Waiting for my own Mandela…
Nalaka Gunawardene-18 Jul, 2013Editors note: Through Nelson Mandela International Day, the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/64/13 of 2009 recognizes Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities. It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.
Mandela is 95 years old today.
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I never met Nelson Mandela in person, but once listened to him live.
I watched him speak — in his characteristically thoughtful and cheerful manner – for a few minutes, and was mesmerized.
That was in October 1995 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Over 150 heads of state and government had come to the world’s most cosmopolitan city to speak at a special session of the General Assembly to celebrate the UN’s Golden Jubilee.
Among them were Cuban President Fidel Castro, Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat, and playwright turned Czech President, Vaclav Havel. Three woman leaders from South Asia added to the diversity.
But I was especially interested in the first black President of South Africa. Nelson Mandela, whose African National Congress (ANC) had won his country’s first multi-racial election only the year before, came dressed in a colourful batik shirt (known as ‘Madiba shirt’, named after Mandela’s Xhosa clan name).
Every leader was given five minutes at the famous podium. Mandela used his 300 seconds better than most others. I still remember how he rose above a single country, or single cause, to call for a better deal for the poor and downtrodden worldwide.
