Happy Birthday Madiba!

At the time of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, I wish to pay tribute to him by sharing three personal memories:

11 February 1990

Most people remember where they were the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison and I am no exception.

It was a parched Sunday afternoon on the Highveld in South Africa and like most Sundays in February, a perfect day for a wedding. My family and I were at a traditional Indian wedding, at the final segment, (these are long affairs), when the bride goes home to bid a teary-eyed farewell to her relatives.

On this day, however, the Bollywood melodrama was upstaged by the events on the television, around which everyone was gathered. You could feel the excitement vibrate off the samoosa platters being passed around and the expectations running high with every cup of tea being gulped down.

And then someone shouted, “Look, look, there he is …come see, there is Mandela.”

I looked and the first thing I saw was the ghost, the apparition that the millions of oppressed black South Africans believed in, the man that we knew was out there somewhere but that we could not see, touch, or speak with. Then, at a second glance I saw a smiling face with dancing eyes. And finally, a gray haired man, with a slow gait, fists of glory raised in the air. He was surrounded by a number of security personnel and being led by Winnie Mandela past a throng of clicking cameras and a mob of hopeful South Africans of all colors’.

There he was, no longer a ghost; a free man, walking out of our TV sets, into our lives and our hearts.

From that moment on Nelson Mandela has come to embody many different things to me and to millions of other people around the world.

For some, a defiant, young lion who showed the oppressed people of South Africa that their spirit and dignity could not be contained in a cage. For others, a President who through his extraordinary actions and personality led his country to peace and democracy. A hero in the history books, a moral compass to be looked up to, a true son of the African soil, an international icon for human rights, a world humanitarian champion, a symbol of hope for the oppressed and marginalized around the world and the list goes on...

12 June 1998

Nelson Mandela became the most famous football fan when he made a brief appearance at the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg. This brought to mind a memory I have of him during the 1998 World Cup.

Then, he made a minor appearance, far from the games, but I was there.

I was a student in London and invited by the South African High Commissioner to a Mandela Children’s Fund event where he would be present. It was a small gathering of people made up mainly of the staff of the South African High Commission, donors, and a few South African expatriates. I walked into the hall and made my way to the front so that I could be as close to him as possible. Soon the lights were dimmed and an announcement was made not to use flash photography (his eyes damaged by years of working at the prison quarry on Robben Island.)

He walked in and with slow steps he made his way up to the podium. From the back he looked frail, fragile even. But then he turned around, stood tall and with that familiar smile he said, “I can’t believe you are all here. All of you have come to see me, an old man, on the same day that Bafana Bafana (the South African national team) is playing France in the World Cup. You should be at your TVs rather than here with an old man.”

11 November 2009

That moment, the first and only time that I met Nelson Mandela, was prominent in my mind on the cold November day when the United Nations (UN) in New York, unanimously adopted the resolution proclaiming 18th July, the birthday of Nelson Mandela, as “Nelson Mandela International Day.”

I was privileged to have been in the hall of the General Assembly on that very day and to be seated with the South Africa Ambassador, behind the South African flag, when the gavel dropped on such a historical moment.

And I felt especially privileged to have played a role in the realisation of the event.

You see, at that time, I was the Political Counsellor for Human Rights at the South African Mission to the UN, the lucky official that was asked to draft and negotiate on behalf of South Africa, the very UN resolution that proclaimed 18th July, “Nelson Mandela International Day.”

I remember drowning my nerves with one Diet Coke after the other as I walked into the negotiating room. My main aim was to convince the European Union, the USA and other countries that the UN should set aside a day to honor the achievements of an individual. I remember thinking that this was going to be especially difficult because the UN has never in its history honored an individual. How would I sell the idea? How would I get around the fact that when the UN does celebrate international days, the day is related to an international theme, and not a person?

After I introduced the resolution, I yielded the floor, expecting to be bombarded with all kinds of questions and comments about UN procedures, and about financial implications and setting of precedents etc.

Immediately, every single hand went up.

Every Member State present in the room that day pledged their support and/or co-sponsorship to the resolution that would give recognition to the achievements and stature of Nelson Mandela. No questions were asked. I did not need to sell anything. There was no need to convince anyone of the merits of this resolution.

What was to become one of the proudest accomplishments of my diplomatic career was by far my easiest negotiation. And it was made easy for me by Nelson Mandela himself. His life’s work and actions speak for themselves.

18th July until forever

Happy birthday Tata Madiba!