I certainly had before my trip last week to South Africa, and I knew he led their country to freedom through the apartheid era of South African history.
While this is indeed true, I really had no idea what a significant and literal impact Nelson Mandela had on all of South Africa and the people that live there.
Since I was traveling half way around the world to learn about Africa, life, and what God is up to there, I figured I should probably learn a thing or two about South Africa's most iconic figure, Nelson Mandela.
As a youngster growing up in the 1980's, I knew that apartheid was something that was happening in South Africa, and it wasn't good. There was a guy named Nelson Mandela, and he became famous when apartheid ended.
After spending a week between Johannesburg and Cape Town, I now understand this:
Nelson Mandela single-handedly kept South Africa out of civil war, and he saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of South Africans that would have been killed if he had given the go-ahead to use physical force in the resistance effort during the apartheid era.
Not only that, but he set the precedent that I could visibly see and understand from South Africans of all ethnicities that they have chosen peace and reconcilation instead of violence and hatred.
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| Outside Cape Town, where PPM will be serving |
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison in South Africa, simply for (peacefully) opposing apartheid rule in South Africa. As the world began to take notice of the cruel, authoritarian rule that was being imposed on South African blacks and coloureds (their terms for Africans and mixed race minorities), more and more people were thrown into prison simply for disagreeing with the government.
South Africa had become a pressure cooker in the 1980's, as many countries had imposed sanctions on South Africa for continuing to legally people differently based on the color of their skin. Blacks and coloureds couldn't hold jobs above a certain level. They weren't allowed a quality education. So on and so forth. The white minority, only holding 10% of the population, had decided that everyone else in South Africa was inferior, and they had decided that they need to impose apartheid rule to continue controlling the country.
As the world took notice and people wanted to riot, Nelson Mandela sat in prison. And as the son of a tribal representative and mediator, he knew that communication, patience, and love would eventually win out. So he sat in his cell and told the 40 million black and coloured South Africans that they needed to protest peacefully. And to wait.
Many wanted to take up arms and fight. A bloodbath would have ensued, and maybe the black and coloureds would have won, but it would have cost thousands of lives. The whites controlled the government and the military, so there's no saying for certain who would have won that battle. What we do know is that South Africa would have become a war zone.
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| Nelson Mandela's prison cell (2 meters x 3 meters) |
Instead, Nelson Mandela kept the peace while sitting in prison for 27 years. And when apartheid finally fell, there was cheering and shouts of joy, not bullets flying through the air.
During my visit to Robben Island (Mandela's island prison off the coast of Cape Town), I learned that not only did Mandela save thousands of lives at the time.......he made an indelible impact on the outlook of South Africans today.
I've had the opportunity to travel to many countries, and never in my life have a seen and heard so many people speak of their choice to move forward in peace and reconciliation with their brothers and sisters. Person after person, when I asked them about what they learned from the apartheid era, told me that they learned to choose peace and reconciliation.....that they will get over the past, and they will heal. They choose peace. They choose love.
Nelson Mandela didn't just prevent a war in South Africa. He created a legacy of peace and understanding that will carry the South African people forward as a beautiful example to the world. His impact will last for the rest of our history on this planet.
Thank you, Nelson Mandela.
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| View of Cape Town from Robben Island |
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