in the fighting spirit of our fathersWe shall remember you in the wisdom and tales of elders
Aah Dalibhunga!
I thank You!
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