Nelson Mandela - A Human Being
Since his retirement from the presidency of South Africa, Nelson Mandela has become a champion of human beings all over the world. He is now an advocate for a number of social and human rights organizations and works selflessly for their cause. He has even expressed his open support for the international Make Poverty History Movement that also supports the ONE Campaign.
Mandela has also been nominated for the International Olympic Committee's Celebrate Humanity campaign after he appeared in a television advisement for the Winter Olympics of 2006. Hosted by Gary Player, the Nelson Mandela Invitational charity golf tournament raised over R 20 million for children's charities since its establishment in 2000. It is one of South Africa’s most successful charitable sports and has become an annual special event that benefits both the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and Gary Player Foundation to help children's causes around the world.
On 18 July, 2007, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu joined hands to form a group of world leaders to offer their wisdom and leadership to help the governments of various other countries in solving their problems. This group was convened in Johannesburg and came to be known as ‘the Elders’ on the celebration of his 89th birthday.
While Archbishop Tutu is designated to serve as the Chair of The Elders, the other members of the group including Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus will help him solve the world problems.
According to Mandela, "this group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken. Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair."
Since Mandela was not an avid supported of AIDS program during his tenure as the president of South Africa, after his retirement he made it one of his primary concerns and vowed to fight AIDS. He lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign in 2003, the campaign named after his prison number. Not only this, but he went to Bangkok in July 2004 to speak at the XV International AIDS Conference. Another reason Mandela became so closely associated with the AIDS campaign was his son, Makgatho Mandela, who died of AIDS on 6 January 2005.
He not only took part in national humanitarian causes, but he also acted as a chief negotiator between different nations and his own country too in various political situations. He sealed a peace deal with the warring functions in Burundi, after replacing Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, an African leader of his stature, as chief mediator.
Mandela was also asked to help with a peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Later on, Mbeki, Mandela’s successor took over his role in that war-devastated country that led to first presidential elections there in 2006 in over 40 decades.
Being a true champion of human cause, Mandela did not mince or sweeten his words and even criticized the foreign policy of Bush administration on numerous occasions. He was totally opposed to the war in Iraq and called it a tragedy. He even went to the extent of saying that Bush is undermining the UN. He urged the people of the US as well as all over the world to join hands and protest against this brutal act of the Bush government.
Now Mandela has handed over the reins of the South African government to Thabo Mbeki, who has been fully groomed in the job of looking after the interests of his people. Since 1994, Mandela has been playing his role of a middleman, mediator, and chief negotiator and above all a humanist to work for the human race of this world.
