South Africa mourns ‘great unifier’ as world pays tribute

From the corridors of power to the streets of Soweto, the world has united in praise of Nelson Mandela as South Africa begins 10 days of mourning for its first black president.

The architect of the Rainbow Nation, lovingly known in his home country as Madiba or simply Tata, “father” in his native Xhosa, will be laid to rest next Sunday in his home town of Qunu in Eastern Cape.

Today his family said that although he had “attained the status of a global icon he was remarkable for his humility in the family.”

A family spokesman told a press conference in Johannesbuerg: “Tata is gone, the pillar of the family is gone. Just as he was away during that 27 painful years of prison. But in our hearts and souls will always be with us”

Chief among the values that made him a leader “recognised by all” was the lesson that “a life lived for others is a life well lived,” the spokesman said.

As world leaders prepare to converge in unprecedented numbers in Johannesburg for a memorial service next Tuesday, thousands of South Africans made the journey to the former South African president’s home in the city to pay their respects.

Struggle songs filled the air as people of all racial backgrounds laid wreaths, handwritten messages and flowers outside Mandela’s home in the wealthy suburb of Houghton.

After a long illness, a frail Mandela (95) died surrounded by his close family and friends at the residence on Thursday evening .

“Mandela was the reason I became a human rights lawyer,” said Phatang Nkhereanye, a man whose family had been part of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s, forcing them to flee the country. “I never met him personally, but he touched my life. My mother used to tell me stories about him as I grew up in the United States, where we were in exile. I came back to South Africa in 1992.”

Reflecting on the international media interest in Mandela’s passing, he said: “The level of support the international community gave to the anti-apartheid movement played a big part in freeing Mr Mandela. In many respects South Africa gave Mr Mandela to the world, but the world helped give him back to us by pressing for his release from prison.”

Many South Africans did not hear of Mandela’s passing until early yesterday morning, and the news prompted emotions of shock and sadness, but also relief that any suffering he was experiencing was over.

In Cape Town early yesterday, people on their way to work began singing the old liberation songs as they passed by City Hall on Grand Parade, the location where Mandela made his first speech upon his release from prison in 1990 after 27 years of incarceration.

Thomas Mokorana (31), an audit manager from Pretoria, described Mr Mandela’s death as “a great loss for the country, but we are united and there is no reason why we should not stay united in the weeks ahead.”

South Africa’s period of mourning continues tomorrow with an official day of prayer. Announcing the plans, South African president Jacob Zuma said: “We should all work together to organise the most befitting funeral for this outstanding son of our country and the father of our young nation.”

A memorial service will be held at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg, the venue of the 2010 World Cup final, next Tuesday. President Michael D Higgins is to represent the Irish State and people at the memorial service, while Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore will represent the Government.

Mandela’s body will then lie in state in Pretoria for three days, in a glass-topped coffin, allowing well-wishers to pay their respects. The funeral will be held on December 15th in the small village of Qunu, where Mandela spent “some of the happiest years of my boyhood”, as he wrote in his memoir, Long Walk to Freedom.

The floods of tributes continued yesterday, among them from FW de Klerk, the South African president under whom Mandela was released from prison and with whom he shared the Nobel Peace Prize. De Klerk said his country and the world had lost “a great unifier”.