MEMORIAM - Nelson Mandela, Moral Example to the World

The world has lost a truly good man.  One who forgave his enemies, a shining example of an ethical man.  I consider Nelson Mandela as standing next to Mahatma Gandhi as a beacon to the world.

"South Africans mourn loss of Madiba, celebrate gift of freedom" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 12/6/2013

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  The death of Nelson Mandela resonated across South Africa and around the world today.  Millions mourned the former president and symbol of racial reconciliation.  And officials planned a mass memorial service on Tuesday.

We begin our coverage with Rohit Kachroo of Independent Television News, reporting from South Africa.

ROHIT KACHROO:  This was a day to mourn one life lost and a day to mark the many lives made by Nelson Mandela.  The gift of freedom is being celebrated here.  And even those lost in the sadness of his death know how much bleaker things here might have been.

WOMAN:   Now we are free because of Madiba.  I'm very, very sorry here.  But, today, I'm sad and I have got happiness.  I don't know what can I say.

ROHIT KACHROO:  From his home last night, his coffin was brought away draped in the rainbow colors.  His pain is over.  But the hurt is now all theirs.

Yet, for all the bleary eyes and broken hearts, this nation was not broken, as the old songs of the struggle from sung through the night.  And the new day brought the start of South Africa's future.

"South Africans draw from Mandela’s strength, perseverance" PBS Newshour 12/6/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela, Judy Woodruff talks to Lydia Polgreen, Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times, who called the former South African leader the "moral center" for the country.  Polgreen said Mandela’s example may help the country struggle against current economic and societal challenges.

"How Mandela forever changed South Africa" (Part-3) PBS Newshour 12/6/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The South Africa of Nelson Mandela's birth was a different nation from the one he leaves behind.  Jeffrey Brown gets perspective on Mandela's impact from three South Africans: Penelope Andrews of the Albany Law School, Mzamo Mangaliso of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Charles Villa-Vicencio at Georgetown University.