I Will Tell The Big Six – Mandela’s Letter To South Africans.

Dear South Africans, this is your father Nelson Mandela. It is with a heavy heart that I write to you. Like all humans, I have been resting since I passed on unto the land of our ancestors and current events have forced me out of my grave to write to you. I once made a statement that, 'When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace'. However, today I cannot rest in peace because as it stands I feel I didn't finish my job. My job on earth can simply be summed up as teaching South Africans and Africans at large how to live together harmoniously, how to forgive and how to achieve ones aims without the use of violence.

My children do you remember that I once said, 'For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others'. These words still remain true today and I constantly stand by my convictions. Today I hear of the killings, lootings and assault indigenous South Africans are meting out to their fellow black brothers and it makes me turn in my grave. Did you not learn anything from my life and my sayings? The whole Africa joined us in our fight against the monster called 'APARTHEID' and today we are free from our chains, but I reckon that to be truly free is to live a life that respect the rights of others.

If you are uncomfortable with the number of foreigners (African foreigners) living in South Africa, the answer does not lie in killing and maiming them, but using the law to solve your problems. Do you also remember that I once said, 'I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days'. What is happening in South Africa is also a form of race discrimination and I hate it. How can a group of people divide people based on race and blame their problems on them. I won the Nobel Peace Prize not because I am the most handsome man in South Africa, but because instead of choosing hatred, resentment and violence I decided to choose peace and I became friends with those who put me in Jail.

My time in prison gave me time to reflect on a lot of things and I came to realization that the answer to the problem of South Africans is not violence. I chose a path of violence once when I was much younger but like the Bible said in Proverbs 22:15 'Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child'. Time thought me that violence was not the answer but peace was.

I have said before that, 'We were expected to destroy one another and ourselves collectively in the worst racial conflagration. Instead, we as a people chose the path of negotiation, compromise and peaceful settlement. Instead of hatred and revenge we chose reconciliation and nation-building'. This is why I am sad as I write to you. The people of South Africa who I once led to choose peace and negotiations even against those who killed us and maltreated us have decided to choose violence against their own brothers and sisters from other parts of Africa.

Remember that, 'It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not'. People who choose democracy do not use violence to solve their problems; people who choose democracy do not go against the laws of the land. They rather use the law, the constitution and uphold rule of law in their day to day activities.

I once told you when I was alive that, 'During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die'. So whether it is the black man who is oppressing someone or it is the white man who is doing it, I am not okay with it. I cannot sit back and watch whilst blacks kill their fellow blacks. The world will mock us and laugh at us. It is as if we are telling the whole world blacks cannot manage their own affairs.

I am appealing to South Africans especially those involved in the XENOPHOBIC attacks to put an end to it because it is shameful. This is not the reason why I spent over three decades in prison. This is not why I dedicated most of my life fighting for freedom. 'To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.' The people you are killing have rights too and they also deserve freedom.

I will end here for now, but let me repeat something I said whilst I was still with you, 'I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death'. I believe in South Africans, and I believe in Africans and I believe that in the end reason will prevail and common sense will prevail.

'I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.'

― Nelson Mandela
#SayNoToXenophobia
Until I write to you again, good bye for now. YOUR GRANDSON. ALBERT OPARE. [email protected] ibelieveinghana.blogspot.com

The Author Albert Opare is a political science graduate from the University of Ghana and a social commentator as well as a social & political activist. He is also a freelance writer. You can contact the author by mail on [email protected] or txt on 0575125101. Comments and Criticisms are welcome.

The quotes of Nelson Mandela were taken from the following sources;

• https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/a-selection-of-nelson-mandela-quotes
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/12/06/20-inspirational-quotes-from-nelson-mandela/
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2013/12/05/nelson-mandela-quotes/3775255/
• http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela.html
• http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/367338.Nelson_Mandela

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