Mandela : my spiritual father
الخميس 12 كانون الأول (ديسمبر) 2013
Nelson Mandela’s life has been an incessant source of teaching and inspiration for the entire world.
He has taught us numerous lessons:
that there is no political system, no matter how unfair and ruthless, that cannot be defeated by men ;
that there is always hope, even when a situation seems hopeless ; that men will never stop fighting for freedom and equality. … But the most important lesson NM has taught us, is that politics can be moral. The attempt at moralizing politics has led to many terrifying outcomes throughout history. In the name of virtue, too many politicians have terrorized their people.
But NM did not try to moralize politics. He was at once a luminous politician, a sharp negotiator, an impressive statesman; AND an exceptional human being. When the apartheid ended, he fought for justice and he made sure that the memory of the atrocities committed against Blacks would never be forgotten. But he warned against collective resentment. He was opposed to the “domination of whites and the domination of blacks”.
NM did not expressed pity for his fellow citizens. He felt compassion for them. He felt the suffering of his people as if he was touched in his own flesh. And despite of that, or may be because of that, he refused to lump together all these sufferers into a single category that he could use as a political currency to continue the cycle of crualty. He preferred justice to revenge.
NM always refused to be turned into a prophet: he led by example, with humility, love and humor. But there is something prophetic about his life and his destiny.
Today in the Arab world, and in Tunisia more specifically, we have a lot to learn from his struggle.
May he rest in peace, and may he continue to inspire generations of people who seek freedom and justice.
