Lesson-2

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom

By Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Introduction

This chapter is an excerpt from Nelson Mandela's autobiography (born July 18, 1918), South Africa's first black president. Excerpts from "Long Walk to Freedom" include a description of the inauguration ceremony, citations from his speech, his journey to becoming a freedom fighter, the struggle, and a tribute to other freedom fighters and countless others who fought for their freedom. In South Africa, a brutal practise known as "apartheid" was practised. Apartheid is the practise of discriminating against people based on their race. It was one of the most brutal societies, depriving dark-skinned people of their basic rights. This lesson provides an overview of how Nelson Mandela and others carved their way to a society in which there will be no discrimination based on their skin colour, caste, race, age, or gender.

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Summary

This chapter is an excerpt from Nelson Mandela's autobiography (born July 18, 1918), South Africa's first black president. It begins with a description of their inaugural ceremony, which took place on May 10, 1994, at which the entire nation, as well as many international leaders, celebrated the victory of a newly and fairly elected government. The President and the two Deputy Presidents delivered speeches, which were followed by an impressive air show of fighter jets and helicopters. Long ago, in the first decade of the twentieth century, white supremacy instituted apartheid, making life a living hell for the dark-skinned population. It gave birth to one of the world's most inhumane societies. Many people have struggled and made sacrifices in the name of basic human rights. The author expressed his desire to express gratitude to all freedom fighters who did not live to see this autumn day. He referred to the citizens as the country's most valuable asset. It was from these people that he gained his courage. Mandela believes that a courageous person is one who has overcome fear rather than one who is fearless. He also mentioned the two responsibilities that every human being has and how, in order to fulfil his obligation to society, he neglected his obligation to his family. He became a people's man after realising that the concept of freedom was an illusion for him and others like him. He then joined the African National Congress and fought for his rights until he became the country's first black president. According to him, the oppressor is a prisoner just like the oppressed. When the former deprives the oppressed of their freedom, he deprives himself of humanity. As a result, the oppressor is also not free.

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Lesson Explanation

TENTH May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days I had been pleasantly besieged by dignitaries and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheater formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colors and nations for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.

• Dawned- (of a day) began
• Pleasantly- giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment; satisfying
• Besieged- to be surrounded by
• Dignitaries- a person considered to be important because of high rank or office.
• Sandstone- a sedimentary rock consisting of sand or quartz grains cemented together, typically red, yellow, or brown in color.
• Amphitheatre- an open-air theatre
• Supremacy- the state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power, or status

Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa's first black Head of State on May 10th. His anti-racist party came to power after years of struggle. Until then, white Presidents had always held the position. As a result, the author described the day as "bright and clear." It was a hopeful morning. Many notable people began congratulating him on his victory days before this date. For the first time in the country's history, such a large number of international leaders gathered for their inauguration ceremony. The ceremony was held in an open circular sandstone building made up of Union buildings in Pretoria city.

On that lovely autumn day I was accompanied by my daughter Zenani. On the podium, Mr de Klerk was first sworn in as second deputy president. Then Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as first deputy president. When it was my turn, I pledged to obey and uphold the Constitution and to devote myself to the wellbeing of the Republic and its people.

• Deputy- Second in command
• Sworn- given under oath; determined to stay in the role specified
• Pledged- committed (a person or organization) by a solemn promise.

On his special day, the author was accompanied by his daughter, Zenani. First, the two Vice Presidents took the oath of office. Then, when his turn came, he pledged to respect, defend, and uphold the Constitution, as well as to devote his entire life to the welfare of the country.

To the assembled guests and the watching world, I said: “Today, all of us do, by our presence here… confer glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud. We, who were outlaws, not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all of our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity.”

• Assembled- (of people) gather together in one place for a common purpose
• Confer- grant
• Glory- honour
• Outlaws- because of its policy of apartheid, many countries had earlier broken off diplomatic relations with South Africa
• On our own soil- in our own country
• Possession- ownership
• Dignity- the state or quality of being worthy of respect.

The author also mentions parts of his speech in which he stated that his presence gave rise to hope for a new beginning. Previous rulers were discriminatory and lasted for a long time, but those given the opportunity to rule now (ANC) would oppose discrimination. He is delighted to host a ceremony attended by world leaders. It is an accomplishment in and of itself. There was a time when South Africa lost all of its international political relationships as a result of its practise of apartheid. Other nations are now content to have healthy democratic relationships when there is no segregation based on race or gender. Finally, they have gained power, and they have promised to make everyone proud. He thanked everyone, especially the international leaders, for joining them in celebrating their achievement, which he described as a step toward a more equal society in which every human being is treated fairly.

“We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. Let freedom reign. God bless Africa!”

• Emancipation- the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions
• Liberate- free; release
• Bondage- the state of being a slave
• Discrimination- being treated differently or unfavourably
• Deprivation- the damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society
• Oppression- prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority.
• Glorious- having, worthy of, or bringing fame or admiration.
  Reign- rule; govern

He mentions that they have finally achieved political freedom after much struggle. His government promised to free everyone from the still-existing poverty, hardship, and inequalities of all kinds, as well as to assure everyone of a country in which no community is considered inferior. He then declares that freedom should reign supreme, and that God should shower his blessings on their land.

A few moments later we all lifted our eyes in awe as a spectacular array of South African jets, helicopters and troop carriers roared in perfect formation over the Union Buildings. It was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy, to a new government that had been freely and fairly elected. Only moments before, the highest generals of the South African defence force and police, their chests bedecked with ribbons and medals from days gone by, saluted me and pledged their loyalty. I was not unmindful of the fact that not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me. Finally a chevron of Impala jets left a smoke trail of the black, red, green, blue and gold of the new South African flag.

• Awe- amazed
• Spectacular- beautiful in a dramatic and an eye-catching way
• Array- an impressive display
• Troop- soldiers or armed forces
• Precision- accuracy
• Bedecked- decorate
• Unmindful- not conscious or aware
• Chevron- a pattern in the shape of a V
• Trail- series; chain

Immediately following the newly elected President's address to the audience, an impressive display of fighter jets, helicopters, and soldier transporters lifted everyone's heads in the sky. It represented both perfection and the military's respect and obedience to the free country. The high commanders, who have received medals for their bravery, saluted and pledged their loyalty as well. Mandela mentions that he was well aware that the commanders who were now saluting him would have arrested him under the previous rule because he was considered a criminal during the oppressive white supremacy. Finally, the air show concluded with the formation of the South African flag in the sky from smoke beneath the jets.

The day was symbolized for me by the playing of our two national anthems, and the vision of whites singing ‘Nkosi Sikelel –iAfrika’ and blacks singing ‘Die Stem’, the old anthem of the Republic. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem they once despised, they would soon know the words by heart.

• Symbolized- be a symbol of
• Lyrics- the words of a song
• Despised- hated, had a very low opinion of

The author recalls the day as the playing of two national anthems of the country, one for whites and one for blacks. On that day, no one knew the words to the blacks' anthem, but Mandela was confident that everyone would soon learn this anthem that they had once despised.

On the day of the inauguration, I was overwhelmed with a sense of history. In the first decade of the twentieth century, a few years after the bitter Anglo-Boer war and before my own birth, the white-skinned peoples of South Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned peoples of their own land. The structure they created formed the basis of one of the harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has ever known. Now, in the last decade of the twentieth century, and my own eighth decade as a man, that system had been overturned forever and replaced by one that recognized the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin.

• Overwhelmed- have a strong emotional effect
• Erected- build; construct
• Racial domination- when people of one race have power over another race
• Inhumane-cruel, brutal
• Overturned- reverse.

On the day of the inaugural ceremony, the author reflected on the days when this entire apartheid system first emerged. It resulted in inequity and poor treatment of people with dark skin. They were denied their most basic fundamental rights. As a result, one of the most brutal and inhumane societies on the planet was born. This started long before he was born. This system created an environment of extreme cruelty and injustice for a specific segment of the community. Now, in his eighth decade as a man, he and countless others have changed the entire system to treat all humans as humans, regardless of colour, caste, gender, or age.

That day had come about through the unimaginable sacrifices of thousands of my people, people whose suffering and courage can never be counted or repaid. I felt that day, as I have on so many other days, that I was simply the sum of all those African patriots who had gone before me. That long and noble line ended and now began again with me. I was pained that I was not able to thank them and that they were not able to see what their sacrifices had wrought.

• Unimaginable- difficult or impossible to imagine
• Patriots- a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies

This equal and free country was made possible by the sacrifices of countless other men and women who fought their entire lives for this day. The author wishes he could thank them all, but they did not live to see the outcome of their bravery. Nelson Mandela derived his courage and strength from all of these people and wishes to make them proud.

The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound hurt. But the decades of oppression and brutality had another, unintended, effect, and that was that it produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes of our time* — men of such extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity that their like may never be known again. Perhaps it requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds.

• Apartheid- a policy or system of segregation on grounds of race
• Profound- very great or intense
• Unintended- not planned or meant

Many people have been scarred by the oppression policy, and it will take a long time for them to recover. The author mentions that while this difficult period had its negative consequences, it also exposed a number of strong and courageous men who stood up and raised their voices. As a result, it took that level of unjust treatment to produce such great heroes. He claims that while South Africa is rich in minerals and gems, its greatest strength is its people.

It is from these comrades in the struggle that I learned the meaning of courage. Time and again, I have seen men and women risk and give their lives for an idea. I have seen men stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defies the imagination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

• Comrades- a colleague or a fellow member of an organization
• Resilience- the ability to deal with any kind of hardship and recover from its effects
• Defies- refuse to obey
• Triumph- great victory or achievement

Nelson Mandela drew strength to fight injustice from all of the great nationalists he mentioned above, who risked their lives for freedom and tolerated ill-treatment but never gave up fighting. He discovered that "courage" did not imply the absence of fear, but rather the ability to overcome fear. The man who overcomes his fear is referred to as brave.

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People 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. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

• Grimmest- very serious or gloomy
• Glimmer- shine faintly with a wavering light
• Pushed to our limits- pushed to the last point in our ability to bear pain
• Reassure- say or do something to remove the doubts

One is taught by society to despise people because of their skin colour, age, gender, or religion. No one is born with a hatred for others. According to the author, if people can be taught hatred, they can also be taught love and brotherhood. Mandela would see a smidgeon of humanity and kindness in one of the guards during their most trying times in prison, and that was enough to keep him going. He believes that human goodness can be suppressed but never eliminated.

In life, every man has twin obligations — obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community, his country. In a civil and humane society, each man is able to fulfil those obligations according to his own inclinations and abilities. But in a country like South Africa, it was almost impossible for a man of my birth and colour to fulfil both of those obligations. In South Africa, a man of colour who attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated. In South Africa, a man who tried to fulfil his duty to his people was inevitably ripped from his family and his home and was forced to live a life apart, a twilight existence of secrecy and rebellion. I did not in the beginning choose to place my people above my family, but in attempting to serve my people, I found that I was prevented from fulfilling my obligations as a son, a brother, a father and a husband.

• Obligations- a duty or a commitment
• Civil- courteous and polite
• Inclination- natural tendencies of behaviour
• Inevitably- unavoidably
• Twilight- half-light, semi-darkness
• Secrecy- the action of keeping something secret
• Rebellion- the action or process of resisting authority, convention or control

According to the author, every human being has a responsibility to both his or her family and society. Under normal circumstances, a person can maintain a balance between the two, but it was never easy in countries like South Africa. When a person of colour stood up for his society, he was arrested and removed from his family, preventing them from fulfilling both responsibilities. Mandela did not prioritise his people over his family at first, but it was only later that he realised that by being present for his people, he was jeopardising his obligations to his own family.

I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free — free in every way that I could know. Free to run in the fields near my mother’s hut, free to swim in the clear stream that ran through my village, free to roast mealies under the stars and ride the broad backs of slow-moving bulls. As long as I obeyed my father and abided by the customs of my tribe, I was not troubled by the laws of man or God. It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first, as a student, I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a young man in Johannesburg, I yearned for the basic and honorable freedoms of achieving my potential, of earning my keep, of marrying and having a family — the freedom not to be obstructed in a lawful life.

• Stream- a small, narrow river
• Mealies- a maize plant
• Abided- obeyed
• Boyhood- the state or time of being a boy
• Illusion- a false idea or belief
• Transitory- not permanent
• Yearned- have an intense feeling or longing for something

The author did not plan to oppose the apartheid system from an early age. He grew up in South Africa just like any other kid. He only had to follow his father's rules or the customs of his tribe. As he grew older and became more aware of how people of colour are treated, he decided to take a stand. He had an internal desire for freedom, first for himself (staying out late, etc.) and later for a basic life not just for himself, but for everyone. In Johannesburg, they had to fight for a peaceful marriage, a family, and basic amenities that everyone has access to where there is law and order.

But then I slowly saw that not only was I not free, but my brothers and sisters were not free. I saw that it was not just my freedom that was curtailed, but the freedom of everyone who looked like I did. That is when I joined the African National Congress, and that is when the hunger for my own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people. It was this desire for the freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and selfrespect that animated my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk. I am no more virtuous or self-sacrificing than the next man, but I found that I could not even enjoy the poor and limited freedoms I was allowed when I knew my people were not free. Freedom is indivisible; the chains on anyone of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

• Curtailed- reduce; impose a restriction on
• Dignity- the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect
• Frightened- afraid or anxious
• Monk- a member of a religious community of men typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
• Virtuous- having or showing high moral standards
• Indivisible- unable to be divided or separated

Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) after realising that his basic rights were being robbed not only of him, but of all those who looked like him. He was driven by a desire to liberate his people from injustice. This fire transformed the author from a scared to a brave man, from a lawyer to the one breaking the law, from a family man to a man without a home, and from a lively man to a monk. It was the realisation that he and his people had limited freedom that transformed him into a selfless man, as opposed to before. He believes that freedom cannot be divided. Taking it away from some meant taking it away from everyone, which meant taking it away from the author.

I knew that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

• Prejudice- a strong dislike without any good reason

He mentions that the need to liberate the oppressor is just as great as the need to liberate the oppressed because the oppressor is bound by the shackles of hatred. He bears the weight of all the people he has tormented, as he bears the curses of all their families. He becomes a business prisoner for taking away someone else's freedom and making them a prisoner. As a result, he has been stripped of his humanity and must be freed.

About the Author

Nelson Mandela was a great hero who gave black South Africans their freedom. On July 18, 1918, he was born in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, South Africa's Cape province. He fought against South Africa's 'apartheid' regime, which believed in racial segregation. He was imprisoned in South Africa for more than thirty years. When his party won democratic elections in 1994, he became South Africa's first black president. This passage appears in Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. It tells the storey of the glorious struggle for freedom waged by South African blacks against the apartheid regime.