Prof. Saths Cooper
While Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was publicly forgotten on the 11th anniversary of his death on 5th December 2024, the 35th anniversary of his release today, after 27 years in apartheid jails, will not suffer the same fate.
Our fledgling democracy’s founding president will be jointly celebrated by the museum that bears his name in the Eastern Cape, the Iziko Museums (founded in 1825), and Robben Island – where he was imprisoned for most of those years – at the Nelson Mandela Gateway (part of the Robben Island Museum), at Cape Town’s Waterfront.
South Africa and the world were in a euphoric mood 35 years ago, following Madiba (as he wished to be called) as he walked out from Victor Verster Prison, outside Paarl, hand-in-hand with Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela, and a retinue that included our current president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa and the irrepressible Archbishop and Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who Madiba on 23 June 1999 described as a “fearless fighter against the evil and inhuman system of apartheid… renowned for selfless commitment to the poor, the oppressed and downtrodden… His most characteristic quality is his readiness to take unpopular positions without fear.”
This singular first step in our short history of democracy, like the memory of the heady days of April 1994, when Madiba emerged as the unchallenged leader of South Africa, united the majority of us in the hope of a better future for us all.
During Madiba’s tenure – which ended in 1999, two days before the epochal June 16 – we anticipated the end of racism, sexism, violence, tribalism, sectarianism, division, and a host of other ills inherited from our terrible colonial and apartheid past.
Wrongly condemned by some of us for bending over “blackwards” in his quest for reconciliation with oppressors and exploiters, with a minority laager remaining unrepentant and entitled, we cannot but grieve the loss of a global icon of Madiba’s stature and gravitas when we have to contend with the parade of incompetent, indecisive, self-absorbed, self-serving leaders who tend to abound across the globe.
Instantly forgettable – save when they make the news with outrageous or inane comments – they prevent the natural succession of a solid younger cohort of bright, better, capable persons who are more open to the inclusive possibilities of leaving none of our human family behind in the third decade of the 21st century.
Such deliberate exclusion from assuming rightful roles in leading our fragile world forward in all spheres of our lives everywhere, simply adds to the needless conflict, socioeconomic uncertainty and strife at local, regional and global levels.
Madiba believed that “the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace…if there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don't care…for human beings".
He condemned "that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust". He wasn’t talking about the incumbent in the White House, who seems besotted by apartheid apologists, who Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton Mackenzie, terms “fringe racists who go out and say that white people are under siege. That’s not true.”
South Africa when under siege from within and elsewhere, rises to the occasion – despite the levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality, and desolation – tending to unite to fend off those it regards as inimical to its common good and future.
Whites who regard themselves as true patriots and part of the solution, have taken to social media, calling out racists declaring “Not in my name!” Of course, using typically colourful South African language, they are calling out those who are fixated on sowing discontent, disinformation and division, denying South Africa its potential.
This unprecedented response from ordinary white citizens, joining with AgriSA leadership in setting the record straight, seems to indicate that the edifice of white privilege, denial, entitlement and rage may be eroding. Our beloved country at the brink of a better collective future, requires more of the previously advantaged to stop racism and exclusion in its tracks so that we are better than the past that constantly lurks, intent on drawing us backwards.
Our revered Archbishop Tutu once prayed: “Do your little bit of good where you are, it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world” knowing that “we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, for compassion.”
It is time for those who rise above narrow sexist, racist, violent, divisive, sectarian positions to come together to protect the beautiful and only country we call home, restoring our lost pride, arresting further calamity, hopelessness and manufactured helplessness.
The ghosts of our past, cannot be the nightmares which our children inherit. We can reclaim our common humanity; our future – all of us – deserve better!
* Prof Saths Cooper, PhD, is the Chairperson of the Robben Island Museum, an ex-political prisoner, Chair of The 70s Group, a member of the International Science Council's Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science and the Past President of the Pan-African Psychology Union.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.