They imprisoned Nelson Mandela on several charges, the main ones being treason and conspiracy to overthrow the government. A government regime that had demoted most of its citizenry to second-class citizens.
I took a rather stomach-churning boat trip out to Robben Island several years ago.
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison and 18 of those years he spent on Robben Island. I have seen his prison cell, and the futile brain numbing activities of breaking rocks with hammers in the hot sun and cold wind (depending on the season), that they would do day in and day out.
They would feed them enough food to keep them alive, and I use the word ‘food’ in its loosest possible sense. It was basically slop for your gut.
After suffering like this for years and his later adult life being robbed from him, most of us would seek revenge if we were fortunate enough to take power after such an ordeal.
Resentment would motivate and drive me to revenge, but that is why great leaders like Nelson Mandela have a better understanding and vision. Mandela had a different attitude towards revenge and resentment, as per his own words and I quote.
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. They must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” — Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
source: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/a-selection-of-nelson-mandela-quotes
Compare this insight and vision with the leaders that run the world today, corporations could not buy Nelson Mandela. Self enrichment did not motivate him, in fact, he found it repugnant that they paid him so much as Prime Minister of South Africa.
He was not beholden to corporate lobby groups and unlike the spineless political leaders we have today, who only care about the polls and are swayed by them, Mandela stood by his principles.
They imprisoned him under Afrikaans leadership and majority Afrikaans political power. If there was one thing dear to the Afrikaner, it was the game of rugby and the emblem a springbok, the emblem of the national rugby team.
While many around him called for change and for him to incite violence through changing the emblem and colours of the national rugby team. Revenge in their eyes would be sweet now that Mandela ruled over his former captors. Mandela, however, would not make the popular decision, rather he would make the right decision.
The people close to him were calling for the removal of the emblem of the national rugby team, namely the springbok. He realised this was part of the fabric of Afrikaans society, and such an act would be provocative.
His answer to them speaks volumes about his leadership, so I quote it below.
‘Brothers, sisters, comrades, I am here because I believe you have made a decision with insufficient information and foresight. I am aware of your earlier vote. I am aware that it was unanimous. Nonetheless, I believe we should restore the Springboks. Restore their name, their emblem and their colors, immediately. Let me tell you why. On Robben Island, in Pollsmoor Prison, all of my jailers were Afrikaners. For 27 years, I studied them. I learned their language, read their books, their poetry. I had to know my enemy before I could prevail against him. And we did prevail, did we not? All of us here — we prevailed. Our enemy is no longer the Afrikaner. They are our fellow South Africans, our partners in democracy. And they treasure Springbok rugby. If we take that away, we lose them. We prove that we are what they feared we would be. We have to be better than that. We have to surprise them with compassion, with restraint, and generosity. I know. All of the things they denied us. But this is no time to celebrate petty revenge. This is the time to build our nation using every single brick available to us — even if that brick comes wrapped in green and gold. You elected me your leader. Let me lead you now.’
Nelson Mandela
About the Creator
Dean Gee
Inquisitive Questioner, Creative Ideas person. Marketing Director. I love to write about life and nutrition, and navigating the corporate world.
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