Remembering Nelson Mandela

As I woke to the news of Nelson Mandela’s death at the age of 95 on 6 December, 2013, I remembered my visit in July to the Nelson Mandela exhibition in Paris.

To commemorate Nelson Rolihlhla Mandela’s life, an exhibition of his images appeared in Paris from 29 May to 6 July 2013 as part of the France-South Africa Seasons 2012 and 2013, in association with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. The free exhibition in the Hotel de Ville celebrated Mandela’s relationship with the people of France.

The “Nelson Mandela – from Prisoner to President” exhibit displayed Mandela in photographs, 10 film screens, cartoons, sculptures, paintings, news reels, and posters. It began with his rural upbringing and schooling in Transkei and moved to Johannesburg where he studied law. The exhibit also showed his arrest in 1962 and his imprisonment on Robben Island in 1963. There was also a recreation of his prison cell, measuring 2 metres by 2.5 metres. Twenty-seven years later, the exhibit shows images of his release in February 1990 and the year he took office as the first democratic president in 1994.

Born in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918, his legacy as the most significant leader of his country will be more than justice and reconciliation. It will be a legacy of a person that cared passionately about peace and harmony, of one who knew what must be done and why.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog