THE UNRULY ONE

How would you react if it were predicted that you would live to be 95 years of age (and when the time came, you would quietly pass away, a sufficiently wealthy person surrounded by your kith and kin), a president and universally well known, almost cult figure, but you would have to spend 27 years in prison and quite often you would have to take difficult, fateful decisions?

When a person never falls down, that is not the greatest merit in life. The main thing is to get up again. This is not just what Nelson Mandela thought, but the example he set in his own life time and again.  

He became the key figure in the second half of what was the outgoing 20th century, alongside such political and social giants as [Indian leader and freedom fighter] Mahatma Gandhi, [Afro-American civil rights activist] Martin Luther King, [Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla fighter] Che Guevara, [religious sister renowned for good deeds in India] Mother Teresa, [Russian physicist, dissident and human rights activist] Andrey Sakharov and others. He was like many people in his life, and comparisons were drawn between him and them … The son of a tribal chieftain, a president, a communist, a human rights champion, a liberal, a terrorist, a symbol of freedom and the struggle against racism, a prisoner in solitary confinement, a Nobel Prize laureate, an honorary graduate of more than 50 international universities, a recipient of the state awards of a number of countries, an admirer of beautiful women, a passionate sports fan, a loyal friend, a father and great-grandfather…

During his lifetime Mandela saw books, films and monuments devoted to him; he became the main subject in numerous studies and histories. This man's activities are so interwoven with myths that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Probably the most vivid example of this, as noted by one of the users of social networks, is that very many of the condolences offered by Americans on twitter relating to the death of the former South African president, were accompanied by photographs of the [American] actor Morgan Freeman, who played Nelson Mandela in "Invictus", a bio-pic about him.

Even Mandela's funeral became an event which made the headlines for days on end. In spite of the pouring rain, thousands of people gathered in the stadium in Johannesburg for the memorial service; the ceremony was transmitted worldwide. American President Barack Obama and three former US presidents, George Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, British Prime-Minister David Cameron and former British prime-ministers Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major, French former and current presidents - Nicolas Sarkozy, and Francois Hollande and many other leaders turned up to pay their last respects to the person who had beaten apartheid. Altogether, the heads of state and governments from 91 countries were present at the official funeral service. 

US President Barack Obama, who is regarded in some sense as a Mandela pupil and disciple, did, however, attract particular attention. They really do have a great deal in common: they are both the first black presidents in their countries, they are both Nobel prize laureates. "The Washington Post" has written that Mandela's life story has been a political awakening for Obama. At Mandela's farewell ceremony Obama appealed for the struggle against poverty and racism to continue, but also expressed his thanks to the South Africans for sharing the inheritance of this great freedom fighter of the 20th century with the entire planet.

Impressed by what was happening, when greeting his honoured colleagues on the rostrum, Obama shook hands with and even exchanged a few words with Cuban leader Raul Castro. In his homeland the US president's action caused a variety of reactions, especially on the part of the republicans, who immediately recalled the encroachment on human rights in Cuba. The White House spokesmen explained that the hand-shake had not been planned and did not mean anything.

Moreover Obama's hand-shake was captured in a selfie, a photograph snapped by him on his smartphone for the benefit of the social networks. Of late the selfie has become popular both with stars and the man in the street. It turned out that politicians like to take selfies too. The only thing that was a bit awkward was that he took his selfie with a smile on his face, having asked the prime-ministers of Great Britain, David Cameron, and Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, to join him in this photo opportunity during the solemn funeral ceremony at the stadium in Johannesburg. The compromising photos were rapidly circulated by the world's media; moreover, on some photographs the US leader's wife could be seen looking at her husband indignantly. The Guardian newspaper called the photograph of Obama, Cameron and Thorning-Schmidt the most epic funeral selfie of all times.

Incidentally, it took a very long time for Nelson Mandela to forge relations with the USA. It is well known that the CIA had a hand in arresting him. Before 2008, moreover, Washington considered the Mandela grouping in the ANC (African Nationalist Congress) to be a terrorist grouping. Mandela and the ANC members were banned from visiting the USA (except for the right to visit the UN headquarters in New York) without special permission from the secretary of state.

Mandela himself commented that they had previously called him a terrorist, but, when he came out of prison, many people, including his enemies, gave him recognition. He said that he usually told those who say that fighters for independence in their countries are terrorists that accusations of terrorism depend on the winning side. 

Everything changed for him after the regrettable Sharpeville massacre in 1960 [when South African police fired on thousands of black demonstrators - tr.]. Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy [of civil disobedience - tr.], which was pursued by the ANC members began to be re-appraised and a year later the militarised grouping "Spear of the Nation" was formed under the aegis of the Congress. To begin with, its members organised acts of sabotage against the government, and then started to wage outright partisan war, during which the civilian population suffered as well. It is stressed everywhere that Mandela was opposed to this and was very upset by it. But in court he did not deny what he had done. He did not agree to any deals after that, either in prison or once he was released. At least, there is no official evidence testifying to this. 

Mandela, who had finally crossed the line into the "freedom-fighter" camp, has now found his resting place in his native village; it is a long time since Mahatma Gandhi preached his philosophy of non-violence and already 2,000 years since the time of Jesus of Nazareth's teachings, but this unsolvable issue continues to trouble people's reason and heart-felt inclinations: should there be a fist fight for freedom or in there is, then there is no difference between the oppressor and the oppressed - the line between them becomes blurred and they just like each other?  

Responses to Nelson Mandela's heritage as a president vary. In most sources it is noted that during his term as head of state from 10 May 1994 to 14 June 1999, the first black leader of South Africa conducted a number of major socio-economic reforms aimed at overcoming social and economic inequality. Under Nelson Mandela free health care, child benefits, equality of employment and many other things were instituted in the Republic of South Africa. But critics say that it is not as simple as that, since the country's black residents took charge of politics, but not the economy; even now the top managers in the leading companies are mostly white South Africans. South Africa is still troubled by poverty and a lack of education among the population, with marked ever-increasing levels of crime over the last few years. 

Nevertheless, that's history. Mandela managed to achieve what he set out to do - South Africa has developed, apartheid has been vanquished and the shameful practice of segregation no longer exists there. 

When his teacher at school gave Mandela the English name Nelson, she did not know that this Nelson would also go down in history. Nor did she know that the little black boy who held her hand would be able to do what is most important in life - to remain true to his convictions and ideas. It appears that even the long years in solitary confinement did not break his spirit, nor was his purpose affected by the universal love of him or his enormous popularity.

Mandela said that he had definitely learned that courage does not mean the absence of fear, but the victory over it.  A brave person is not one who does not feel fear, but one who struggles against it. Many things appear impossible to accomplish, until you do them. For difficulties and adversity destroy some people and make others, he stated. It is undoubtedly worth everyone  listening to these words, who is not afraid to ask questions of himself, even if he cannot provide the answers to them.