NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY

Though universally admired today, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela did remain a controversial figure for quite some time around... 

Here's an interesting snippet of a conversation -

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K A:

"Welcome to America, Mr. Mandela. I am Ken Adelman. Those of us who share your struggle for human rights and apartheid have somewhat been disappointed by the models you have held up since being released from jail. You've met, over the last six months, three times with Yasser Arafat, who you have praised. You have told Muammar Gaddafi that you shared the view and applaud him on his record of human rights and his drive for freedom and peace around the world, and you have praised Fidel Castro as a leader of human rights, and said that Cuba was one of the countries that's head and shoulders above all other countries in human rights despite the fact that documents at the United Nations and elsewhere show that Cuba is one of the worst. I was just wondering, are these your models of leaders of human rights, and if so, would you want a Gaddafi or an Arafat or a Castro to be the future president of South Africa?"

N M:

"One of the mistakes some political analysts makes is to think that their enemies should be our enemies."

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The man who tamed the rocks and stones of the Robben Island for 18 out of 27 years, Nelson Mandela is often referred to as the 20th century Mahatma. Though circumstances were quite different, Mandela, like Gandhi, had the magnanimity in him to forgive the perpetrators responsible for his bitter past...

Today, on his 104th birth anniversary, the world pays homage to this colossus...

🙏🙏🌹💐