Magazine - Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration

Mandela a W orld i con

A commemorative publication by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in honour of the life of the South African former President Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

Message froM the PriMe Minister

Iam very pleased to have this opportunity to acknowldege the efforts of all the people who have made possible our nation’s commemoration of the life and work of Nelson Rolilahla Mandela. You, my fellow citizens, have brought to life the vision that I carried away in my mind and heart from the Nelson Rolilahla Mandela Memorial Service in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 10 December 2013.

My sincere wish is that this week of commemorative activities will bring reconciliation and lasting peace and unity to our beloved Republic of trinidad and tobago.

When we honour the memory of Nelson Mandela let us honour, too, the legacy he has left us of courage, conviction, democratic principles, freedom, leadership, and service.

Let each and everyone of us pledge to give at least 67 minutes of voluntary public service this year to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of public service in ways that showcase our special skills and talents and that are also of maximum benefit to the recipients of our selfless efforts.

‘Madiba’, as we refer to him affectionately, belongs to all of us. We should cherish his memory and channel the superlative qualities of “his brilliant mind and his great heart”, so justly admired by the former President of the United States of America, Mr. bill Clinton, in such a way that the potential for excellence that lies within our reach becomes manifest in all of our words and deeds.

In conclusion, I should like to remind you of Nelson Mandela’s words at his inauguration as President of South Africa on 10 May 1994. these words, I am confident, will point us in the direction we, all, should take:

“The time of the healing of the wounds has come

Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, S.C., M.P. Prime Minister of the Republic of trinidad and tobago

The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come

The time to build is upon us”.

Please accept my best regards and commendations and May god bless Our Nation!

Message froM the south afriCan high CoMMissioner

The overreaching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better and in so doing build a world movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. Individuals and organisations are at liberty to participate in Mandela Day, as long as the ethical framework of service to ones fellow human beings is adhered to.

by devoting 67 minutes of their time, one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service, people can make a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a world-wide movement for good.

the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory has made it clear what Mandela wanted by way of his legacy, he did not want a legacy cast in copper, concrete or marble, no monuments, but rather, a living legacy of volunteerism and service, at least 67 minutes of a person’s time.

Her Excellency

Maureen Modiselle

h igh Commissioner to the Republic of trinidad and tobago

Example: the South African Nationals Association of trinidad and tobago has organised a group of 20 Optometrists (South Africans and trinidadians) that will be conducting VISION SCREENINg in Mefikeng, Mayaro on 20th July 2014. they have secured 75 pairs of glasses and Dr. Deo Singh, Ophthalmologist is offering his services should any medical intervention be required.

All of this will be done pro bono in honour of Mandela’s 67 minutes of service.

On behalf of the President of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma, I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago, the honourable Kamla Persad-bissessar and the Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration, Dr. the honourable Rodger Samuel for devoting this entire week of observance and activities to promote “the 67 minutes “ of service to honour Madiba.

to the people of trinidad and tobago, we appreciate the demonstrated feelings you have for Madiba which we link to our own people in South Africa.

Lastly, allow me to quote Madiba, “What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is rather the difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the lives we lead.” thank you.

Journeying to south afriCa for Mandela’s MeMorial

deParting trinidad for south afriCa

south afriCans attend froM far and Wide

reCePtion at t&t ’ s high CoMMissioner’s residenCe, south afriCa

MeMorial day

t&t delegation at Mandela’s

the national CoMMittee to CoMMeMorate the life and Work of nelson Mandela

Committee Members were appointed on Wednesday 9th April, 2014 and attended weekly meetings.

the Committee was tasked with the following responsibilities:

1) Develop a programme of activities for the week of July 13 to 18th, 2014

2) Develop a budget to fund proposed activities

3) Coordinate the week’s activities

her Excellency Mrs. Maureen Modiselle, h igh Commissioner of South Africa to trinidad and tobago indicated her willingness to collaborate with the government of the Republic of trinidad and tobago and pledged her support for the proposed activities.

Co MM ittee Me M bers

Ministry of national Diversity anD social integration

Dr. the honourable Rodger Samuel, Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration

Mrs. Joy Persad Myers, Permanent Secretary

Ms. Joycelyn hunte, Deputy Permanent Secretary

Dr. Nurah-Rosalie Cordner, Adviser to the Minister

Ms. trudy thomas, Manager, Corporate Communications

Ms. Avril belfon, government Archivist, National Archives

Ms. Lorraine Johnson, Acting Curator, National Museum and Art gallery

Ms. Melissa Williams, Planning and Development Officer, Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration

office of the PriMe Minister

Mr. Dennis McComie, Director of Public Information and Communication

Ministry of eDucation

Mrs. theresa Neblett-Skinner, Acting Curriculum Coordinator

Ministry of arts anD MulticulturalisM

Mr. Neil Devonish, Cultural Programme Coordinator, Ministry of Community Development

Mrs. Natalie Millington-Walters, Communications Specialist

Ministry of genDer, youth anD chilD DeveloPMent

Ms. Indira Rampersad, Researcher, National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS)

Ms. Debbie goodman, Manager, Corporate Communications – PR and Marketing Division

national action cultural coMMittee

Mr. Aiyegoro Ome, Servant President and head

eManciPation suPPort coMMittee

Mr. tracy Wilson, Chair, Education Committee

national council of inDian culture

Mr. Deoroop teemal, Cultural Officer

Ministry of tobago DeveloPMent

Ms. beverly Ramsey-Moore, Coordinator of Community Liaison Unit

Mr. Jonathan Adams, Administrative Officer IV

other s takeholders

south african high coMMission

her Excellency Maureen Modiselle, h igh Commissioner

Mr. Rowland hopley, First Secretary, Corporate Services

caribbean airlines liMiteD

Ms. Alicia Cabrera, Senior Marketing Manager

triniDaD anD tobago national coMMission for uniteD nations eDucational, scientific anD cultural organisation (unesco)

Ms. Susan Shurland, Secretary- general, UNESCO

Mr. Omar Mohammed, National Coordinator, UNESCO

Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration

reMarks

Nelson Mandela has impacted our lives in such a manner that we are now obligated to make this world a better place in which to dwell. In 1983, Nelson Mandela said “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”

On her return from her experience at the funeral of the former President of South Africa, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-bissesar SC, MP, announced that the government will set a day which will be declared “Mandela Day” in trinidad and tobago, and with the leading scholars, historians and relevant authorities, we will organise a public symposium on the life and lessons of Nelson Mandela.

In response to this, the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration embarked on the national commemoration of the life and work of Nelson Mandela, a life of sterling attributes; attributes which made him known, respected and a world icon.

Nations all around the world have gained the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.

In celebrating the life and work of Nelson Mandela, we must understand and embrace what he represented. this is what he would have wanted - a living legacy of volunteerism and service. he wanted each day to be a day to do good, to make the world a better place.

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, freedom-fighter, World Leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, a prince in his own rite was truly a remarkable man, and his legacy will live on.

As Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration, I am proud of the accomplishments of the passionate committee for our national commemoration of Nelson Mandela.

Each activity was aimed at sensitising our people on the values, life and work of Nelson Mandela; his fight for freedom and his acclamation for justice. We regarded this national commemoration as a means of transforming the hearts and minds of all citizens, especially our youth, the future of trinidad and tobago.

Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration and Member of Parliament for Arima

With the support from the South African h igh Commission and the trinidad and tobago National Commission for United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and along with our committee members, we were able to organise a dynamic programme of activities.

the national commemoration was observed during the period July 12 to 18, 2014 and served as a citizen education campaign on the life and work of Nelson Mandela and his victory in justice, equality and democracy.

these activities reflected the profound attributes of this world icon; attributes such as forgiveness, tolerance, freedom, justice and compassion; attributes, that we, the citizens of trinidad and tobago should aspire to emulate.

As a people, we have always been able to use our cultural and inherent expression in response to the issues challenging society and the world at large. through the fusion of voice, music, and dance, we paid homage to a great man. We celebrated his life, his struggle, his legacy and his positive contribution to reformation of the international political landscape. Our national talent was able to adeptly express our sentiments towards Mandela, the struggle against apartheid, the fight for freedom and democracy, and historical similarities with our brothers and sisters around the world.

In 2008, Mandela said “it was time for new hands to lift the burdens…It is in your hands now”.

Mandela’s fight for freedom will be extended far beyond his days as his legacy will live on. through volunteerism, service, compassion, and peace, Mandela will never be forgotten.

I am truly honoured that our nation celebrated the life and work of Nelson Mandela. Let us aspire to always help those in need, show respect and tolerance, exude forgiveness, be peaceful agents of change, and be our brothers’ and our sisters’ keepers.

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”. those were the words of Nelson Mandela. Let us heed his call and live the legacy his life has offered.

May god continue to bless us all and this twin-island state of trinidad and tobago.

MANDELA, th

MANDELA, EVOLU t ION OF A WORLD ICON /

foreWord

Dennis R. W. Mc Comie Director of Public Information and Communication, Office of the Prime Minister and Executive Member of the Mandela Committee Editor and producer of the Commemorative Souvenir Brochure

CoMMeMoration of nelson rolilahla Mandela’s life and Work, 13–18 July 2014

The idea to commemorate the life and work of Nelson Rolilahla Mandela was the fruit of Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-bissessar’s reflections upon her return from attending his memorial service in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 10 December 2014.

the Prime Minister must be commended for her determination to honour Mandela with the recognition he deserves in a way that can only unite and uplift the diverse peoples of our beloved Republic of trinidad and tobago.

Following a Cabinet decision, taken on 27 February 2014, the mandate was given immediately to the Ministry of Diversity and Social Integration under the Chairmanship of the honourable Dr. Rodger Samuel to spearhead the conception and planning of the National Observance that was projected for the 96th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, 18 July 2014.

An executive committee was appointed and given the responsibility of developing and coordinating a programme of activities for the period 13 - 18 July 2014 that would pay fitting tribute to the life and work of Mandela. It is unprecedented. trinidad and tobago is the only country on the planet that has planned a week of commemorative activities. the rest of the world will follow the lead of the United Nations general Assembly and honour Mandela’s “contribution to humanity” on the anniversary of his birth, 18 July 2014.

Varied activities were considered, approved, and implemented by the committee that comprised a cross-section of representatives from governmental Ministries, including the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism, the National Museum, the National Library, and the Office of the Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago. this commemorative booklet, with an initial printing of 500 copies, will be distributed without charge to members of the diplomatic corps and distinguished citizens of trinidad and tobago.

the booklet attempts to encapsulate the myriad events that will mark the week of national observance. For example, the National Poster Competition for nationals 16 years and younger, ‘Madiba... A tribute to Nelson Mandela’, “a concert experience”, scheduled to take place on 14 July 2014 at the Lord Kitchener Auditorium, the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, an evening’s entertainment - ‘Calypso throughout the Years’ - at Naparima bowl on 17 July 2014, and a day of cultural activities at the brian Lara Promenade on 18 July 2014.

Among the decisions taken, it was agreed to commission a 7000 word article entitled, Mandela, Evolution of a World Icon the writer, Adrian Pinheiro, had initially taken the approach that a linear biographical study be made of Nelson Mandela’s life. however, after discussions with Dennis McComie, the producer and editor of the commemorative booklet, and exposure to trinidad and tobago media coverage of the ongoing and unhappy events in the lives of the nation’s youth, a revised and more particular focus suggested itself.

It seemed appropriate, even expedient, to magnify the years of Mandela’s childhood in such a way that the exposure to the varied facets of his courageous life might set an example for our young people, in particular, to emulate the qualities of personality and character that led a fairly ordinary youth to overcome the limitations of his background and environment through conviction, compassion, and service to his community to become the man revered throughout the world by people of every stripe; from Stephen harper, Prime Minister of Canada, at one end of the spectrum, to Oprah Winfrey, a force for unity among diverse peoples, at the other end of the spectrum.

I conclude with sincere thanks to our beloved Kamla Persad-bissessar, S.C. M.P., Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago, without whose stimulus and encouragement this special week of commemorative activities would not have been realised.

MANY C ULt URES, O NE N At ION: the arrival of democracy, freedom and reconciliation.

‘’The time of the healing of the wounds has come The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come The time to build is upon us’’.

Mandela, the Evolution of a World Icon

the Challenge

The challenge in writing about Nelson Mandela is not so much about what to include but about what not to include. A Google search of his name pulls up 17, 900, 000 results in 0.39 seconds. If we so chose we could filter our selection to find out what every journalist, politician, and world leader has had to say about Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela between the year 1956, the year of his first trial for treason, and 10 December 2013, the date of his memorial service in Johannesburg.

Even Stephen harper, Canada’s Conservative Party Prime Minister, with questionable links to the former Northern Foundation (NF) of which ‘’the exclusive mandate was to counter the serious efforts of the Canadian government of brian Mulroney to pressure the South African government to release Nelson Mandela from prison and to end apartheid’’, (Murray

b Y ADRIAN PIN h EIRO

(Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela, the Inauguration of the President of South Africa 10 May 1994)

Dobbin, 16 Dec 2013, TheTyee.ca) called Mandela ‘’the most powerful symbol in the world for the struggle and success against racial discrimination’’.

It is clearly unrealistic to draw from the well of history all that we know vaguely or profoundly about Rolihlahla Nelson Dalibunga Mandela (affectionately known to his family as tatomkhulu, and to the rest of the world as Madiba) but we may, perhaps, arrive at some appreciation of his accomplishments by examining, as closely as the constraints of time and space permit, certain aspects of his remarkable life that led him along the road to iconic status.

In a time of trinidad and tobago’s history, where disrespect for authority is endemic, corrupt practices seem to be an accepted way of life, many young people appear to have adopted immorality in word and deed as a sound philosophical basis for justifying dysfunctional habits and our young men, especially, are frequent perpetrators and victims of crime, it is appropriate, as we commemorate the life of Nelson Mandela on 18 July 2014, the 96th anniversary of his birth, to focus on the years of his childhood in the hope and expectation that the examination will illuminate the path leading our nation’s young people to more enlightened ways of thinking and doing.

From an address to the National Executive Committee of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (ruling party of Tanzania)

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 17, 1998

All of us should ask ourselves the

question: have I done everything in my power to bring about lasting peace and prosperity in my city and my country?

Photograph: Cedric Nunn, Africa Media Online

state MeMorial serviCe

Nelson Mandela, the first President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, elected in a fully representative democratic election, died on 5 December 5 2013 from complications linked to a chronic respiratory infection. On 10 December 2013, in his address at the State Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela, President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa referenced his late predecessor thus: ‘’We sing that he is one of a kind, that there is no one quite like him. Nelson Mandela, Nelson Mandela akekho ofana naye.”

Religious representatives at Mandela’s memorial service on 10 December 2013 included Warren goldstein, Chief Rabbi of South Africa; Imam Ebrahim bham of the Islamic Faith; Chair of the h indu Maha Sabha Ashwin trikamjee and Rev. thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape town. Considering the universal appeal that Nelson Mandela exerted,

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.

From Long Walk to Freedom, 1994

contributions from across the South African religious spectrum were entirely appropriate.

Although (Mandela) himself was a Christian, Imam Ebrahim bham, speaking at the memorial service, could refer to Mandela as “our Madiba”, praising the late leader for having “made selfless efforts and lived in a path of peace and reconciliation”. the inter-faith, cross-cultural service was an excellent example of good practice as a fitting tribute to Mandela, who had once written:

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite’’.

After the prayers, African National Congress Chair baleka Mbete sang “Mandela, there is none like you” in Setswana, and then the crowds stood up and joined her, “moving in time to the song under their umbrellas”. A song in Setswana to a Christian Xhosa, following tributes by an Islamic cleric: a fitting brew with which to toast this man for all seasons.

this mix of flavours would appear to have been the major characteristic of Mandela’s Memorial Service in Nasrec, Johannesburg’s First National bank’s Stadium, extending even to the seating of dignitaries, inclusive of heads of state and government. The Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela, Michael Anthony Lilla, PhD. Assignment Paper submitted Feb. 2014 to the International School of Protocol and Diplomacy, Brussels, Belgium.

African heads of state included the Prime Minister of Lesotho, the President of Mozambique, the President of Namibia, the President of Uganda, the President of Zimbabwe, and the President of Zambia. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma attended in her capacity as Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Other notable guests included President barack Obama of the United States and three former presidents of the United States; Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India; Xi Jinping, Vice-President of China; Dilma Rousseff, the President of brazil, François hollande, the President of France; David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Joachim gauck, the President of germany; Stephen harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, and three former Prime Ministers

of Canada; Portia Simpson-Miller, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, and Kamla Persad-bissessar, the Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago.

Royal dignitaries attending included the King of the Netherlands, the King of belgium, the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Asturias (the heir Apparent to the Spanish throne), the Crown Prince of Denmark, the Crown Princess of Sweden, the Crown Prince of Norway, the Crown Prince of Japan and Queen Rania of Jordan.

“Online photographs of the attending dignitaries show Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan seated in proximity to President Joachim gauck of germany; President François hollande of France and his predecessor Nikolas Sarkozy seated side by side. President barack Obama of the USA was seated next to Denmark’s Prime Minister helle thorning-Schmidt and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron. this trio was described in one report as “a bunch of giggling teenagers, they grinned as they bunched together, the Scandinavian blonde flirting and pulling Mr Cameron closer into shot, for a quick photograph taken on her smartphone.” ibid. The Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela, Michael Anthony Lilla, PhD.

The greatest glory in living lies in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Nelson Mandela

Birth of rolihlahla Mandela

On July 18, 1918, Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, transkei, a region five hundred and fifty miles south of Johannesburg and eight hundred miles east of Cape town. the population comprised some three and a half million Xhosas who were related to the thembu people, of which Mandela was a member.

h is parents were Nkosi Mphakanyiswa gadla Mandela, principal counsellor to the Acting King of the thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo, and Nonqaphi, Jenny, Nosekeni, gadla’s third wife. Rohlihlahla was one of 13 children and the youngest of his father’s 4 sons. ‘’Apart from life...’’, Madela writes in his autobiography, ‘’... the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla’’.

the name, ‘Rolihlahla’, in Xhosa means literally ‘pulling the branch of a tree’ but the word, ‘troublemaker’, conveys more accurately its inherent meaning. Considering the upheavals in his life, many of them of his own doing, the choice of name seemed prophetic later to many of his family and friends.

the claim hardly does justice to the facts. Like his father, Mandela had a ‘’straight and stately posture’’ and ‘’a tuft of white hair just above his forehead’’, which became a characteristic feature of Mandela’s appearance. h is father could also be ‘’exceedingly stubborn’’ and Mandela was later to state that although he maintained ‘’...nurture, rather than nature, is the primary moulder of personality... my father possessed a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness, that I recognize in myself’’.

Shortly after his birth, in a dispute involving his father and a local white magistrate, in which his father on a matter of principle defied the magistrate’s authority, Nkosi Mandela was charged with insubordination and deposed, ‘’thus ending the Mandela family chieftainship’’. h is father ‘’lost both his fortune and his title. he was deprived of most of his herd and land, and the revenue that came with them’’.

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we lived. It is what difference we have made in the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

Ninetieth birthday celebration of Walter Sisulu, Walter Sisulu Hall, Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 18, 2002

Move to Qunu- defeating oPPonents Without dishonouring theM

Because of their ‘’straitened circumstances’’, his mother moved to the village of Qunu to ‘’have the support of friends and relations’’. Mandela was no more than 5 when he became a herd-boy, looking after sheep and calves in the field. he ‘’learned to stick-fight - essential knowledge for any rural African boy - and became adept at its various techniques, parrying blows, feinting in one direction and striking in another...’’

there, too, he learned an important lesson from an unruly donkey that bolted into a thorn bush and unseated him, the thorns pricking and scratching his face, ‘’embarrassing (him) in front of (his) friends’’. Mandela points out that because ‘’Africans have a highly developed sense of dignity’’ the incident made him lose face in front of his friends but taught him a lifelong lesson: ‘’...to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonouring them’’.

At that time, his life and ‘’that of most Xhosa... was shaped by custom, ritual, and taboo.’’ there were a small number of AmaMfengu who were not originally Xhosa speakers, they had been refugees fleeing Shaka Zulu’s armies during the period 1820 to 1840 known as the iMfecane. they had been forced to do jobs that no other Africans would do and had worked on white farms and in white businesses.

As a young Xhosa boy, Mandela would have worn dyed blankets. Photograph: Cory Library/ Africa Media Online

Christian influenCe R

The AmaMfengu had also been the first to become Christians, to build better houses, and to use scientific methods of agriculture, were richer than their Xhosa neighbours and ‘’confirmed the missionaries’ axiom, that to be Christian was to be civilized, and to be civilized was to be Christian’’. the Mfengu ‘’were the most advanced section of the community and furnished… clergymen, policemen, teachers, clerks, and interpreters’’.

Nkosi Mandela ignored local custom and became friends with two AmaMfengu brothers, george and ben Mbekela, but in spite of their promotion of the faith he ‘’remained aloof from Christianity’’. his wife, Nonqaphi Nosekeni, however, was inspired by their faith to become a Christian assuming the name, Fanny, that she had been given in church.

the influence of the Mbekela brothers led to Rolihlahla Mandela being baptized into the Methodist Church and sent to school. george Mbekela told his mother that her son was ‘’a clever young fellow..… and should go to school’’. It was a radical notion for no one else in Mandela’s family had ever been to school. She consulted his father who decided his youngest son should go to school.

first sChool– rolilahla BeCoMes nelson

holihlahla was 7 years old when he entered the singleroom schoolhouse in a pair of his father’s trousers cut off at the knee and cinched at the waist with a piece of string. On his first day of school his teacher, Miss Mdingane, ‘’according to the custom among Africans in those days’’, gave each of the children an English name. the name she assigned to Mandela was Nelson.

Neither Nelson Mandela nor anyone else has any clear idea why that particular name was chosen. What is more certain, however, is that the choice of an English name, as Mandela points out, was ‘’due to the british bias of our education... in which british ideas, british culture, british institutions were automatically assumed to be superior. there was no such thing as African culture.’’ It was a way of life known to all trinidad and tobago students and educators prior to the governmental changes initiated in schools’ curricula following our independence from british rule in August 1962.

Rolihlahla’s father died when he was 9 years old. ‘’After a brief period of mourning’’, his mother informed him that he would be leaving Qunu. On a walk that presaged his own long journey to fulfilment of his life’s goals, they set out westward, early one morning, travelling ‘’by foot and in silence, until the sun was sinking...toward the horizon’’ on an exhausting journey… up and down hills, past numerous villages, but… (they) did not pause”.

Mandela’s Methodist Church membership cards, written in his home language of isiXhosa.

the great PlaCe, MQhekezWeni

Late in the afternoon, at the bottom of a shallow valley surrounded by trees, they came upon a village at the centre of which was... the great Place, Mqhekezweni, the provisional capital of thembuland, the Royal residence of Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, acting regent of the thembu people’’. Until Rohlihlahla saw Jongintaba and his court he had had no higher ambition than to ‘’eat well and become a champion stick fighter... no thought of money... class... fame or power.’’

Again, he attended a one-room school room where he studied English, reading the Chambers English Reader like many trinidad and tobago students of the time, Xhosa, history, and geography and did lessons on black slates, familiar to trinidad and tobago students of 1960s and earlier. Rolihlahla did well in school but believed it was more through doggedness than cleverness that he achieved results.

the regent and his wife, No-England, treated Nelson as though he were their own child. they worried about him, guided him, disciplined him with ‘’loving fairness’’, and gave him the nick name of tatomkhulu, ‘grandpa’, because they thought he ‘’looked like an old man when he was very serious’’.

It was at Mqhekezweni that he met Justice, the regent’s only son and heir to the great Place, and Nelson’s first hero after his father’s death. they became best friends even though they were opposites in many ways. Justice was ‘’extroverted’’ and ‘’light-hearted’’ and ‘’things came easily to him’’. by contrast, Nelson was ‘’introverted, serious, and had to drill himself’’ to keep up with Justice. Moreover, unlike Justice, Nelson also had chores and errands to do at the regent’s house.

Oddly, the chore he enjoyed the most was pressing the regent’s suits, spending ‘’many an hour carefully making the crease in his trousers’’. Later, too, Nelson’s work in his secondary school garden “planted in (him) a

lifelong love of gardening and growing vegetables’’. Many rural students of trinidad and tobago have been encouraged and given the means to cultivate their own gardens as a vital part of the culture of school life. these lessons in service and selflessness were easily assimilated and are glowing testimony to his humility; a virtue that, in spite of a certain tendency in his youth to intellectual and hierarchical smugness, powered Mandela’s actions throughout his life.

If there is one lesson we can learn from the struggle against racism, in our country as well as yours, it is that racism must be consciously combatted, and not discreetly tolerated.

Investiture, Clark University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, July 10, 1993

ChieftainCy and the Christian ChurCh

Chieftaincy and the Christian Church were the main principles that governed Nelson’s life at Mqhekezweni but to him Christianity was not so much a system of beliefs as the ‘’powerful creed of Reverend Matyolo’’. ‘’ the fact that he was the regent’s superior in spiritual matters’’ made a ‘’strong impression’’ on Nelson Mandela.

the Church, he observed, was ‘’as concerned with this world as the next... virtually all of the achievements of Africans’’ seemed to be connected to their ‘’missionary work’’. ‘’ the mission schools trained the clerks, the interpreters, and the policemen, who at the time represented the height of African aspirations’’.

this was somewhat analogous to our own denominational system of education developed in the 19th century and funded in large part by the various established religious bodies in trinidad and tobago.

For some time, Nelson’s social life at Mqhekezweni continued to reflect the habits of his earlier life at Qunu. he dodged a Sunday service to take part in a fight against boys from another village for which the regent flogged him and, on another occasion, from Rev. Matyolo’s garden he stole maize, which he roasted and ate ‘’right there’’. he was seen by a young girl and the news reported to the regent’s wife who told him the ‘’devil would certainly take (him) to task for his sin”.

introduCtion to deMoCratiC PrinCiPles

The most profoundly felt influences at Mqhekezweni were positive and enduring. h is ideas about leadership were crafted by ‘’observing the regent and his court’’ during the tribal meetings that were regularly held at the great Place. the regent would be surrounded by the amaphakathi, chiefs and headmen of high rank, who functioned as the regent’s parliament and judiciary.

‘’Everyone who wanted to speak did so. It was democracy in its purest form. People spoke without interruption... the foundation of self-government was that all men were free to voice their opinions and equal in their value as citizens... all men were to be heard and a decision... taken together as a people. Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be crushed by a majority”.

however, he does acknowledge that women ‘’were deemed second-class citizens’’. ‘’ the meetings would continue until some kind of consensus was reached. they ended in unanimity or not at all. Unanimity, however, might be an agreement... to wait for a more propitious time to propose a solution’’.

‘’As a leader,’’ writes Nelson Mandela, ‘’I have always followed the principles I first saw demonstrated by the regent at the great Place. I have always endeavoured to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion’’.

A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before.

From a personal notebook, January 16,1994

Photograph: Eva Lotta Jansson, Africa Media Online

nelson Mandela develoPs his interest in afriCan history

It was at Mqhekezweni that Nelson Mandela developed his interest in African history. ‘’ the most ancient of the chiefs, Zwelibhangile Joyi... regaled the gathered elders with ancient tales...of the young impis (warriors) fighting the british”. to Mandela’s puzzlement, Chief Joyi also spoke of the accomplishments of non-Xhosa warriors for whom Mandela had no interest. It was only later that he was moved by ‘’the deeds of all African heroes regardless of tribe’’.

Chief Joyi said that the African people, the thembu, the Mpondo, the Xhosa, and the Zulu lived in relative peace...’’as brothers...until the coming of the abelungu, the white people’’, who ‘’shattered the abantu, the fellowship, of the various tribes’’. ‘’Chief Joyi’s war stories and his indictment of the british’’ made Mandela ‘’feel angry and cheated, as though... already robbed of (his) own birth right.’’ but (he) did not yet know that the real history of (his) country was not to be found in standard british textbooks, which claimed that South Africa began with the landing of Jan Van Riebeeck at the Cape of good hope in 1652’’.

We, too, had made the similar discovery that the history of trinidad and tobago did not begin with the rediscovery of our islands by Christopher Columbus in 1498 but, in fact, as archaeological evidence shows, the islands had been settled as early as 5000 bCE (before Common Era).

Mandela Meets his future Wife, Winnie

In church at Mqhekezweni, Mandela met his future wife, Winnie, Reverend Matyolo’s daughter. he invited her out and she accepted. She loved him in spite of the objections of her oldest sister but they drifted apart when they went different ways after she had qualified as a teacher and, eventually, he lost track of her for years. Years later, of course, Winnie Mandela by her loyalty and tireless devotion to her husband and the cause of African freedom, became a powerful symbol of resistance to apartheid and the advancement of their compatriots.

When he was sixteen the regent decided that it was time Mandela became a man. ‘’In Xhosa tradition, this is achieved through one means only: circumcision’’. the last few days of boyhood are spent with other initiates in ‘circumcision school’. A custom associated with circumcision school was that a daring exploit had to be performed by the initiates before the ceremony’’. they decided “to steal a pig... from a tribesman with an ornery old pig... we captured the poor pig, slaughtered it, and then built a fire and ate roast pork underneath the stars’’.

The house, in the village of Qunu, where Mandela spent part of his childhood.

‘’ndiyindoda! ‘’ (i aM a Man)

At the circumcision ceremony, Rolilahla Nelson ( tatomkhulu) Mandela was given the name, Dalibunga, ‘Founder of the bunga’, the traditional ruling body of the transkei. Xhosa traditionalists considered the new name more acceptable than either Rolilahla or Nelson. After their wounds had healed, their families, friends and local chiefs gathered for speeches, songs, and gift-giving. the main speaker was Chief Meligqili and, ‘’after listening to him... Rolihlahla Nelson Dalibunga, tatomkhulu’s ‘’gaily coloured dreams darkened’’.

‘’We are slaves in our own country’’, said Chief Meligqili, “We are tenants on our own soil... we have no control over our own destiny in the land of our birth... among these young men are chiefs who will never rule because we have no power to govern ourselves; soldiers who will never fight for we have no weapons to fight with; scholars who will never teach because we have no place for them to study. these gifts today are naught, for we cannot give them the greatest gift of all, which is freedom and independence’’.

It was a powerful, well detailed, and honest indictment of overseer rule but, Mandela confesses, he did not want to ‘’hear’’ those words. he was ‘’cross rather than aroused by the chief’s remarks’’ and dismissed them as the ‘’abusive comments of an ignorant man who was unable to appreciate the value of the education and benefits the white man had brought to (their) country’’. Nonetheless, Meligqili “had planted a seed” and although Mandela “let that seed lie dormant for a long season, it eventually began to grow” and, “later (he) realised that the ignorant man that day was not the chief but (he, himself)”.

ClarkeBury Boarding institute

Soon after his rite of passage to manhood, Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo arranged for Dalibunga Mandela to attend Clarkebury boarding Institute and gave him his “first pair of boots, a sign of manhood”. Clarkebury was, at the time, “the highest institution of learning for Africans in thembuland”. It was a thembu college that had been built on land given to the Methodist church by an ancestor of Dalibunga Mandela’s, King Ngunbengcuka.

the regent explained to Mandela that the governor of the school, Rev. C. harris, was “unique: a white thembu” and was to be treated with “the same respect and obedience” that Mandela gave the regent. When Dalibunga was introduced to Rev. harris it was “the first time (he) had ever shaken hands with a white man”. this is noteworthy. A man will remain a symbol: aloof, untouchable, seemingly superior, as long as he is unfamiliar to other men. the simplicity of a handshake is loaded with complexity and significance; it implies that, however fleeting the contact, there is a conjoining of two individuals who are agreeing to meet on terms of equality and goodwill.

At Clarkebury, Dalibunga learned another “important lesson”. he was “no longer unique... there were many other boys of “distinguished lineage” and he realised he had to “make his way” on the basis of his “ability” and not “his heritage”. Mathona, a young woman he met in class, became his “first true female friend” and the “model for all (his) subsequent friendships with women” with whom he could share “weaknesses and fears that (he) would never reveal to another man”.

1958: Mandela and Winnie before their wedding ceremony.

“soCial eQuality is the only Basis of huMan haPPiness”

These discoveries were part of the ongoing process of his sundering with Xhosa custom, ritual, and taboo. h is relationship with Mathona foreshadowed his commitment to social, economic, and political equality for women. In a letter, dated 1 August 1970, Nelson Mandela wrote, “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness”.

ben Mahlasela, a teacher with bachelor of Arts degree, was another of the Clarkebury people whose attitude and behaviour had a profound effect on Mandela’s development. At that time, as was then the case in trinidad and tobago, “a black man with a b.A. was expected to scrape before a white man with a grade school education. No matter how high a black man advanced, he was still considered inferior to the lowest white man.” Mr. Mahlasela, however, was not “cowed” by Rev. harris and met him on “equal terms, disagreeing with him where others simply assented”.

Even though his time at Clarkebury broadened his experience, Mandela was not “entirely open-minded” and “unprejudiced” when he left the school. he was “still, at heart, a thembu, and proud to think and act like one... (his) horizons did not extend beyond thembuland and (he) believed... being a thembu was the most enviable thing in the world”.

healdtoWn - a Moral Quandary W

hen he was 19 years old, Nelson Mandela left for healdtown, “a mission school of the Methodist Church... and “the largest African school below the equator”. Dr. Arthur Wellington, principal of the school claimed to be “the descendant” of the Duke of Wellington who had “crushed...Napoleon at Waterloo... thus saving civilization “for Europe” and for “the natives”. ‘Saving civilization for the natives’ was a british fantasy that would have been recognizable to many colonialist era inhabitants of trinidad and tobago.

h is biology teacher, Frank Lebentlele, a “Sotho-speaking” African, was married to an Xhosa girl. Mandela had been taught that such unions were taboo but observing their relationship undermined his “parochialism” and loosened “the hold of the tribalism that still imprisoned (him). (he) began to sense his identity as an African not just a thembu or even a Xhosa”.

Mandela was appointed a prefect. One of his responsibilities was to ensure that students used the outhouse at night instead of relieving themselves on the edge of the dormitory veranda into the nearby bushes. One rainy night, he had written up 15 students for breaking the rule when toward dawn a young man who happened to be a prefect did exactly the same thing.

the “prefect was above the law because he was the law... one prefect was not supposed to report another”. Mandela’s sense of fairness did not permit him to excuse the prefect and charge the others. he tore up the list. “If the prefect’’, he reasoned, “does not obey the rules, how can the students be expected to obey?” It was a “moral quandary” that remained in his memory.

krune MQhayi - iMBongi

In his final year at healdtown, the Xhosa imbongi or praise-singer, Krune Mqhayi visited the school. For Dalibunga Mandela it was like “a comet streaking across the night sky”. In appearance he seemed “entirely ordinary” and when he spoke in Xhosa “he did so slowly and haltingly” until by chance his assegai (spear) hit the curtain wire above his head. “Newly energised” he claimed emphatically that the assegai striking the wire was a symbol of the clash between African and European culture. It was not an “overlapping of one culture and another... but a brutal clash between what (was) indigenous and good, and what (was) foreign and bad”.

the boldness of the speech while “astonishing” in the presence of whites “aroused and motivated” the African students and “began to alter (Mandela’s) perception of men like Dr. Wellington, whom he had automatically considered (his) benefactor”. toward the end of his time at healdtown, Mandela began to see that “Africans of all tribes had much in common” and that “an African might stand his ground with a white man” but he was “still eagerly seeking benefits from whites, which often required subservience”. Again this attitude was typical of life in trinidad and tobago during the colonial era.

university College of fort hare; Mandela Meets k.d. MatanziMa and oliver taMBo

In 1939 when Nelson Mandela entered the University College of Fort hare, about 20 miles east of healdtown, it was “the only residential centre of higher education for blacks in South Africa... for young black South Africans... it was Oxford and Cambridge, harvard and Yale, all rolled into one”. the benefits of the mission schools, in Mandela’s reasoning, “outweighed the disadvantages. the missionaries built and ran schools when the government was unwilling or unable to do so (and) the learning environment... was far more open than the racist principles underlying government schools”.

to mark his entry to Fort hare the regent presented him with his first suit. he was twenty-one years old and “could not imagine anyone at Fort hare smarter than (he)”. before we condemn him for such a statement it should be noted there were only 150 students at the college. One of them who was to exert a strong influence on Mandela was a third-year student, K. D. Matanzima. Even though he was in his third-year and older than Mandela he was in reality his nephew by the customs of tribal hierarchy.

K.D., as Mandela referred to him, was the first person to encourage Mandela to study law. he had planted a seed even though Mandela had his heart “set on being an interpreter or a clerk in the Native Affairs Department”. At that time a career as a civil servant was a “glittering prize for an African, the highest (to which) a black man could aspire”. Dr. Courtney bartholomew, in an interview

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change this world. Nelson Mandela

with the writer in 2010, pointed out that in trinidad and tobago in the 1950s even brilliant scholars who did not ‘win’ government awarded ‘Island Scholarships’ went into the civil service.

One of Mandela’s first battles with authority occurred when he and the other freshmen found it undemocratic that they were not allowed to sit on the house Committee that looked after the dormitory issues of first year students. they held meetings, “lobbied all the residents of the house” and “elected (their) own house Committee”. Mandela, one of the organizers, was elected to the new committee.

the upperclassmen were not so easily cowed and appealed to Rev. A. J. Cook, the warden of the college, to intervene on their behalf and restore the status quo. the freshmen remained resolute and threatened to resign as a body if he overruled them. the warden decided not to intervene; the freshmen remained in place. It was one of Mandela’s first battles with authority and he “felt the sense of power that (came) from having right and justice on (his) side”.

Also in his first year, upon joining the Students Christian Association, Nelson Mandela met Oliver tambo, the man who years later became his partner in the first law firm run by Africans in South Africa: Mandela and tambo. he was also one of the founding members in 1943 of the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANCYL). the body that was instrumental in organizing the struggle for freedom for black Africans.

the student rePresentative CounCil (srC)

In his second year at Fort hare, Nelson Mandela was nominated to stand for the Student Representative Council (SRC), which was the highest student organization at Fort hare. the entire student body elected the six members of the SRC. the students felt that the diet at Fort hare needed to be improved and that the powers of the SRC should be increased beyond the level of rubber stamp approval for administrative policy. A majority of students, including Nelson Mandela, voted to boycott the elections unless both demands were met.

Only twenty-five students showed up for the elections but they elected the usual 6 representatives. Mandela and the other 5 elected students met to discuss the issue. they all agreed to resign on the grounds that they supported the boycott and, in addition, did not have the support of the majority of students. they presented a letter expressing these beliefs to the principal, Dr. Alexander Kerr.

he accepted their resignations but called for new elections the following day during suppertime to ensure that all students would be present for the vote. Again, however, only the same 25 students voted to return the same 6 SRC members. but this time, Mandela’s colleagues believed that, because all the students had been present for the elections, they could no longer maintain that they did not represent the student body.

Mandela did not accept their argument and stood by his position that nothing had changed materially. A majority of students had not voted; it would be “morally incorrect” to claim that they “enjoyed the confidence” of the entire student body. their “initial goal”, he insisted, had been to “boycott the election”. In that motion they had had the confidence of the student body. their “duty” was “to abide by that resolution and not to be deterred” by the principal’s “trickery”. he could not persuade his colleagues to accept his position and was the only one of the group to resign for the second time.

A young Mandela stands in the porch of photographer Eli Weinberg’s house. Wesley House, a Methodist hostel where Mandela stayed while studying at Fort Hare.

Photograph: Jurgen Schadeberg

Photograph: ANC archives, Fort h are

Photograph: Eli Weinberg / RIM-UWC-Mayibuye Archives

1952: Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened the first black law firm in the country.

a Matter of PrinCiPle

Mandela was summoned to Dr. Kerr’s office and threatened with expulsion if he insisted on resigning from the SRC. It was the first time that he was forced to make such a “consequential decision” and he consulted his friend and mentor, K.D. Matanzima, whom he “feared even more than (he) did Dr. Kerr”. K.D. felt that because it was “a matter of principle” he was “correct to resign, and should not capitulate”.

Naturally, because it was Mandela’s own future at stake, he did not quite share K.D’s superb confidence that the decision was the right one. he was concerned that he might be “sabotaging (his) academic career over an abstract moral principle that mattered very little... (he) did not want to throw away (his) career at Fort hare”. Nonetheless, “(he) had taken a stand, and... did not want to appear to be a fraud in the eyes of (his) fellow students”.

Mandela, in fact, did not make up his mind until his meeting with Dr. Kerr when to his own surprise he said that he could not “in good conscience serve on the SRC”. Equally surprisingly, Dr. Kerr proposed that he take the summer off and return to Fort hare the following year “provided (he) join the SRC”. Mandela knew it was “foolhardy” of him to leave Fort hare but “simply... could not compromise... the injustice rankled... he resented Dr. Kerr’s “absolute power over (his) fate” and felt “he should have (the) right to resign from the SRC if (he) wished”.

From a conversation with Richard Stengel, January 13, 1993

Although we had no hope of defeating the enemy in the battlefield, nevertheless, we fought back to keep the idea of liberation alive.

“unfair and ill-advised” arranged Marriages

Shortly after Mandela’s return to Mqhekezweni the regent informed Justice and him that he had arranged marriages for them to take place immediately. the lobola (dowry) had already been paid. the matter was settled. Mandela and Justice left the interview “dazed and dejected”. Mandela was “a romantic” and not prepared to have anyone choose a bride for him. he approached the regent’s wife, the queen, and promised to marry a relative of hers as soon as he had completed his studies.

In Mandela’s words, it was “half a ruse” and the queen was persuaded to make his case to her husband but the regent was adamant that the marriage should take place. Mandela felt that the decision was “unfair and ill advised” and he had been left no choice but to run away. he believed he could not remain under the regent’s guidance if he rejected his plan for him. Justice agreed with him and they made plans to leave secretly for Johannesburg.

they had some idea of the difficulties involved in making such a trip but were little prepared for the unexpected events that compounded those difficulties. All Africans over the age of 16 were obliged to carry ‘Native Passes’ issued by the Native Affairs Department. the passes listed the bearer’s place of residence, his chief’s name, and whether or not he had paid the annual poll tax, which was only levied on Africans. Failure to present the pass to any white policeman could have meant arrest and even a jail sentence.

Mandela and Justice made their way to Queenstown where they chanced to meet the regent’s brother, Chief Mpondombini, and explained that they needed the travel documents because they were on an errand for the regent. Mandela admits frankly that it was a lie. the chief, however, was taken in and escorted them personally to the office of the local magistrate. the papers were prepared but, just before handing them over to the young men, the magistrate decided, “as a matter of courtesy” to inform the chief magistrate of their district of the procedure.

the regent happened to be in the chief magistrate’s office when the call came through and the phone was passed to him. When he heard the story, the regent exploded with rage, “Arrest those boys...and bring them back here immediately!” the magistrate denounced them angrily: “You boys are thieves and liars. Y ou have...deceived me...I am going to arrest you!”

Mandela had “a little knowledge of the law” and used it. he acknowledged that they had lied but stressed that they had “committed no offence and violated no laws” and could not be arrested on the request of a chief, even if that man happened to be their father. the magistrate backed down but ordered them to leave his office and never return. Chief Mpondombini was also angry and refused to help them further.

however, Justice had a friend on Queenstown who worked for a white lawyer. the lawyer’s mother was leaving for Johannesburg the following day and agreed to give them a lift. Once in Johannesburg, the “possibilities seemed infinite”. “(Mandela) had reached the end of what seemed like a long journey, but was actually the beginning of a much longer and more trying journey that would test (him) in ways that (he) could not then have imagined”.

ndiWeliMilaMBo enaMagaMa

Ndiwelimilambo enamagama in Xhosa means literally, ‘I have crossed many rivers’. Mandela explains that the fuller implication of the expression is that, “... one has travelled a great distance...one has had wide experience and gained some wisdom from it”. he had crossed many important rivers... the Mbashe and the great Kei on the way to healdtown... the Orange and the Vaal on the way to Johannesburg but (he) had many rivers yet to cross”.

From his actions during his formative years we see that Nelson was a person like many others - he had no special aversion to lying, physical violence, and theft. It is equally obvious that his honesty, nobility, and extraordinary sense of honour made it impossible for him to excuse or gloss over his early transgressions. he demonstrates unreservedly in his autobiography that punishment follows crime even when injustice is the catapult that launches a good man into actions that are unworthy of his true nature.

Nelson Mandela has been criticised by certain steely-minded critics for his recommendation after March 1960 of a violent solution to the overthrow of South Africa’s repressive policies and racist laws but, until that time, he had practised and promoted most particularly the non-violent political actions of Mohandas (Mahatma) gandhi that had earlier borne fruit in India’s own struggle for self-government against the british.

Mandela felt constrained to recommend violent resistance to the apartheid policies of the racist South African government of hendrik Verwoerd after the massacre of 69 and physical injury to 150 others of a group of some 350 Africans peacefully protesting the Native Pass Laws outside the Sharpeville police station on 21 March 1960.

In the wave of violent incidents that followed upon Mandela’s call to action there were civilian casualties. It is a blot on Mandela’s otherwise unblemished record of fair and just legal and political activism on behalf of all Africans but we must not forget that violence was not the moving force of his life.

1960: Pass laws were one of the oppressive, dominant features of South Africa’s apartheid system. Nationwide demonstrations took place against these laws.

oth photographs: Eli Weinberg

Mandela burned his pass book in solidarity with the demonstrations.

1958-1961: Mandela with friends and fellow accused during a break in the Treason Trial.

a heart Closed to Calls for a settling of sCores

Mr. Stephen harper, Canadian Prime Minister, with what may have been greater political astuteness than real conviction, points to the heart of the matter, the essential reason that Western governments and media felt comfortable basking in the glow of worldwide attention that followed Mandela’s release from Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990 until the memorial service at First National bank Stadium on 10 December 2013.

“Despite his long years of captivity, Mr. Mandela left prison with a heart closed to calls for a settling of scores. Instead, he was filled by a longing for truth and reconciliation, and for an understanding between all peoples... he

demonstrated that the only path forward for the nation was to reject the appeal of bitterness. h is forbearance was legendary: his magnanimity spared all South Africans incalculable suffering.” Stephen Harper, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, 5 December 2013.

governments with sizeable black populations were profoundly fearful of Mandela’s influence on the direction of black activism worldwide. In trinidad and tobago, for example, there had been an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government in 1970. When Mandela was released finally from prison in February 1990 it was mere months before the second failed coup of July 1990.

the interim period was marked by social unrest brought on by the rapid social and economic changes fuelled by stupendous oil boom revenues that were frittered away by the failure of public policy to implement a system of ways and means to hold on to those revenues. by closing his heart “to calls for a settling of scores” Nelson Mandela smothered the sparks that had been ignited by political activists frustrated by the perceptions, real and imagined, of social injustice and political stagnation.

• 1964: The Rivonia Trial ended with life sentences for all nine accused, including Mandela. • An imprisoned Mandela • The international Anti-Apartheid movement campaigned tirelessly for his release.

Photograph: Independent Newspapers

Photograph: Cloete b reytenbach SA h istory Archives

1990: Exiled activist Wolfie Kodesh joined a demonstration days prior to Mandela’s release. Kodesh hid Mandela in his flat during his fugitive period.

At the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church Mthatha, South Africa, September 18, 1994

that every huMan Being on earth had Better learn sooner or later

In his interview with then President bill Clinton upon his release from prison the true measure of the man is revealed: “ tell me the truth: when you were walking down the road that last time didn’t you hate them?” Former President bill Clinton said he questioned Mandela.

“he said briefly: ‘I did... I felt hatred and fear but I said to myself, if you hate them when you get in that car you will still be their prisoner. I wanted to be free and so I let it go...People can take everything from you. I lost my family, the chance to see my children grow up, the best years of my life. they can take everything except your mind and your heart. those things I decided not to give away’.”

“ that is a lesson that every human being on earth had better learn sooner or later. the grace of it embraces every friend that he had.” (Foreword to Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, April 2013).

We learn best by example and by the practical application in our daily routine of the teachings we choose to learn. It is by choice that world leaders and millions of ordinary people of all economic, political, religious, and social backgrounds have embraced the shining examples of community service, courage, fairness, doggedness, humility, truthfulness, honour, and a thirst for knowledge, justice, and freedom that guided Mandela throughout his life.

It is that universal willingness to make real treasure of his precious legacy that has made Nelson Rolilahla Mandela a World Icon for all time

In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.

a lesson

1994: Four years after his release, a Mandela-led African National Congress (ANC) embarked on the campaign trail to contest South Africa’s first election by universal sufferage. His friends Walter Sisulu (left) and Tokyo Sexwale (right) were at his side.

in CeleBration of nelson Mandela Week – events

Poster Co MP etition

the nelson Mandela Poster Competition

Friday, May 16 – Wednesday, June 25

the Nelson Mandela Poster Competition provided an opportunity for children (12 and under) and young adults (13 – 16 Years) to engage in a positive and creative activity geared to stimulate artistic expression as well as encourage research on the life and work of the late Nelson Mandela.

n elson Mandela Media l aun C h

Tuesday, June 17 national library and information systems authority (nalis)

Port of spain

a C all to all faiths aC ross the nation to pray for Peace, service and Compassion

Friday, July 11-13

‘h ail Mandela’ Celebration

Saturday, July 12

scarborough esplanade tobago

Con C ert

“Madiba… a tribute to nelson Mandela”

Monday July 14, 2014 at 6.30p.m. national academy for the Performing arts (naPa), Port of spain

“MADIBA… A Tribute to Nelson Mandela” was a concert experience that fused together some of trinidad and tobago’s most unique and iconic performances in dance, music and oratory all in celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela giving a fitting tribute to his global impact and inspiration. An actor assumed the role of Nelson Mandela and presented short excerpts of his speeches; this acted as a dramatic thread to all the items on the programme and gave some historical insight into his achievements. Multimedia was utilized to create scenery and punctuate performances and speeches. this was achieved by using the large projector screen at NAPA with content that included images of Mandela, his quotations, positive scenes resulting from the South African uprisings and parallel activities around the world.

Calypso took a central role in this presentation because the life and times of Mandela were a healthy source of inspiration for many exponents of the artform. there was balance in terms of genres and repertoire that reflected the overarching themes of respect, love and peace, central to Mandela’s existence.

the concert featured Jeaunes Agape Choir, Wasafoli trinidad and tobago, Susan Mohip Dance Company, tamba gwindi, UWI Steel and UWI Arts Chorale among others.

s C reening of the do C u M entaries

Celebrating the life and Work of nelson

Mandela

Monday, July 14 – Friday, July 18

nalis, Port of spain

nalis e

xhibition

“Mandela... The Evolution of A World Icon”

Monday, July 14 – Friday, July, 25

nalis, Port of spain

t rinidad and tobago n ational Co MM ission for unes Co

‘Celebrating nelson Mandela: the Mandela effect’ r ally

Tuesday, July 15

harris Promenade, san fernando

Panel d is C ussion

Wednesday, July 16

naPa, Port of spain

the Nelson Mandela Committee hosted a panel discussion entitled, “Mandela…. The Evolution Of A World Icon” . the distinguished panel included:

• Professor andy knight, Director, Institute of International Relations, UWI, St. Augustine

• dr. Michael toussaint, Lecturer, Department of h istory, Faculty of humanities and Education, UWI, St. Augustine

• Mr. george Mubita, Lecturer, University of the Southern Caribbean and,

• a representative of the south african high Commission to trinidad and tobago.

the event stimulated discussion on the varied aspects of the man, the leader, freedom fighter, social activist, and statesman that was Nelson Mandela.

r e C e P tion

hosted by the Prime Minister

Thursday, July 17

diplomatic Centre

st. ann’s, Port of spain

Mandela a nniversarY daY Celebration

Friday, July 18

brian lara Promenade, Port of spain

In November 2009, the UN general Assembly acknowledged the former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner’s contribution to humanity by declaring the 18th of July as Nelson Mandela International Day, a day for Freedom, Justice and Democracy.

trinidad and tobago via an Inter-Ministerial Committee, headed by the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration participated in this celebration with “Mandela…. The Evolution Of A World Icon” – a day’s activities at the brian Lara Promenade. In celebrating the life of this revered personality, individuals were inspired to understand that they too could become a positive force in the world through their own actions. the event was

precluded by a series of interactive performances in public spaces to alert the public to the celebrations which took place on that date, and included poetry and commissioned performances by live bands.

Con C ert

“Calypso throughout the Years: Madiba lives”

Friday, July 18 City hall, san fernando

In honour of late the South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, a live production and ceremony entitled “Calypso throughout the Years: Madiba Lives” was hosted. the production featured songs composed during Nelson Mandela’s historic struggle against apartheid from 1941 to his arrest in 1962.

the production also showcased historical events in trinidad and tobago which coincided with or took place during the anti-apartheid movement. Some examples were the calypsos written against the ban of the West Indian Cricket team’s tour to South Africa between 1982-1983 and 1983-1984.

Other calypsos included:

Mighty Duke – Uhuru (Freedom) (1977)

Valentino – Stay up Zimbabwe (1978)

Mighty Shadow – Free South Africa (1989).

Pi C torial Mandela: evolution of a World icon

July 1-31, 2014

Various venues

the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration in collaboration with the Ministry of

the Arts & Multiculturalism mounted a series of exhibitions which paid tribute to the life and times of world icon Nelson Mandela. these pictorial displays, collectively entitled Mandela: Evolution of a World Icon, boasted a combination of eye-catching, and iconic images from Mandela’s amazing personal journey, as well as informative boards detailing his struggles and successes.

Several venues were used to engage the public throughout the entirety of this free, five-week exhibition, including – the ANR Robinson Airport in tobago, – the water taxi hub in Port of Spain and San Fernando, – the exterior of the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism building on Frederick Street, Port of Spain.

this historic series sought to balance aesthetic beauty with significant information on Mandela, his legacy and his contribution to freedom for all. the showcase detailed core components of Mandela’s political life and career, honoring his role as a humanitarian and activist while also speaking to his stance for equality. the exhibitions maintained the established level of excellence that the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism, Remember When Institute has become known for, and it continues the work of celebrating and cherishing our connected humanity.

All events were FREE to the public

MANDELA, th

One of the many passionate opponents of racism in South Africa and trinbago’s foremost antiapartheid champion was the late george Weekes, the former President- general of the Oilfields Workers trade Union (OW tU) and, along with the late Joe Young, a giant of the postindependence labour movement.

the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) led by Mankandal Daaga, the former geddes granger, was in the vanguard of the anti-apartheid movement in trinidad and tobago. NJAC held several rallies and the party promoted the visit of a number of African National Congress (ANC) representatives who spoke at African Liberation Day and the Emancipation Day Commemoration.

Among these invitees were Victor Mashabela, now Chief Director, Department of trade and Industry, South Africa, and Ms. Jeannette Ndhlovu, now South Aftrican high Commissioner to ghana. In addition, the National Action Cultural Committee, (NACC), the cultural arm of NJAC, facilitated a

drama presentation at the independent, “non-racial” Market theatre of Johannesburg a couple of years after its opening on 21 June 1976.

In 1981, NJAC protested the deportation from trinidad and tobago of South African trade unionist, Drake Koka, general Secretary of the South African black Allied Workers Union (bAWU), who had been invited for the African Liberation Day and Emancipation Day observances.

At that time the government of trinidad and tobago allowed South Africans of any race to come into trinidad and tobago only because of trinidad and tobago’s stance against apartheid. Unfortunately, Mr. Koka was deported before the Ministry of External affairs could grant a stay of the deportation order.

In January 1983, NJAC protested the decision of certain Caribbean test cricketers to play in South Africa. NJAC considered it a gross betrayal of the people of South Africa who were struggling against apartheid.

there was also an Anti-Apartheid Organisation (AAOtt ) formed in trinidad and tobago on 12 June 1982, with retired diplomat Eustace Seignoret as President. Later, internationally renowned historian, Dr. James Millette became Chairman. the AAOtt held a number of meetings seeking essentially to raise consciousness about the deplorable situation in South Africa.

Leading members of the AAOtt were present outside the Queen’s Park Oval from 1 - 5 March 1986 when nationals protested the presence of members the English Cricket team who had played

in South Africa the previous year. On 5 March police broke up the protest, which led the trinidad Express to headline its 6 March story, England beat West Indies — Licks Inside, Licks Outside.

In 1985, the country’s then Minister of External Affairs, Errol Mahabir, delivered an address at the United Nations general Assembly, calling attention to the situation in South Africa, and asking “how Many More Must Die?” this, in fact, was the title of a calypso sung that year by the Mighty Duke. It was one of many calypsos opposing the system sung at that time.

Life on the African continent and the life of Nelson Rolilahla Mandela has been the subject of many

‘Freedom’ was the word that was on every lip in every country of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago was one of the Caribbean nations that spoke out for, and took a stand beside, the late, honourable Nelson Rolilahla Mandela.

Calypsos. the anti-apartheid struggle led our calypsonians to play a greater role in the fight. Duke’s “how Many More Must Die?”, Stalin’s “More Come”, Valentino’s “Stay Up Zimbabwe,” bally’s “Chaka Chaka”, King Sparrow’s “Isolate South Africa and “Invade South Africa” were among many other songs that contributed to the struggle.

In fact, the list of calypsos protesting apartheid was phenomenal. A very small sampling gives a very good idea of the scope covered by these songs of protest: the Mighty Sparrow - “I Owe No Apology”, black Stalin - “More Come”, tobago Crusoe - “Don’t Cry Now/South Africa”, David Rudder - “Victory Is Certain”, Singing Sandra - “Madiba”, brother Resistance - “Children of Soweto”, Sheynnene hazell - “Long Walk to Freedom”, Superior - “ time bomb”, Denyse Plummer - “Welcome home Mandela”, Rootsman - “Oh! Africa”, and Shurlaine hendrickson “Oh! Mandela”.

Mandela’s links to world music are as significant as they are extensive. In the aftermath of Mandela’s work with the militant arm of the African National Congress (ANC) and his being jailed by the South African government; international musical protests helped to keep Mandela’s imprisonment and the oppressive nature of the apartheid system in the political consciousness of peoples around the world.

the visit to this country in 2004 of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, was one of the most memorable visits by a foreign dignitary in recent history. It should be noted that the government of trinidad and tobago was a signatory to the Commonwealth Countries gleneagles Agreement of 1977, which led to the isolation of South Africa in international sporting circles.

In 1987, at the Commonwealth heads of government conference in Vancouver, british Columbia, Canada, the Prime Minister of trinidad and tobago, the late ANR Robinson, stood with the late Rajiv ghandi, Prime Minister of India, and Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, in a face-off against the late Margaret thatcher of britain, in her defiant support of the apartheid regime in South Africa and her refusal to agree to further sanctions against them.

For much of the 1980’s the Oilfields Workers trade Union (OW tU) led a series of its own activities providing support to the anti-apartheid awareness

movement in this country. the union on its own and in collaboration with the Seamen and Waterfront Workers trade Union (SWW tU) led activities at ports in trinidad and tobago by refusing to attend to any ships taking supplies to or from South Africa.

the SWW tU also helped to bring representatives of the Congress of South African trade Unions (COSAtU) to trinidad and tobago for talks on the nature of the social struggle in that country during that period. Such activities helped raise the consciousness of the local population as to trinidad and tobago’s persistent anti-apartheid efforts.

In 1987, the government of trinidad and tobago hosted a visit to this country by the late Oliver tambo, then the political leader of the African National Congress (ANC). As a show of solidarity and support for the work of the ANC, in the context of the anti-apartheid struggles, Mr. tambo was afforded the status of a head of State and was allowed to address a special joint sitting of the house of Representatives and the Senate

At that time, too, anti-apartheid campaigner, bishop Desmond tutu, was also welcomed in official and unofficial circles in trinidad and tobago during this period and spoke to large audiences everywhere, including those at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

trinidad and tobago was honoured by Nelson Mandela when he visited the country in the year 2004; it was to be his last international trip. trinidad and tobago should remember his parting words, “I came for two reasons: because I love you very much and because it is not easy to love an old man. So I urge you to love South Africa and this old man.”

the seCretary-general Message on nelson Mandela day

18 July 2014

Last year, the world lost one of its greatest leaders when Nelson Mandela passed away. We remember his legacy especially on his birthday, the 18th of July.

Nelson Mandela and the United Nations had a strong history together. Shortly after he was released from prison, he came to our headquarters. It was a moment of great excitement.

Nelson Mandela’s presence in the general Assembly hall proved that United Nations resolutions, sanctions and solidarity can win over violence and injustice. h is extraordinary compassion after 27 years in prison showed that human rights and equality are stronger than discrimination and hate. On that day in 1990, he said people would always be challenged by the fact that, quote, “it took as long as it has before all of us stood up to say enough is enough.” the room burst into applause.

Apartheid is gone – thanks to Nelson Mandela, countless other individuals and the proud actions of the United Nations. but our planet and its people still face terrible threats -- poverty, discrimination, climate change, conflict and more. Nelson Mandela Day is a call to action. Each of us can celebrate this Day by helping to address real problems in our communities. together we can give great meaning to our celebration by paving the way for a better future.

Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General United Nations

CoMMeMoration aCtivities 2014

Poster CoMPetition - May 16-June 25

Media launCh - June 17

Above:

Dr.

Modiselle, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago received a commemorative token from Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel, Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration. Looking on, is Mrs. Joy Persad-Myers, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration.

Her Excellency,

Maureen

Below: Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel addresses the media and other stakeholders.

Segment of the advertisement which was published to invite entrants for the Poster Competition.

‘hail Mandela’ CeleBration, toBago - July 12

ConCert ‘ triBute to Mandela’ - July 14

(From left to right) Her Excellency, Dr. Maureen Modiselle, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel, Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration and Mrs. Joy Persad-Myers, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration.

His Excellency Mr. Marcelo Salviolo, High Commissioner of the Argentine Republic to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Her Excellency, Dr. Maureen Modiselle, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

nalis exhiBition “Mandela... the evolution of a World iCon”- July 14-25

unesCo rally ‘CeleBrating nelson Mandela: the Mandela effeCt’ - July 15

Mr. Thomas Madau, Political Counsellor of the South African High Commission to Trinidad and Tobago delivers an address. Participants at “The Mandela Effect” Rally listen attentively.

Jeremiah Marlon James of Arima Boys’ R.C performs his rendition, “Message from Mandela”.

Students from various primary schools who participated in the rally.

Panel disCussion - July 16

Members of the Panel from left to right: Dr. Michael Toussaint (Moderator), Dr. Theodore Ferguson, Dr. Ian Sakura-Lemessy, Representative from the South African High Commission, Trinidad and Tobago, Professor Andy Knight, Director, Institute of International Relations Department, University of the West Indies, and Mr. George Mubita, Lecturer, University of the Southern Caribbean.

reCePtion hosted By the PriMe Minister - July 17

Showing solidarity: (left to right): Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel, Minister of National Diversity and Social Integration, Her Excellency Dr. Maureen Modiselle, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

From

Senator the Honourable Vasant Bharath, Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications and Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, The Honourable Rudy Indarsingh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, Senator the Honourable Emmanuel George, Minister of Justice, The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and The Honourable Stacy Roopnarine, Minister of State in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.

Music was provided by the talented youth of PCS Silver Stars.

The Honourable Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, Minister in the Ministry of the People and Social Development and The Honourable Nizam Baksh, Minister of Public Utilities.

(Left to right) Mr. Thomas Madau, Her Excellency, Dr. Maureen Modiselle, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel.

Dr. Keith Rowley, Leader of the Opposition, is greeted by Dr. the Honourable Rodger Samuel. Looking on is Mrs. Joy Persad-Myers, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration.

Left to right:

Singing on stage is Jeremiah James

The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, with winners of the Mandela Poster Competition, 2014.

Winning Posters (Under 12 Yrs)

(Below): Honourable Mention Winning Posters (13–16 Yrs)

Mandela anniversary day CeleBration - July 18

African craft and jewellery on sale and display.

Fashion show on the Promenade as part of celebrations.

Dr. the Honourable Lincoln Douglas, Minister of the Arts and Multiculturalism.

ConCert ‘CalyPso throughout the years: MadiBa lives’ - July 18

Dr. Hollis Liverpool, “Chalkdust” Lutalo Masimba, “Brother Resistance”

Photograph: Eli Weinberg / RIM-UWC-Mayibuye Archives

the National Flag of the Republic of trinidad and tobago

the national flag was designed by the Independence Committee and selected to be used as the National Flag in 1962. Its colours are red, white and black.

Red is the colour most expressive of our country. It represents the vitality of the land and its people; it is the warmth and energy of the sun, the courage and friendliness of the people.

White is the sea by which these lands are bound: the cradle of our heritage; the purity of our aspirations and the equality of all men under the sun.

the Black represents for us the dedication of the people joined together by one strong bond. It is the colour of strength, of unity, of purpose and of the wealth of the land. the colours chosen represent the elements Earth, Water and Fire which encompass all our past, present and future and inspire us as one united, vital, free and dedicated people.

the National Flag of South Africa

the national flag was designed by a former South African State herald, Mr Fred brownell, and was first used on 27 April 1994. the design and colours are a synopsis of principal elements of the country’s flag history. Individual colours, or colour combinations represent different meanings for different people and therefore no universal symbolism should be attached to any of the colours.

the central design of the flag, beginning at the flagpost in a ‘V’ form and flowing into a single horizontal band to the outer edge of the fly, can be interpreted as the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity. the theme of convergence and unity ties in with the motto Unity is Strength of the previous South African Coat of Arms.

http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/consulate/flag.html

Courtesy: government Information Services