Why did Mandela earn such colossal respect?
More than 100 heads of state of the past and present voluntarily attended the Mandela funeral and memorial service. Millions of people paid their tribute to the world’s 20th century liberation leader lovingly called ‘Madiba’. His legacy that now lives on is a measure by which our own leaders can be validated, in fact a benchmark or yardstick to measure forgiveness, reconciliation and selflessness in service to others.
How did this man born in a rural village, arrogant in his youth and having served 27 years of his life in jail, achieve so much respect from all human beings the world over: both black and white, rich and poor, socialist and capitalist? His funeral was indeed an interactive platform for life time enemies to meet and share together common goals in life. If Madiba’s legacy lives on, it would be heaven on earth in a literal sense as he stood for freedom of expression and the establishment of a free and just society wherein human dignity is recognized. He worked for humanity. Madiba taught us that death is inevitable and hence one must not delay duties. He had openness, generosity and tolerance in his heart. He did not imprison his political opponents. He knew that corruption will steal nation’s future.
He was an astonishing leader who had one mission, equality and accountability. He had no greed for power or money. He had no hatred for his enemies. Instead, he worked sacrificially for reconciliation. He brought perpetrators and their victims, face to face, and taught them to forgive each other. His principles and values did not change due to greed or power. He was the same humble man throughout his life. He did not favour anyone at the expense of another. He did not marginalize the oppressed. He opposed black as well as white domination. He wanted equality. He did not sell his country’s assets for his own selfish gain. He did not serve himself or his family. He simply wanted his fellow men and women to be of equal rank and respected.
We have sadly had the opposite. Our political parties, some by name itself serve only part of the nation. There is no forgiveness or selflessness in their expression. Instead we have hatred and selfishness and revenge in abundance. Madiba’s values are not new to us. It has been our national heritage but is sadly elusive to us at present times. When would we have a ‘Madiba’ to revive Sri Lanka?
Chula Goonasekera
Peradeniya