The Watering Hole

Just heard this.  He was 95.  I'm guessing Lance will be along soon to add more info.  :(

RIP.  I knew he was just hanging on.  He's been ill and in the news for a while.

RIP Nelson you done good stuff in your years here.

Sorry, I didn't see this thread and didn't notice the 'General Discussion" section....like an idiot I started a thread in the 'Politics' area.

Craig.

I'll tell you the problem...in one long sentence.  :)
If you live in South Africa and you've spent decades watching the man, listening to him everyday on TV, knowing every detail of the history since he was a little kid herding cattle in the Transkei, when you have family members who have met him and spent time with him, etc, etc...now compare that to folk who do a couple of Google searches and pick up on one or two irrelevant stories, then it's easy to realise how some people just don't 'get it'.

Last night I watched a 4 hour documentary on his life, I learnt a whole bunch of new things that even I didn't know.
Bro, we're talking about the "Communist" party in the 50s...thinking about it today it's laughable how irrelevant they were...we were made to believe the "Communists" were some kind of 'evil'...they weren't.
He didn't start the Communist party, his Jewish lawyer friends did, he supported them because they were his friends...in those days, the beginning of Apartheid, being a Communist was like being an angel compared to the Apartheid government.

Trust me, Mandela was about as close to a 'flawless' human being as it's possible to be.
His level of emotional/psychological intelligence was so advanced that 'normal' human beings simply couldn't understand what he was doing...no one had ever thought like he did before.
He was very smart, he criticised Bush, he criticised America going into Iraq, he called Bush a fool, but Bush is coming here next week...Bush wasn't upset that Mandela criticised him, it was kind of an honour to be criticised by Mandela, so you understood the criticism and accepted it.

He criticised black journalists in South Africa because they couldn't understand why he had gone to visit Verwoerds wife...Verwoerd started Apartheid.
Verwoerds wife couldn't understand why he wanted to visit her...he fucked with the journalists brains and he fucked with her brain.
But he knew, the world press and SAfrican press were watching him and they'd be there at the meeting.
He sat down with her, held her hand, and spent a few hours chatting and having tea with her.
The right wing racists were completely confused, wtf, suddenly instead of waging war against him they decided to participate in the elections.
Watch the movie "Invictus".
Rugby was a white Afrikaaner sport, the blacks hated rugby, he knew that.
He knew that if he supported the Springbok rugby team then he'd turn the right wing around and he'd turn 40 million blacks into rugby supporters...that's exactly what happened...everybody thought he was nuts, he knew what he was doing and it worked.

I've been watching all the special tribute programmes on TV, today the press interviewed a little white Afrikaaner kid who had gone to Mandela's house to pay tribute.
The kid couldn't talk he was crying so much.

You know every single band that's toured South Africa has been invited to his house to meet him, he invited them.
Every soccer team, every American sportsman, every actor, every celebrity, if they visited South Africa then he invited them to his house.
Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Michael Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray, just a few of them, all said the same thing, when he walked into the room they froze, they felt a presence they couldn't explain, they'd never met anyone like him before.

Am I painting a decent picture here?  ;D ;D ;D

Here's Nelson Mandela's speech at the Rivonia Trial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CNewYDzeDg

"I am the First Accused.

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961.

At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion made by the State in its opening that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have done whatever I did, both as an individual and as a leader of my people, because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background, and not because of what any outsider might have said.

In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days. Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defence of the fatherland. The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhune, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. This is what has motivated me in all that I have done in relation to the charges made against me in this case.

Having said this, I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence. Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the Whites.

I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto we Sizwe, and that I played a prominent role in its affairs until I was arrested in August 1962.

In the statement which I am about to make I shall correct certain false impressions which have been created by State witnesses. Amongst other things, I will demonstrate that certain of the acts referred to in the evidence were not and could not have been committed by Umkhonto. I will also deal with the relationship between the African National Congress and Umkhonto, and with the part which I personally have played in the affairs of both organizations. I shall deal also with the part played by the Communist Party. In order to explain these matters properly, I will have to explain what Umkhonto set out to achieve; what methods it prescribed for the achievement of these objects, and why these methods were chosen. I will also have to explain how I became involved in the activities of these organizations.

I deny that Umkhonto was responsible for a number of acts which clearly fell outside the policy of the organisation, and which have been charged in the indictment against us. I do not know what justification there was for these acts, but to demonstrate that they could not have been authorized by Umkhonto, I want to refer briefly to the roots and policy of the organization.

I have already mentioned that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto. I, and the others who started the organization, did so for two reasons. Firstly, we believed that as a result of Government policy, violence by the African people had become inevitable, and that unless responsible leadership was given to canalize and control the feelings of our people, there would be outbreaks of terrorism which would produce an intensity of bitterness and hostility between the various races of this country which is not produced even by war. Secondly, we felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or to defy the Government. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.

But the violence which we chose to adopt was not terrorism. We who formed Umkhonto were all members of the African National Congress, and had behind us the ANC tradition of non-violence and negotiation as a means of solving political disputes. We believe that South Africa belongs to all the people who live in it, and not to one group, be it black or white. We did not want an interracial war, and tried to avoid it to the last minute. If the Court is in doubt about this, it will be seen that the whole history of our organization bears out what I have said, and what I will subsequently say, when I describe the tactics which Umkhonto decided to adopt. I want, therefore, to say something about the African National Congress.

The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to defend the rights of the African people which had been seriously curtailed by the South Africa Act, and which were then being threatened by the Native Land Act. For thirty-seven years - that is until 1949 - it adhered strictly to a constitutional struggle. It put forward demands and resolutions; it sent delegations to the Government in the belief that African grievances could be settled through peaceful discussion and that Africans could advance gradually to full political rights. But White Governments remained unmoved, and the rights of Africans became less instead of becoming greater. In the words of my leader, Chief Luthuli, who became President of the ANC in 1952, and who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize:

"who will deny that thirty years of my life have been spent knocking in vain, patiently, moderately, and modestly at a closed and barred door? What have been the fruits of moderation? The past thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws restricting our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all".

Even after 1949, the ANC remained determined to avoid violence. At this time, however, there was a change from the strictly constitutional means of protest which had been employed in the past. The change was embodied in a decision which was taken to protest against apartheid legislation by peaceful, but unlawful, demonstrations against certain laws. Pursuant to this policy the ANC launched the Defiance Campaign, in which I was placed in charge of volunteers. This campaign was based on the principles of passive resistance. More than 8,500 people defied apartheid laws and went to jail. Yet there was not a single instance of violence in the course of this campaign on the part of any defier. I and nineteen colleagues were convicted for the role which we played in organizing the campaign, but our sentences were suspended mainly because the Judge found that discipline and non-violence had been stressed throughout. This was the time when the volunteer section of the ANC was established, and when the word 'Amadelakufa' was first used: this was the time when the volunteers were asked to take a pledge to uphold certain principles. Evidence dealing with volunteers and their pledges has been introduced into this case, but completely out of context. The volunteers were not, and are not, the soldiers of a black army pledged to fight a civil war against the whites. They were, and are dedicated workers who are prepared to lead campaigns initiated by the ANC to distribute leaflets, to organize strikes, or do whatever the particular campaign required. They are called volunteers because they volunteer to face the penalties of imprisonment and whipping which are now prescribed by the legislature for such acts.

During the Defiance Campaign, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act were passed. These Statutes provided harsher penalties for offences committed by way of protests against laws. Despite this, the protests continued and the ANC adhered to its policy of non-violence. In 1956, 156 leading members of the Congress Alliance, including myself, were arrested on a charge of high treason and charges under the Suppression of Communism Act. The non-violent policy of the ANC was put in issue by the State, but when the Court gave judgement some five years later, it found that the ANC did not have a policy of violence. We were acquitted on all counts, which included a count that the ANC sought to set up a communist state in place of the existing regime. The Government has always sought to label all its opponents as communists. This allegation has been repeated in the present case, but as I will show, the ANC is not, and never has been, a communist organization.

In 1960 there was the shooting at Sharpeville, which resulted in the proclamation of a state of emergency and the declaration of the ANC as an unlawful organization. My colleagues and I, after careful consideration, decided that we would not obey this decree. The African people were not part of the Government and did not make the laws by which they were governed. We believed in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that 'the will of the people shall be the basis of authority of the Government', and for us to accept the banning was equivalent to accepting the silencing of the Africans for all time. The ANC refused to dissolve, but instead went underground. We believed it was our duty to preserve this organization which had been built up with almost fifty years of unremitting toil.

I have no doubt that no self-respecting White political organization would disband itself if declared illegal by a government in which it had no say.

In 1960 the Government held a referendum which led to the establishment of the Republic. Africans, who constituted approximately 70 per cent of the population of South Africa, were not entitled to vote, and were not even consulted about the proposed constitutional change. All of us were apprehensive of our future under the proposed White Republic, and a resolution was taken to hold an All-In African Conference to call for a National Convention, and to organize mass demonstrations on the eve of the unwanted Republic, if the Government failed to call the Convention. The conference was attended by Africans of various political persuasions. I was the Secretary of the conference and undertook to be responsible for organizing the national stay-at-home which was subsequently called to coincide with the declaration of the Republic. As all strikes by Africans are illegal, the person organizing such a strike must avoid arrest. I was chosen to be this person, and consequently I had to leave my home and family and my practice and go into hiding to avoid arrest.

The stay-at-home, in accordance with ANC policy, was to be a peaceful demonstration. Careful instructions were given to organizers and members to avoid any recourse to violence. The Government's answer was to introduce new and harsher laws, to mobilize its armed forces, and to send Saracens, armed vehicles, and soldiers into the townships in a massive show of force designed to intimidate the people. This was an indication that the Government had decided to rule by force alone, and this decision was a milestone on the road to Umkhonto.

Some of this may appear irrelevant to this trial. In fact, I believe none of it is irrelevant because it will, I hope, enable the Court to appreciate the attitude eventually adopted by the various persons and bodies concerned in the National Liberation Movement. When I went to jail in 1962, the dominant idea was that loss of life should be avoided. I now know that this was still so in 1963.

I must return to June 1961. What were we, the leaders of our people, to do? Were we to give in to the show of force and the implied threat against future action, or were we to fight it and, if so, how?

We had no doubt that we had to continue the fight. Anything else would have been abject surrender. Our problem was not whether to fight, but was how to continue the fight. We of the ANC had always stood for a non-racial democracy, and we shrank from any action which might drive the races further apart than they already were. But the hard facts were that fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. It may not be easy for this Court to understand, but it is a fact that for a long time the people had been talking of violence - of the day when they would fight the White man and win back their country - and we, the leaders of the ANC, had nevertheless always prevailed upon them to avoid violence and to pursue peaceful methods. When some of us discussed this in May and June of 1961, it could not be denied that our policy to achieve a non-racial State by non-violence had achieved nothing, and that our followers were beginning to lose confidence in this policy and were developing disturbing ideas of terrorism.

It must not be forgotten that by this time violence had, in fact, become a feature of the South African political scene. There had been violence in 1957 when the women of Zeerust were ordered to carry passes; there was violence in 1958 with the enforcement of cattle culling in Sekhukhuniland; there was violence in 1959 when the people of Cato Manor protested against pass raids; there was violence in 1960 when the Government attempted to impose Bantu Authorities in Pondoland. Thirty-nine Africans died in these disturbances. In 1961 there had been riots in Warmbaths, and all this time the Transkei had been a seething mass of unrest. Each disturbance pointed clearly to the inevitable growth among Africans of the belief that violence was the only way out - it showed that a Government which uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use force to oppose it. Already small groups had arisen in the urban areas and were spontaneously making plans for violent forms of political struggle. There now arose a danger that these groups would adopt terrorism against Africans, as well as Whites, if not properly directed. Particularly disturbing was the type of violence engendered in places such as Zeerust, Sekhukhuniland, and Pondoland amongst Africans. It was increasingly taking the form, not of struggle against the Government - though this is what prompted it - but of civil strife amongst themselves, conducted in such a way that it could not hope to achieve anything other than a loss of life and bitterness.

At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the Government met our peaceful demands with force.

This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle, and to form Umkhonto we Sizwe. We did so not because we desired such a course, but solely because the Government had left us with no other choice. In the Manifesto of Umkhonto published on 16 December 1961, which is Exhibit AD, we said:

"The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices - submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom".

This was our feeling in June of 1961 when we decided to press for a change in the policy of the National Liberation Movement. I can only say that I felt morally obliged to do what I did.

We who had taken this decision started to consult leaders of various organizations, including the ANC. I will not say whom we spoke to, or what they said, but I wish to deal with the role of the African National Congress in this phase of the struggle, and with the policy and objectives of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

As far as the ANC was concerned, it formed a clear view which can be summarized as follows:

It was a mass political organization with a political function to fulfil. Its members had joined on the express policy of non-violence.

Because of all this, it could not and would not undertake violence. This must be stressed. One cannot turn such a body into the small, closely knit organization required for sabotage. Nor would this be politically correct, because it would result in members ceasing to carry out this essential activity: political propaganda and organization. Nor was it permissible to change the whole nature of the organization.

On the other hand, in view of this situation I have described, the ANC was prepared to depart from its fifty-year-old policy of non-violence to this extent that it would no longer disapprove of properly controlled violence. Hence members who undertook such activity would not be subject to disciplinary action by the ANC.

I say 'properly controlled violence' because I made it clear that if I formed the organization I would at all times subject it to the political guidance of the ANC and would not undertake any different form of activity from that contemplated without the consent of the ANC. And I shall now tell the Court how that form of violence came to be determined.

As a result of this decision, Umkhonto was formed in November 1961. When we took this decision, and subsequently formulated our plans, the ANC heritage of non-violence and racial harmony was very much with us. We felt that the country was drifting towards a civil war in which Blacks and Whites would fight each other. We viewed the situation with alarm. Civil war could mean the destruction of what the ANC stood for; with civil war, racial peace would be more difficult than ever to achieve. We already have examples in South African history of the results of war. It has taken more than fifty years for the scars of the South African War to disappear. How much longer would it take to eradicate the scars of inter-racial civil war, which could not be fought without a great loss of life on both sides?

The avoidance of civil war had dominated our thinking for many years, but when we decided to adopt violence as part of our policy, we realized that we might one day have to face the prospect of such a war. This had to be taken into account in formulating our plans. We required a plan which was flexible and which permitted us to act in accordance with the needs of the times; above all, the plan had to be one which recognized civil war as the last resort, and left the decision on this question to the future. We did not want to be committed to civil war, but we wanted to be ready if it became inevitable.

Four forms of violence were possible. There is sabotage, there is guerrilla warfare, there is terrorism, and there is open revolution. We chose to adopt the first method and to exhaust it before taking any other decision.

In the light of our political background the choice was a logical one. Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality. This is what we felt at the time, and this is what we said in our Manifesto (Exhibit AD):

"We of Umkhonto we Sizwe have always sought to achieve liberation without bloodshed and civil clash. We hope, even at this late hour, that our first actions will awaken everyone to a realization of the disastrous situation to which the Nationalist policy is leading. We hope that we will bring the Government and its supporters to their senses before it is too late, so that both the Government and its policies can be changed before matters reach the desperate state of civil war."

The initial plan was based on a careful analysis of the political and economic situation of our country. We believed that South Africa depended to a large extent on foreign capital and foreign trade. We felt that planned destruction of power plants, and interference with rail and telephone communications, would tend to scare away capital from the country, make it more difficult for goods from the industrial areas to reach the seaports on schedule, and would in the long run be a heavy drain on the economic life of the country, thus compelling the voters of the country to reconsider their position.

Attacks on the economic life lines of the country were to be linked with sabotage on Government buildings and other symbols of apartheid. These attacks would serve as a source of inspiration to our people. In addition, they would provide an outlet for those people who were urging the adoption of violent methods and would enable us to give concrete proof to our followers that we had adopted a stronger line and were fighting back against Government violence.

In addition, if mass action were successfully organized, and mass reprisals taken, we felt that sympathy for our cause would be roused in other countries, and that greater pressure would be brought to bear on the South African Government.

This then was the plan. Umkhonto was to perform sabotage, and strict instructions were given to its members right from the start, that on no account were they to injure or kill people in planning or carrying out operations. These instructions have been referred to in the evidence of 'Mr. X' and 'Mr. Z'.

The affairs of the Umkhonto were controlled and directed by a National High Command, which had powers of co-option and which could, and did, appoint Regional Commands. The High Command was the body which determined tactics and targets and was in charge of training and finance. Under the High Command there were Regional Commands which were responsible for the direction of the local sabotage groups. Within the framework of the policy laid down by the National High Command, the Regional Commands had authority to select the targets to be attacked. They had no authority to go beyond the prescribed framework and thus had no authority to embark upon acts which endangered life, or which did not fit into the overall plan of sabotage. For instance, Umkhonto members were forbidden ever to go armed into operation. Incidentally, the terms High Command and Regional Command were an importation from the Jewish national underground organization Irgun Zvai Leumi, which operated in Israel between 1944 and 1948.

Umkhonto had its first operation on 16 December 1961, when Government buildings in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban were attacked. The selection of targets is proof of the policy to which I have referred. Had we intended to attack life we would have selected targets where people congregated and not empty buildings and power stations. The sabotage which was committed before 16 December 1961 was the work of isolated groups and had no connection whatever with Umkhonto. In fact, some of these and a number of later acts were claimed by other organizations.

The Manifesto of Umkhonto was issued on the day that operations commenced. The response to our actions and Manifesto among the white population was characteristically violent. The Government threatened to take strong action, and called upon its supporters to stand firm and to ignore the demands of the Africans. The Whites failed to respond by suggesting change; they responded to our call by suggesting the laager.

In contrast, the response of the Africans was one of encouragement. Suddenly there was hope again. Things were happening. People in the townships became eager for political news. A great deal of enthusiasm was generated by the initial successes, and people began to speculate on how soon freedom would be obtained.

But we in Umkhonto weighed up the white response with anxiety. The lines were being drawn. The whites and blacks were moving into separate camps, and the prospects of avoiding a civil war were made less. The white newspapers carried reports that sabotage would be punished by death. If this was so, how could we continue to keep Africans away from terrorism?

Already scores of Africans had died as a result of racial friction. In 1920 when the famous leader, Masabala, was held in Port Elizabeth jail, twenty-four of a group of Africans who had gathered to demand his release were killed by the police and white civilians. In 1921, more than one hundred Africans died in the Bulhoek affair. In 1924 over two hundred Africans were killed when the Administrator of South-West Africa led a force against a group which had rebelled against the imposition of dog tax. On 1 May 1950, eighteen Africans died as a result of police shootings during the strike. On 21 March 1960, sixty-nine unarmed Africans died at Sharpeville.

How many more Sharpevilles would there be in the history of our country? And how many more Sharpevilles could the country stand without violence and terror becoming the order of the day? And what would happen to our people when that stage was reached? In the long run we felt certain we must succeed, but at what cost to ourselves and the rest of the country? And if this happened, how could black and white ever live together again in peace and harmony? These were the problems that faced us, and these were our decisions.

Experience convinced us that rebellion would offer the Government limitless opportunities for the indiscriminate slaughter of our people. But it was precisely because the soil of South Africa is already drenched with the blood of innocent Africans that we felt it our duty to make preparations as a long-term undertaking to use force in order to defend ourselves against force. If war were inevitable, we wanted the fight to be conducted on terms most favourable to our people. The fight which held out prospects best for us and the least risk of life to both sides was guerrilla warfare. We decided, therefore, in our preparations for the future, to make provision for the possibility of guerrilla warfare.

All whites undergo compulsory military training, but no such training was given to Africans. It was in our view essential to build up a nucleus of trained men who would be able to provide the leadership which would be required if guerrilla warfare started. We had to prepare for such a situation before it became too late to make proper preparations. It was also necessary to build up a nucleus of men trained in civil administration and other professions, so that Africans would be equipped to participate in the government of this country as soon as they were allowed to do so.

At this stage it was decided that I should attend the Conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for Central, East, and Southern Africa, which was to be held early in 1962 in Addis Ababa, and, because of our need for preparation, it was also decided that, after the conference, I would undertake a tour of the African States with a view to obtaining facilities for the training of soldiers, and that I would also solicit scholarships for the higher education of matriculated Africans. Training in both fields would be necessary, even if changes came about by peaceful means. Administrators would be necessary who would be willing and able to administer a non-racial State and so would men be necessary to control the army and police force of such a State.

It was on this note that I left South Africa to proceed to Addis Ababa as a delegate of the ANC. My tour was a success. Wherever I went I met sympathy for our cause and promises of help. All Africa was united against the stand of White South Africa, and even in London I was received with great sympathy by political leaders, such as Mr. Gaitskell and Mr. Grimond. In Africa I was promised support by such men as Julius Nyerere, now President of Tanganyika; Mr. Kawawa, then Prime Minister of Tanganyika; Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; General Abboud, President of the Sudan; Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia; Ben Bella, now President of Algeria; Modibo Keita, President of Mali; Leopold Senghor, President of Senegal; Sekou Toure, President of Guinea; President Tubman of Liberia; and Milton Obote, Prime Minister of Uganda. It was Ben Bella who invited me to visit Oujda, the Headquarters of the Algerian Army of National Liberation, the visit which is described in my diary, one of the Exhibits.

I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them. Notes of lectures which I received in Algeria are contained in Exhibit 16, produced in evidence. Summaries of books on guerrilla warfare and military strategy have also been produced. I have already admitted that these documents are in my writing, and I acknowledge that I made these studies to equip myself for the role which I might have to play if the struggle drifted into guerrilla warfare. I approached this question as every African Nationalist should do. I was completely objective. The Court will see that I attempted to examine all types of authority on the subject - from the East and from the West, going back to the classic work of Clausewitz, and covering such a variety as Mao Tse Tung and Che Guevara on the one hand, and the writings on the Anglo-Boer War on the other. Of course, these notes are merely summaries of the books I read and do not contain my personal views.

I also made arrangements for our recruits to undergo military training. But here it was impossible to organize any scheme without the co-operation of the ANC offices in Africa. I consequently obtained the permission of the ANC in South Africa to do this. To this extent then there was a departure from the original decision of the ANC, but it applied outside South Africa only. The first batch of recruits actually arrived in Tanganyika when I was passing through that country on my way back to South Africa.

I returned to South Africa and reported to my colleagues on the results of my trip. On my return I found that there had been little alteration in the political scene save that the threat of a death penalty for sabotage had now become a fact. The attitude of my colleagues in Umkhonto was much the same as it had been before I left. They were feeling their way cautiously and felt that it would be a long time before the possibilities of sabotage were exhausted. In fact, the view was expressed by some that the training of recruits was premature. This is recorded by me in the document which is Exhibit R.14. After a full discussion, however, it was decided to go ahead with the plans for military training because of the fact that it would take many years to build up a sufficient nucleus of trained soldiers to start a guerrilla campaign, and whatever happened the training would be of value.

I wish to turn now to certain general allegations made in this case by the State. But before doing so, I wish to revert to certain occurrences said by witnesses to have happened in Port Elizabeth and East London. I am referring to the bombing of private houses of pro-Government persons during September, October and November 1962. I do not know what justification there was for these acts, nor what provocation had been given. But if what I have said already is accepted, then it is clear that these acts had nothing to do with the carrying out of the policy of Umkhonto.

One of the chief allegations in the indictment

Another of the allegations in the indictment is that Rivonia was the headquarters of Umkhonto. This is not true of the time when I was there. I was told, of course, and knew that certain of the activities of the Communist Party were carried on there. But this is no reason (as I shall presently explain) why I should not use the place.

I came there in the following manner:

As already indicated, early in April 1961 I went underground to organize the May general strike. My work entailed travelling throughout the country, living now in African townships, then in country villages and again in cities.

During the second half of the year I started visiting the Parktown home of Arthur Goldreich, where I used to meet my family privately. Although I had no direct political association with him, I had known Arthur Goldreich socially since 1958.

In October, Arthur Goldreich informed me that he was moving out of town and offered me a hiding place there. A few days thereafter, he arranged for Michael Harmel to take me to Rivonia. I naturally found Rivonia an ideal place for the man who lived the life of an outlaw. Up to that time I had been compelled to live indoors during the daytime and could only venture out under cover of darkness. But at Liliesleaf I could live differently and work far more efficiently.

For obvious reasons, I had to disguise myself and I assumed the fictitious name of David. In December, Arthur Goldreich and his family moved in. I stayed there until I went abroad on 11 January 1962. As already indicated, I returned in July 1962 and was arrested in Natal on 5 August.

Up to the time of my arrest, Liliesleaf farm was the headquarters of neither the African National Congress nor Umkhonto. With the exception of myself, none of the officials or members of these bodies lived there, no meetings of the governing bodies were ever held there, and no activities connected with them were either organized or directed from there. On numerous occasions during my stay at Liliesleaf farm I met both the Executive Committee of the ANC, as well as the NHC, but such meetings were held elsewhere and not on the farm.

Whilst staying at Liliesleaf farm, I frequently visited Arthur Goldreich in the main house and he also paid me visits in my room. We had numerous political discussions covering a variety of subjects. We discussed ideological and practical questions, the Congress Alliance, Umkhonto and its activities generally, and his experiences as a soldier in the Palmach, the military wing of the Haganah. Haganah was the political authority of the Jewish National Movement in Palestine.

Because of what I had got to know of Goldreich, I recommended on my return to South Africa that he should be recruited to Umkhonto. I do not know of my personal knowledge whether this was done.

Another of the allegations made by the State is that the aims and objects of the ANC and the Communist Party are the same. I wish to deal with this and with my own political position, because I must assume that the State may try to argue from certain Exhibits that I tried to introduce Marxism into the ANC. The allegation as to the ANC is false. This is an old allegation which was disproved at the Treason Trial and which has again reared its head. But since the allegation has been made again, I shall deal with it as well as with the relationship between the ANC and the Communist Party and Umkhonto and that party.

The ideological creed of the ANC is, and always has been, the creed of African Nationalism. It is not the concept of African Nationalism expressed in the cry, 'Drive the White man into the sea'. The African Nationalism for which the ANC stands is the concept of freedom and fulfilment for the African people in their own land. The most important political document ever adopted by the ANC is the 'Freedom Charter'. It is by no means a blueprint for a socialist state. It calls for redistribution, but not nationalization, of land; it provides for nationalization of mines, banks, and monopoly industry, because big monopolies are owned by one race only, and without such nationalization racial domination would be perpetuated despite the spread of political power. It would be a hollow gesture to repeal the Gold Law prohibitions against Africans when all gold mines are owned by European companies. In this respect the ANC's policy corresponds with the old policy of the present Nationalist Party which, for many years, had as part of its programme the nationalization of the gold mines which, at that time, were controlled by foreign capital. Under the Freedom Charter, nationalization would take place in an economy based on private enterprise. The realization of the Freedom Charter would open up fresh fields for a prosperous African population of all classes, including the middle class. The ANC has never at any period of its history advocated a revolutionary change in the economic structure of the country, nor has it, to the best of my recollection, ever condemned capitalist society.

As far as the Communist Party is concerned, and if I understand its policy correctly, it stands for the establishment of a State based on the principles of Marxism. Although it is prepared to work for the Freedom Charter, as a short term solution to the problems created by white supremacy, it regards the Freedom Charter as the beginning, and not the end, of its programme.

The ANC, unlike the Communist Party, admitted Africans only as members. Its chief goal was, and is, for the African people to win unity and full political rights. The Communist Party's main aim, on the other hand, was to remove the capitalists and to replace them with a working-class government. The Communist Party sought to emphasize class distinctions whilst the ANC seeks to harmonize them. This is a vital distinction.

It is true that there has often been close co-operation between the ANC and the Communist Party. But co-operation is merely proof of a common goal - in this case the removal of white supremacy - and is not proof of a complete community of interests.

The history of the world is full of similar examples. Perhaps the most striking illustration is to be found in the co-operation between Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union in the fight against Hitler. Nobody but Hitler would have dared to suggest that such co-operation turned Churchill or Roosevelt into communists or communist tools, or that Britain and America were working to bring about a communist world.

Another instance of such co-operation is to be found precisely in Umkhonto. Shortly after Umkhonto was constituted, I was informed by some of its members that the Communist Party would support Umkhonto, and this then occurred. At a later stage the support was made openly.

I believe that communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements. Thus communists have played an important role in the freedom struggles fought in countries such as Malaya, Algeria, and Indonesia, yet none of these States today are communist countries. Similarly in the underground resistance movements which sprung up in Europe during the last World War, communists played an important role. Even General Chiang Kai-Shek, today one of the bitterest enemies of communism, fought together with the communists against the ruling class in the struggle which led to his assumption of power in China in the 1930s.

This pattern of co-operation between communists and non-communists has been repeated in the National Liberation Movement of South Africa. Prior to the banning of the Communist Party, joint campaigns involving the Communist Party and the Congress movements were accepted practice. African communists could, and did, become members of the ANC, and some served on the National, Provincial, and local committees. Amongst those who served on the National Executive are Albert Nzula, a former Secretary of the Communist Party, Moses Kotane, another former Secretary, and J. B. Marks, a former member of the Central Committee.

I joined the ANC in 1944, and in my younger days I held the view that the policy of admitting communists to the ANC, and the close co-operation which existed at times on specific issues between the ANC and the Communist Party, would lead to a watering down of the concept of African Nationalism. At that stage I was a member of the African National Congress Youth League, and was one of a group which moved for the expulsion of communists from the ANC. This proposal was heavily defeated. Amongst those who voted against the proposal were some of the most conservative sections of African political opinion. They defended the policy on the ground that from its inception the ANC was formed and built up, not as a political party with one school of political thought, but as a Parliament of the African people, accommodating people of various political convictions, all united by the common goal of national liberation. I was eventually won over to this point of view and I have upheld it ever since.

It is perhaps difficult for white South Africans, with an ingrained prejudice against communism, to understand why experienced African politicians so readily accept communists as their friends. But to us the reason is obvious. Theoretical differences amongst those fighting against oppression is a luxury we cannot afford at this stage. What is more, for many decades communists were the only political group in South Africa who were prepared to treat Africans as human beings and their equals; who were prepared to eat with us; talk with us, live with us, and work with us. They were the only political group which was prepared to work with the Africans for the attainment of political rights and a stake in society. Because of this, there are many Africans who, today, tend to equate freedom with communism. They are supported in this belief by a legislature which brands all exponents of democratic government and African freedom as communists and bans many of them (who are not communists) under the Suppression of Communism Act. Although I have never been a member of the Communist Party, I myself have been named under that pernicious Act because of the role I played in the Defiance Campaign. I have also been banned and imprisoned under that Act.

It is not only in internal politics that we count communists as amongst those who support our cause. In the international field, communist countries have always come to our aid. In the United Nations and other Councils of the world the communist bloc has supported the Afro-Asian struggle against colonialism and often seems to be more sympathetic to our plight than some of the Western powers. Although there is a universal condemnation of apartheid, the communist bloc speaks out against it with a louder voice than most of the white world. In these circumstances, it would take a brash young politician, such as I was in 1949, to proclaim that the Communists are our enemies.

I turn now to my own position. I have denied that I am a communist, and I think that in the circumstances I am obliged to state exactly what my political beliefs are.

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot. After all, I was born in Umtata, forty-six years ago. My guardian was my cousin, who was the acting paramount chief of Tembuland, and I am related both to the present paramount chief of Tembuland, Sabata Dalindyebo, and to Kaizer Matanzima, the Chief Minister of the Transkei.

Today I am attracted by the idea of a classless society, an attraction which springs in part from Marxist reading and, in part, from my admiration of the structure and organization of early African societies in this country. The land, then the main means of production, belonged to the tribe. There were no rich or poor and there was no exploitation.

It is true, as I have already stated, that I have been influenced by Marxist thought. But this is also true of many of the leaders of the new independent States. Such widely different persons as Gandhi, Nehru, Nkrumah, and Nasser all acknowledge this fact. We all accept the need for some form of socialism to enable our people to catch up with the advanced countries of this world and to overcome their legacy of extreme poverty. But this does not mean we are Marxists.

Indeed, for my own part, I believe that it is open to debate whether the Communist Party has any specific role to play at this particular stage of our political struggle. The basic task at the present moment is the removal of race discrimination and the attainment of democratic rights on the basis of the Freedom Charter. In so far as that Party furthers this task, I welcome its assistance. I realize that it is one of the means by which people of all races can be drawn into our struggle.

From my reading of Marxist literature and from conversations with Marxists, I have gained the impression that communists regard the parliamentary system of the West as undemocratic and reactionary. But, on the contrary, I am an admirer of such a system.

The Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Rights are documents which are held in veneration by democrats throughout the world.

I have great respect for British political institutions, and for the country's system of justice. I regard the British Parliament as the most democratic institution in the world, and the independence and impartiality of its judiciary never fail to arouse my admiration.

The American Congress, that country's doctrine of separation of powers, as well as the independence of its judiciary, arouses in me similar sentiments.

I have been influenced in my thinking by both West and East. All this has led me to feel that in my search for a political formula, I should be absolutely impartial and objective. I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism. I must leave myself free to borrow the best from the West and from the East . . .

There are certain Exhibits which suggest that we received financial support from abroad, and I wish to deal with this question.

Our political struggle has always been financed from internal sources - from funds raised by our own people and by our own supporters. Whenever we had a special campaign or an important political case - for example, the Treason Trial - we received financial assistance from sympathetic individuals and organizations in the Western countries. We had never felt it necessary to go beyond these sources.

But when in 1961 the Umkhonto was formed, and a new phase of struggle introduced, we realized that these events would make a heavy call on our slender resources, and that the scale of our activities would be hampered by the lack of funds. One of my instructions, as I went abroad in January 1962, was to raise funds from the African states.

I must add that, whilst abroad, I had discussions with leaders of political movements in Africa and discovered that almost every single one of them, in areas which had still not attained independence, had received all forms of assistance from the socialist countries, as well as from the West, including that of financial support. I also discovered that some well-known African states, all of them non-communists, and even anti-communists, had received similar assistance.

On my return to the Republic, I made a strong recommendation to the ANC that we should not confine ourselves to Africa and the Western countries, but that we should also send a mission to the socialist countries to raise the funds which we so urgently needed.

I have been told that after I was convicted such a mission was sent, but I am not prepared to name any countries to which it went, nor am I at liberty to disclose the names of the organizations and countries which gave us support or promised to do so.

As I understand the State case, and in particular the evidence of 'Mr. X', the suggestion is that Umkhonto was the inspiration of the Communist Party which sought by playing upon imaginary grievances to enrol the African people into an army which ostensibly was to fight for African freedom, but in reality was fighting for a communist state. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the suggestion is preposterous. Umkhonto was formed by Africans to further their struggle for freedom in their own land. Communists and others supported the movement, and we only wish that more sections of the community would join us.

Our fight is against real, and not imaginary, hardships or, to use the language of the State Prosecutor, 'so-called hardships'. Basically, we fight against two features which are the hallmarks of African life in South Africa and which are entrenched by legislation which we seek to have repealed. These features are poverty and lack of human dignity, and we do not need communists or so-called 'agitators' to teach us about these things.

South Africa is the richest country in Africa, and could be one of the richest countries in the world. But it is a land of extremes and remarkable contrasts. The whites enjoy what may well be the highest standard of living in the world, whilst Africans live in poverty and misery. Forty per cent of the Africans live in hopelessly overcrowded and, in some cases, drought-stricken Reserves, where soil erosion and the overworking of the soil makes it impossible for them to live properly off the land. Thirty per cent are labourers, labour tenants, and squatters on white farms and work and live under conditions similar to those of the serfs of the Middle Ages. The other 30 per cent live in towns where they have developed economic and social habits which bring them closer in many respects to white standards. Yet most Africans, even in this group, are impoverished by low incomes and high cost of living.

The highest-paid and the most prosperous section of urban African life is in Johannesburg. Yet their actual position is desperate. The latest figures were given on 25 March 1964 by Mr. Carr, Manager of the Johannesburg Non-European Affairs Department. The poverty datum line for the average African family in Johannesburg (according to Mr. Carr's department) is R42.84 per month. He showed that the average monthly wage is R32.24 and that 46 per cent of all African families in Johannesburg do not earn enough to keep them going.

Poverty goes hand in hand with malnutrition and disease. The incidence of malnutrition and deficiency diseases is very high amongst Africans. Tuberculosis, pellagra, kwashiorkor, gastro-enteritis, and scurvy bring death and destruction of health. The incidence of infant mortality is one of the highest in the world. According to the Medical Officer of Health for Pretoria, tuberculosis kills forty people a day (almost all Africans), and in 1961 there were 58,491 new cases reported. These diseases not only destroy the vital organs of the body, but they result in retarded mental conditions and lack of initiative, and reduce powers of concentration. The secondary results of such conditions affect the whole community and the standard of work performed by African labourers.

The complaint of Africans, however, is not only that they are poor and the whites are rich, but that the laws which are made by the whites are designed to preserve this situation. There are two ways to break out of poverty. The first is by formal education, and the second is by the worker acquiring a greater skill at his work and thus higher wages. As far as Africans are concerned, both these avenues of advancement are deliberately curtailed by legislation.

The present Government has always sought to hamper Africans in their search for education. One of their early acts, after coming into power, was to stop subsidies for African school feeding. Many African children who attended schools depended on this supplement to their diet. This was a cruel act.

There is compulsory education for all white children at virtually no cost to their parents, be they rich or poor. Similar facilities are not provided for the African children, though there are some who receive such assistance. African children, however, generally have to pay more for their schooling than whites. According to figures quoted by the South African Institute of Race Relations in its 1963 journal, approximately 40 per cent of African children in the age group between seven to fourteen do not attend school. For those who do attend school, the standards are vastly different from those afforded to white children. In 1960-61 the per capita Government spending on African students at State-aided schools was estimated at R12.46. In the same years, the per capita spending on white children in the Cape Province (which are the only figures available to me) was R144.57. Although there are no figures available to me, it can be stated, without doubt, that the white children on whom R144.57 per head was being spent all came from wealthier homes than African children on whom R12.46 per head was being spent.

The quality of education is also different. According to the Bantu Educational Journal, only 5,660 African children in the whole of South Africa passed their Junior Certificate in 1962, and in that year only 362 passed matric. This is presumably consistent with the policy of Bantu education about which the present Prime Minister said, during the debate on the Bantu Education Bill in 1953:

"When I have control of Native education I will reform it so that Natives will be taught from childhood to realize that equality with Europeans is not for them . . . People who believe in equality are not desirable teachers for Natives. When my Department controls Native education it will know for what class of higher education a Native is fitted, and whether he will have a chance in life to use his knowledge."

The other main obstacle to the economic advancement of the African is the industrial colour-bar under which all the better jobs of industry are reserved for Whites only. Moreover, Africans who do obtain employment in the unskilled and semi-skilled occupations which are open to them are not allowed to form trade unions which have recognition under the Industrial Conciliation Act. This means that strikes of African workers are illegal, and that they are denied the right of collective bargaining which is permitted to the better-paid White workers. The discrimination in the policy of successive South African Governments towards African workers is demonstrated by the so-called 'civilized labour policy' under which sheltered, unskilled Government jobs are found for those white workers who cannot make the grade in industry, at wages which far exceed the earnings of the average African employee in industry.

The Government often answers its critics by saying that Africans in South Africa are economically better off than the inhabitants of the other countries in Africa. I do not know whether this statement is true and doubt whether any comparison can be made without having regard to the cost-of-living index in such countries. But even if it is true, as far as the African people are concerned it is irrelevant. Our complaint is not that we are poor by comparison with people in other countries, but that we are poor by comparison with the white people in our own country, and that we are prevented by legislation from altering this imbalance.

The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy. White supremacy implies black inferiority. Legislation designed to preserve white supremacy entrenches this notion. Menial tasks in South Africa are invariably performed by Africans. When anything has to be carried or cleaned the white man will look around for an African to do it for him, whether the African is employed by him or not. Because of this sort of attitude, whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. They do not look upon them as people with families of their own; they do not realize that they have emotions - that they fall in love like white people do; that they want to be with their wives and children like white people want to be with theirs; that they want to earn enough money to support their families properly, to feed and clothe them and send them to school. And what 'house-boy' or 'garden-boy' or labourer can ever hope to do this?

Pass laws, which to the Africans are among the most hated bits of legislation in South Africa, render any African liable to police surveillance at any time. I doubt whether there is a single African male in South Africa who has not at some stage had a brush with the police over his pass. Hundreds and thousands of Africans are thrown into jail each year under pass laws. Even worse than this is the fact that pass laws keep husband and wife apart and lead to the breakdown of family life.

Poverty and the breakdown of family life have secondary effects. Children wander about the streets of the townships because they have no schools to go to, or no money to enable them to go to school, or no parents at home to see that they go to school, because both parents (if there be two) have to work to keep the family alive. This leads to a breakdown in moral standards, to an alarming rise in illegitimacy, and to growing violence which erupts not only politically, but everywhere. Life in the townships is dangerous. There is not a day that goes by without somebody being stabbed or assaulted. And violence is carried out of the townships in the white living areas. People are afraid to walk alone in the streets after dark. Housebreakings and robberies are increasing, despite the fact that the death sentence can now be imposed for such offences. Death sentences cannot cure the festering sore.

Africans want to be paid a living wage. Africans want to perform work which they are capable of doing, and not work which the Government declares them to be capable o Africans want to be allowed to live where they obtain work, and not be endorsed out of an area because they were not born there. Africans want to be allowed to own land in places where they work, and not to be obliged to live in rented houses which they can never call their own. Africans want to be part of the general population, and not confined to living in their own ghettoes. African men want to have their wives and children to live with them where they work, and not be forced into an unnatural existence in men's hostels. African women want to be with their men folk and not be left permanently widowed in the Reserves. Africans want to be allowed out after eleven o'clock at night and not to be confined to their rooms like little children. Africans want to be allowed to travel in their own country and to seek work where they want to and not where the Labour Bureau tells them to. Africans want a just share in the whole of South Africa; they want security and a stake in society.

Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy.

But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing.

Hookbender — Dec 08, 2013I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing.

He was jailed for life before one civilian had been killed in a 'terrorist' attack.
The charges against him were for 'sabotage', not murder.

He was never a terrorist.
A terrorist flies a plane into a building in a foreign country in the name of religion, when the people of that religion living in that foreign country have the vote and are protected by the constitution.

I visited Madiba's Houghton home today, it's about 10 -15 minutes away from where I live.
Had to park about a kilometre away from the house and walk, the crowds were huge...but as you can see I made my way to the front.  8-)

Presidents Obama, Clinton, Bush and Carter just left the USA on their way to SA.
As far as I'm aware, outside of the USA, four US Presidents have never attended a funeral together before.
They'll attend the Memorial Service being held Wednesday in the FNB Stadium...that's the stadium where the 2010 Soccer World Cup Final took place. (which none of you watched  ;D)



That's the CNN crew sticking out on the top of the photo.





Interesting painting you see in the backround.
On it, Abraham Lincoln, President Obama, President Clinton, Winston Churchill, Ghandi, and Nelson Mandela.



To the right you see some dudes with black suites, that's the entrance to the house and the bodyguards.

Lance — Dec 09, 2013 They'll attend the Memorial Service being held Wednesday in the FNB Stadium...that's the stadium where the 2010 Soccer World Cup Final took place. (which none of you watched  ;D)

Really?  Well, I offer THIS as a reminder to you that I saw the one and only goal scored by Spain against the Netherlands.  ;)

CraigBert — Dec 09, 2013[quote author=Lance link=1386282188/0#13 date=1386597378] They'll attend the Memorial Service being held Wednesday in the FNB Stadium...that's the stadium where the 2010 Soccer World Cup Final took place. (which none of you watched  ;D)

Really?  Well, I offer THIS as a reminder to you that I saw the one and only goal scored by Spain against the Netherlands.  ;)

lol  ;D

I know what you mean, I was at a few of the games.
I think some of the broadcasters got the 'mix' wrong, they could have turned down the stadium mic's and increased volume on the commentator mic's.

I'm pretty sure Vuvuzelas will be banned from the stadium on Wednesday..although, this is Africa, who knows.  ;D

Hookbender — Dec 08, 2013I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

charger — Dec 09, 2013[quote author=Hookbender link=1386282188/0#11 date=1386530736]I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

lol, where's the "Like" button.  :)

Obviously the TV stations down here are 24 hours Mandela, besides the International News Stations.

What's cool about it is all the cool stories people associated with Madiba are sharing...it's these kind of stories, and there are hundreds of them, that make you love the man.

When he was released from prison he obviously needed a personal secretary.
There was a white female typist that worked in the building and asked about her.
She was a white Afrikaaner who had never been a secretary before, she was just a temp typist...that's exactly what he wanted, a white Afrikaans female.
She became his personal assistant & secretary for 19 years, she travelled with him everywhere he went.
He did an average of 12 overseas trips a year for 15 years, she travelled the world with him.
Man!, she tried as hard as she could not to cry in the interview, she held back for the full interview, but the final question floored her.
The interviewer asked, "what was the last thing you said to Madiba before he passed away"?
She looked down, didn't answer for a few seconds, she didn't want to answer, and then she said, " I told him I love him"...and then she cried like a baby.

His bodyguard tells a story.
After being in jail for 27 years he had absolutely no idea about the value of money, money was completely irrelevant to him.
He made a list of some groceries he wanted from the local 7 Eleven...he asked his bodyguards to take a drive and get the stuff for him.
So he gives the guy R5.00 ($.50 cents).
lol, the bodyguard says, "Madiba, do you know how much these groceries are going to cost?..at least R90.00 (about $10.00)..Madiba says, "oh, ok, sorry I didn't realise how much it would cost".  ;D

When he was moved to Victor Verster Prison prior to his release he was given a small house on the prison property.
So one day the warder (his friend from Robben Island) brought him a Microwave oven.
Madiba thought it was a TV set, he called the warder and said, "how do I get this thing to work"...the warder said, "Madiba, it's not a TV set it's a Microwave oven".   ;D

If you were a celebrity or big businessman and Madiba invited you for breakfast, you knew it was going to be the most expensive breakfast of your life.
Oprah tells a story.
She was having breakfast with him at his Nelson Mandela Children’s fund headquarters in Houghton.
So he says to Oprah..."if you were me what do you think is the best thing to do for children"?
So Oprah says, I guess I would build a school".
15 minutes later Oprah had agreed to build the school she's now famous for building.
Oprah says, "I didn't mean I'd agree to build a school right now at breakfast"... :)

He moved into his house in Houghton.
The next day he decides to take a walk and introduce himself to the neighbours, obviously the bodyguards were not happy about this.
Off he goes to the next door neighbour, a very wealthy white family.
He rings the bell, the wife was home alone...people in the area are very security conscious, you make sure who's at the door before you answer.
So she says "who's that"?...he replies, "it's Mr Mandela you new next door neighbour".
She's ready to phone the security company, but she decides to look out the window to see who it is.
lol, she was speechless...in he walks, sits down, waits for the family to come home and has dinner with the family.  :)...he did the same thing with the other neighbours.

There's a Jewish family that lives a few roads away from Madiba.
They were planning their invitations for the sons Barmitzvah.
So the son says, please can I drop off an invitation at Mr Mandela's house.
So the parents tell the son he's crazy, but the son insists.
They hear nothing back from Madiba.
The day of the Barmitzvah comes, halfway through the ceremony the doors to the venue open and Madiba and walks in.  :)
My buddy Gavin was doing the gig at the Barmitvah...he says it was unbelievable.

Tiger Woods tells a story.
Tiger and his father wanted to meet Madiba, so he invited them over.
They get to the house and the secretary ushers them into Madiba's study.
Tiger says, it was a really nice room, well furnished, so him and his father were walking around looking at the photos and stuff on the walls waiting for Madiba to join them.
Tiger says to his father, "dad, do you feel that?", his father replied, "yes, it's strange, do you feel it as well"?
Tiger says there was a weird 'presence' in the room.
The looked around and noticed Madiba was sitting in the opposite corner of the room, in a chair, eyes closed, just meditating.
Tiger says, "I've never met another person like him before".

charger — Dec 09, 2013[quote author=Hookbender link=1386282188/0#11 date=1386530736]I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Ok. Explain what you mean by that. Are you saying I'm wrong? Please provide proof that I am in fact, wrong.

The guy was a human being not perfection itself, none of us can reach perfection as far as I can tell. But he done some good stuff. I don't worship people, but I sure can admire those who stands for the greater good. Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandella, and many others in history. People who stand up for fairness and non-violence are OK in my book.

No doubt he did some good. No doubt he did some bad.

Hookbender — Dec 10, 2013No doubt he did some good. No doubt he did some bad.

Well, what does 'some' mean?
He did way more than 'some' good...on a daily basis, thousands and thousands of good things over and over for decades.
More good deeds than can be expected of any man in many lifetimes, he would have to be called the good deeds champion of the world.

Do you think from a jail cell on Robben Island he was able to control the actions of millions of people?
Do you think he approved or knew every new member that joined the armed wing of the ANC?
Do you think he selected targets and planned every operation that took place?

Let's for argument sake assume he did plan each and every attack even though it was near to impossible for him to do so because he was in the worlds most secure jail, watched 24 hours a day with no possible way to communicate with anyone in the outside world.
Now keep in mind.
Prior to his release, 50 years ago, the vast majority of whites in South Africa, thought just like you're thinking right now...we thought the ANC were Communists and terrorists.
But, today, we think the exact opposite, you'd be hard pressed to find even the most hard line right wing white who doesn't think that Madiba was a miraculous saviour in our country.

If they were able to 'forgive' him, and he was able to forgive them, why is it so difficult for a white living in the United States to do the same...surely you realise that we the South Africans must know something that you don't?

"you'd be hard pressed to find even the most hard line right wing white

Yep.  As I alluded to there are lots of sites that talk about his backing the bombings that killed over 180 people and injuring hundreds - mostly civilian.  Oh well.

Whatever he actually did do prior to his release from prison, he certainly made all the right moves afterwards and that's what he'll be remembered for most.

If you watch this Memorial Service you will never forget it, and you'll get a better understanding of South Africa and South Africans.

They say it's the biggest Memorial Service ever, with more than 90 heads of State, Presidents, etc...not easy to organise in a couple of days...but South Africa will do it.

Wow!...what a speech by Barack Obama.

The people of SA love him.
After his speech the drenched crowds started to leave.

Lance — Dec 10, 2013
surely you realise that we the South Africans must know something that you don't?

Looking at it from the outside, of course Americans can not know what is going on inside another country. Nor can those outside really know what is going on here. It is the media that we all watch which tells us what is going on. and the media only feeds us what the powers that be want us to know.

As far as I am concerned Mandella was a real good man. As far as Barack Obama is concerned, he admired Mandella as he grew up in an America that was as prejudiced as the South African whites were against the African native population, we had less PUBLICIZED violence in the race wars down in the Southeast portion of the US.

Mandella was and is a great hero to the African Americans. Mandella to me was a good man who did the right things in the right way. The Southeast portion of the USA have their own thinking on the racial conflict, it is quite different than the Northerners and the Westerners in the US. I have lived down south in the USA and all over America, and the racial prejudice runs a lot deeper in the Southeast than anywhere else in the US. In the Western US the African Americans are more like the rest of the population than the easterners are. They talk the same as whites, and live with the same rights and respect as the whites do. In the south there is still quite a divide

I'm digging this thread, talking to myself and one or two other guys.  ;D

Here's the Johnny Clegg band with my buddy Andy Innes on guitar, Andy's been a member of the band and the bands musical director for 20 years...the song is, "Asimbonanga"...written by the band.
Btw, I endorsed Johhny's son Jesse Clegg with a Tokai SG.

Let's start here with the Soweto Gospel Choir.
A few days ago this is what happened, in a Woolworths store...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHHjP7XrBq0

Here's the original, Johnny Clegg band live in France, featuring Madiba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGS7SpI7obY

What the lyrics mean.

Chorus:
Asimbonanga--------------------(we have not seen him)
Asimbonang' umandela thina-----(we have not seen mandela)
Laph'ekhona--------------------(in the place where he is)
Laph'ehleli khona--------------(in the place where he is kept)


Oh the sea is cold and the sky is grey
Look across the island into the bay
We are all islands till comes the day
We cross the burning water

Chorus....

A seagull wings across the sea
Broken silence is what I dream
Who has the words to close the distance
Between you and me

Chorus....


Steve biko, victoria mxenge
Neil aggett
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang 'umfowethu thina----(we have not seen our brother)
Laph'ekhona--------------------(in the place where he is)
Laph'wafela khona--------------(in the place where he died)
Hey wena-----------------------(hey you!)
Hey wena nawe------------------(hey you and you as well)
Siyofika nini la' siyakhona----(when will we arrive at our destination)

Thanks for posting all the great info and stories Lance.

I was passing along some of the stories to my wife and we chatted for nearly an hour. It was nice to talk without her bringing up something my son (or I) did or didn't do or worrying about bills, job security etc. At the end of our conversation she mentioned that he had a way of bringing people together.  :)  Yes he did and still does...

A person like that doesn't come along too often.

Tobe — Dec 13, 2013Thanks for posting all the great info and stories Lance.

I was passing along some of the stories to my wife and we chatted for nearly an hour. It was nice to talk without her bringing up something my son (or I) did or didn't do or worrying about bills, job security etc. At the end of our conversation she mentioned that he had a way of bringing people together.  :)  Yes he did and still does...

A person like that doesn't come along too often.

Thanks, Tobe

I guess that's why I keep posting the info, someone will learn something from it or enjoy a few moments of inspiration, not a bad thing with all the negative shit happening around us everyday.  :)

The funeral is going to be interesting.
He'll be buried in the place he was born, a rural village in the Transkei, in Qunu.
Try and picture this place.
Transkei is pretty much one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Qunu is as far as the eye can see, just green rolling hills covered in mist, with a few huts scattered here and there...his people, from the Thembu clan, part of the Xhosa tribe, live in the huts and live off the land and crops they grow themselves.
Their wealth is the few cattle and sheep they own...remember, as a kid Madiba was a herdsman, he walked those hills looking after the cattle and sheep.
For entertainment the kids learnt stick fighting Xhosa style...at 16 years old they have a traditional Xhosa circumcision, done with a spear, no anaesthetic.

"At his burial on Sunday, in a remote village near his homeland in the Eastern Cape, he will be grieved as royalty. It's here that Mandela spent 10 years as the adopted son of a king to the Thembu clan, and developed a close and lasting bond to the king's family.

Mandela arrived in the village at age nine to be a ward of Thembu King Djokintaba after losing his father in the nearby village of Qunu. He was known for always being serious, having the look of a leader and growing close to the king through his special chore of ironing all his robes.

Djokintaba named him “Tatomkhulu,” meaning grandfather, raised him alongside his two children and, along with his son Justice, to be a counselor, before the boyhood pals both fled arranged marriages to Johannesburg.

On Sunday, the royal family from the Thembu, a sub-clan of the Xhosa tribe, will be cloaked in traditional animal skins - leopards for chiefs and a lion skin for the king.  To mark Mandela's royal blood, a leopardskin also will be draped over his coffin.

A special stick, known as “umquma” will be placed on top of the coffin among the flowers. It will have traveled from this tiny village to Mandela's home in Johannesburg to collect his spirit, as Thembu culture believes that the dead cannot rest unless their spirit is reunited in this way with their final resting place.

And during its journey, the spirit collector is bound by silence lest he or she break the spell.
We will take off a branch from here, and fly it to Johannesburg and carry the spirit in that branch, and the person who needs to perform that task, on the way back home, he is not allowed to talk to anyone who is in that entourage.

Mandela's grandson Mandla has pushed for burying his grandfather in nearby Mvezo rather than in his boyhood village of Qunu, which is little more than a cluster of houses on a hillside.
Mandela told Mandla and some journalists on a visit to Qunu in 2001 that he wanted to be laid to rest at his earliest home.
We had to take a drive from the house to the graveside in Qunu where he then answered this question with 'no, this is where I'm going to be buried.' That was Qunu graveside,”

I did Mandla, Madiba's grandsons garden.
It's was very weird.
Madiba's interior decorator is a family friend, my sisters best friend, and my brother in law is Mandla's lawyer.
She phoned me and asked me to meet her at Mandla's house, a few roads away from Madiba's Houghton house.
I spend 3 days doing the garden, not knowing who everyone was I spent time speaking to...I was too embarrassed to ask who are you, are you the grandson, are you the grandchild, blah blah...after watching TV for the last few days, I now know who I was chatting to during the day.  :)

Amazing isn't it, from the rural hills of Qunu, brought up with tribal customs of the Xhosa people, to The White House & Buckingham Palace.

These are current photos of Qunu, imagine what it looked like in 1918 when he was born.









Preparations for the funeral...it's been raining non stop in Qunu since the day he passed away.

No doubt he was an incredible force for peace and change in the world.  Somehow our country's ridiculous right wing now labels him a terrorist, and talks only of the ANC doing violence... no mention of the fact that Mandela was actually imprisoned, that his plans were for sabotage, not murder.  As far as the people who died in the violence? violence begets violence. You can bet your ass that if it was Craig or Hookbender being brutally repressed, with no rights, constant state-sanctioned violence, being treated as subhuman, they wouldn't think twice about killing their oppressors to further the goal of freedom.  That Mandela was able to rise philosophically above this, and even to embrace reconciliation with his previous oppressors is incredible.

Cape Town is arguably one of the if not the the most beautiful city on earth.

Imagine sitting for 27 years on Robben Island viewing Table Mountain and Cape Town everyday.




And, Robben Island viewed from the top of Table Mountain.

charger — Dec 14, 2013No doubt he was an incredible force for peace and change in the world.  Somehow our country's ridiculous right wing now labels him a terrorist, and talks only of the ANC doing violence... no mention of the fact that Mandela was actually imprisoned, that his plans were for sabotage, not murder.  As far as the people who died in the violence? violence begets violence. You can bet your ass that if it was Craig or Hookbender being brutally repressed, with no rights, constant state-sanctioned violence, being treated as subhuman, they wouldn't think twice about killing their oppressors to further the goal of freedom.  That Mandela was able to rise philosophically above this, and even to embrace reconciliation with his previous oppressors is incredible.

You can also bet that I wouldn't harm innocent people, especially children. Women, well, I have a bad attitude towards them right now. ;D

Mandela is like the story of Jesus, kinda. Did much good, but also some bad. I look at the entire picture, not just the parts that were in focus.

Thats about all I have to say about this. I will add that my view came from reading about him, not fox news, as you probably know.

"I find it interesting that people just ignore bad things this guy did and prop him up as a hero. He ordered bombs to be exploded that killed innocent women and children. I find it hard to like this guy and dislike terrorist for doing the same thing."


I don't know that bad things were ignored or that anyone needed to prop that cat up.  It's more the "terrorist" label that seemed to be coming from far right sources only, they also supported apartheid or at least the pro-apartheid gov.

Would you have signed off on "shock and awe", etc.?  Would you have signed off on the sanctions against the pro-apartheid SA gov?

Which terrorist has a similar story of responsibility attained along with peace for their country?




"You can also bet that I wouldn't harm innocent people, especially children. Women, well, I have a bad attitude towards them right now. Grin

Mandela is like the story of Jesus, kinda. Did much good, but also some bad. I look at the entire picture, not just the parts that were in focus.

Thats about all I have to say about this. I will add that my view came from reading about him, not fox news, as you probably know."


I don't know what anyone would do in the face of what was going down there, or what an affiliate might do.  You have someone here who lives there and is letting you know why Mandela did good.  If you are really interested, why not ask him about the events and times surrounding or even the history of the country.

Lance — Dec 14, 2013Cape Town is arguably one of the if not the the most beautiful city on earth.

I'se a country boy amigo, to me there is no such thing as a "Beautiful City" I was born in one and lived in many all across the USA, never found one I liked for much of anything but shopping. Clean is the best I can say for a well groomed city.

Now post some pictures of J-Bay breaking double over head now that is beauty........

desertbluesman — Dec 15, 2013[quote author=Lance link=1386282188/25#32 date=1387012795]Cape Town is arguably one of the if not the the most beautiful city on earth.

I'se a country boy amigo, to me there is no such thing as a "Beautiful City" I was born in one and lived in many all across the USA, never found one I liked for much of anything but shopping. Clean is the best I can say for a well groomed city.

Now post some pictures of J-Bay breaking double over head now that is beauty........

Harv
Look at the map, it's a never ending coastline that eventually lands up at the famous J-Bay and keeps going beyond Port Elizabeth to Durban...remember Durban, the Gunston 500.  :)

Google, Clifton, Camps Bay, the Cape Wine Routes, the Garden Route, the drives, Table Mountain, Hermanus/the whales...you'll get an idea of Cape Town.

Nelson Mandela has been laid to rest.
This was the last look at the casket before the cameras were shut down and the tribal burial took place.

This is reporter Lance Weiner from South Africa signing out and sending you back to the studio.  :)

Lance — Dec 15, 2013

Harv
Look at the map, it's a never ending coastline that eventually lands up at the famous J-Bay and keeps going beyond Port Elizabeth to Durban...remember Durban, the Gunston 500.  :)

Google, Clifton, Camps Bay, the Cape Wine Routes, the Garden Route, the drives, Table Mountain, Hermanus/the whales...you'll get an idea of Cape Town.

I always wanted to make a trip to South Africa, and ride the waves of J Bay. Where I grew up (on an island out in the Atlantic) all we had was turn and burn waves 1,2, or 3 maneuvers and close out. I traveled to California and surfed there in San Diego County at Swami's in Encinitas &  San Onofre (Trestles) and Ralphs, near Point Loma, and all kinds of breaks in Cardiff By The Sea and Carlsbad. However J-Bay was my dream back then. No question South Africa is a beautiful place. But these days I like living inland, I live in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix Arizona, and would not trade this place for anywhere else in the world. The natural beauty in this place is not stunning, it is not even very comely, it is hidden and has to soak into you over some years. But once it has soaked in, I don't even want to be near the ocean for longer than a week.