Past South African President and civil rights icon Nelson Mandela, who is in hospital since 8th Of june, has today showed some small signs of recovery, reported by South African Leader Jacob Zuma.
According to Mr. Zuma, who cancelled a trip to Mozambique so as to visit the 94 year old in hospital, “He’s much better now than he was when I saw him last night.”
Mr. Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe has also reported that her father is “still there”, which has provided hope to the millions worldwide who wish the former Leader a immediate recuperation. Though, she has also affirmed “he doesn’t look good”. Mandela’s condition continues to be thought to be perilous.
Large crowds have gathered outside the hospital, with a bunch of kids who released 94 balloons, one for every year of Mandela’s life. US President Barack Obama described Mr. Mandela as “a hero of the world” and commented that his legacy will live throughout the ages.
Online, a large expression of support for Mr. Mandela, too as his family and legacy, has dwarfed the comparatively limited, culturally motivated attempts to sully the former President’s name for shock value and/or web hits.
Nelson Mandela was the powerful force behind the replacement of that racist Apartheid regime and a multi-racial South African democracy.
For his actions as a member of that political underground, Mr. Mandela was imprisoned for twenty seven years. Before he was sentenced, Mandela famously made his reason for freedom and equality in the Rivona courtroom.
“I’ve appreciated the ideal of a democratic and free society that all people live together in harmony and with equal opportunities (…) It’s an ideal that I hope to live for also to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am set to die.” He said. Upon his liberate, Madela eventually became South Africa’s first black President and was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with former President F.W de Klerk, in 1993.
Since voluntarily stepping down as President in 1999, Mr. Mandela has worked as an envoy, campaigned against HIV/AIDS (an affliction which resulted in the death of his son in 2005) and negotiated peace treaties in Africa and somewhere else in the world. On his 89th birthday, he formed ‘The Elders’ a group of foremost statesmen and famous figures, with the intent of tackling some of the world’s toughest troubles.
In 2004, he retired from public life completely, seeking to engage in “quiet reflection”.
I wish Mr. Mandela a powerful and quick recovery and remain hopeful that, although his advanced years, the person known the world over as ‘Madiba’ can continue to work as a source for good on this earth.
SOURCES:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12305154
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23085736
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