www.thesouthafrican.com
11 - 17 June 2013
Issue 518
SA STARTS TO FACE LIFE AFTER MADIBA
As the world once again prepares for the worst in terms of Nelson Mandela’s health, are South Africans slowly learning to say ‘hamba kahle to the revered statesman? by STAFF REPORTER
Nelson Mandela’s friend Andrew Mlangeni, who served time with him in prison, told the Sunday Times, “We wish Madiba a speedy recovery, but I think what is important is that his family must release him.
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“IT’S time to let him go” was the front-page headline in the South African Sunday Times, following Nelson Mandela’s return to hospital on Saturday for treatment of his recurring lung infection. Perhaps even a year ago, such a headline would have been taboo, but it seems that at last, as Mandela’s condition is described as ‘serious but stable’ South Africans are slowly learning to say ‘hamba kahle, Tata’. As the country once again holds its breath for news of the revered statesman’s health, there have been calls to face up to the reality that Mandela is an old and frail man. Madiba’s friend Andrew Mlangeni, 87, who served time with him in prison, told the Sunday Times, “We wish Madiba a speedy recovery, but I think what is important is that his family must release him. Once they release him, the people of South Africa will follow. We will say thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too.” It is the fourth hospital stay for Mandela, who turns 95 next month, since December. Marelise van der Merwe, writing for Daily Maverick during Mandela’s last hospitalisation in April, was brave enough to express what others were afraid to. “My prayers are not for Madiba’s speedy recovery. My prayers and good wishes
are that he will not have a long, drawn-out death; that he will be surrounded by loved ones and look back with satisfaction on the life he lived. He is an old, old man – one who crammed more into his active years outside jail than most people would do in two lifetimes.” Van der Merwe likened South Africa’s predicament to that of a typical fairy tale where the main character loses his mentor at a critical stage. “South Africa is at that critical stage now: we are staring into the abyss, the crisis times have come, and we are about to lose our father figure. But what happens in these stories? The fighter gets up and carries on; he moves forward with the tools the mentor has given him already. And if it is a good story, he emerges continued on page 2
INSIDE:
p2 | Helen Zille talks 2014 Elections in London next week
p3 | British Somalis protest xenophobic attacks on Somalis in South Africa p12 | The Bok Drain: Rob Flude discusses the pros and cons of favouring home-based rugby talent
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