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https://www.thestar.com/news/world/nelsonmandela.html

Nelson Mandela has died, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a televised address on Thursday.

South Africa's anti-apartheid icon died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, Zuma said.

"Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rohlihla Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation, has departed," Zuma said.

"Our people have lost a father. Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, passion and humanity, earned him their love."

Zuma ordered flags to be flown at half mast and said South Africa's first black president would be given a full state funeral.

Shortly after the news broke, crowds began gathering outside Mandela's Johannesburg home, with people swaying and singing: " Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela. There's no one else like you."

Shock waves also began rippling across the country. When reached on the phone, Mac Maharaj, South Africa's parliamentary spokesman, was shaken.

"I'm not in a position to make any comment yet," he said. "I don't have an answer for you . . . give me a bit of a break."

Condolences are now pouring into South Africa from around the world. In a written statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said "the world has lost one of its great moral leaders and statesmen."

Despite 27 years of captivity, Mandela left prison "with a heart closed to calls for a settling of scores," Harper said.

"Instead, he was filled by a longing for truth and reconciliation, and for an understanding between all peoples," Harper said. "He demonstrated that the only path forward for the nation was to reject the appeal of bitterness. His forbearance was legendary: his magnanimity spared all South Africans incalculable suffering."

In a live address from the White House, United States President Barack Obama also expressed his condolences to Mandela's family. The world "will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again," he said.

Obama spoke of Mandela's far-reaching impact, including on his own life; he recalled studying Mandela's writings as a young man and how the first thing he "ever did that involved an issue or policy or politics was protest against apartheid."

"Today he's gone home and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous, profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," Obama said in a brief and solemn speech.

"He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages."

At the United Nations Security Council, a meeting on the tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda was also paused so that a minute of silence could be held for Mandela.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Mandela was "a giant for justice."

"Nelson Mandela showed what is possible for our world, and within each one of us, if we believe a dream and work together for justice and humanity," Ban said. "Let us continue each day to be inspired by Nelson Mandela's lifelong example to keep working for a better and more just world."

Mandela was hospitalized three times earlier this year: on March 8, March 27 and June 8. Each hospital stay was feared to be his last and family, political supporters, South Africans and millions of admirers around the world prayed that he would rally and recover.

But Mandela was 95, frail and suffering from medical conditions partly brought on by harsh conditions of prison where he was held for 27 years because of anti-apartheid activities (he contracted tuberculosis in jail in 1988).
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The weeks after Mandela's June hospitalization were fraught with controversy and tension as conflicting reports emerged about the state of his health. For a while his condition was described as serious but stable. There was even speculation he would be released.

On June 20, former president Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Mandela in 1999, told a radio station in South Africa that he was "improving." But days later, Mandela's condition deteriorated dramatically to "critical," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told the BBC World Service.

The pressure and uncertainty took its toll. Mandela's eldest daughter Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, an anthropologist, lashed out on the national broadcaster SABC, accusing foreign journalists of racism and behaving like "vultures waiting to devour the last carcass."

"There is a sort of racist element with many of the foreign media," she said, comparing the coverage with the death of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

"As a family, as an African you have to be peaceful and have a sense of decorum at this time," she said. "When Margaret Thatcher was in hospital I didn't see this kind of media frenzy . . . is it because we are in an African country people believe they can't respect any laws of this country?"

Mandela's widow Graca Machel was more conciliatory at the time, issuing a rare statement on June 17 thanking the public for their support.

"The messages have come by letter, by SMS, by phone, by Twitter, by Facebook, by email, cards, flowers and the human voice, in particular the voices of children in schools or singing outside our home," she said. "We have felt the closeness of the world and the deepest meaning of strength and peace."

Mandela was eventually discharged from hospital in September. Little has since been revealed about his health but on Wednesday, his daughter Makaziwe Mandela said on SABC that her father was on his "deathbed."

Across South Africa, people are now experiencing a mixture of reactions to the death of the man affectionately known as Madiba.

Some mourners say it is time to celebrate the achievements of the iconic former South African president. One Johannesburg resident, 31-year-old Hamsa Moosa, said he "wouldn't be free" if not for Mandela. Thumelo Madikwe, a 29-year-old accountant, said Mandela played his role in the world "very well" and that he lived a long life.

Others expressed uncertainty about a future without Mandela.

"It's a big tragedy for a lot of South Africa, people don't have guidance anymore," said Peter Roos, a 20-year-old bartender in Centurion, near Pretoria.

With files from Tonda MacCharles, Stephanie Findlay and Star wire services

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Nelson Mandela dies as South Africa mourns | Toronto Star

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https://www.thestar.com/news/world/nelsonmandela.html Nelson Mandela has died, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a televised address on Thursday. South Africa's anti-apartheid icon died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, Zuma said. "Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rohlihla Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation, has departed," Zuma said.

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Change Agent

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The South African government was white dominated and these particular people were the ones who thought that the slave trade was a good thing and the ones who thought that being white gave you "entitlements." And because they spread this belief amongst the white community in South Africa, they created a closed minded society. The white community thought that they were above the black people, so rather than thinking about what the blacks were wanting, they thought that someone lesser was throwing words they couldn't understand. Nelson wasn't the only one to challenge this beleif, but he was the driving force behind the protests, which he also kept as paceful as he could.

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Nelson Mandella was widely considered a radical change agent because of the way he faught against and at times through, the racial injustice that was in south Africa. He became the face of the anti-apartheid movement worldwide because of his actions agaist the south African apartheid and the white minorities oppresion. The south African government were favoring the whites and giving them priveleges that the native south africans could only dream of, because the apartheid didn't just benifit the whites, but it stamped out any change that the modern world put against it.

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How was his worldviw different from the one he challenged?

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How was his worldviw different from the one he challenged?

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Nelsons idea of a equal society had one main thing different from the apartheid idea. Nelsons idea of an equal society was flexible, and he would accept counsel. Compared to the apartheids idea that it was right and no other idea ever was.

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Why is Mandella considered a radical change agent?

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Why is Mandella considered a radical change agent?

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Nelson mandella was the driving force behind the anti-apartheid movement, but not only that, he also persisted troughout his jail sentence of 29 years, which he served just for being a main figue in the anti-apartheid movement. He persued what was right through thick and thin, and no matter what the old and biased government threw at him, he kept his goal in mind when most would have thrown it all away.

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Nelson Mandella didn't just take risks, but he was punished for his acctions, he spend 29 years in jail just for spreading his idea. But his movement didn't just have risks for him, the reason that he changed his stance from the peaceful protests was because of the Sharpville massacure. It was a peaceful protest, but the police opened fire and killed 69 unarmed peaceful protesters and injured 180 others when they opened fire on the crowd.

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How has his movement made a more open minded thinking country?

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How has his movement made a more open minded thinking country?

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Nelson's anti-apartheid movement wasn't the idea of taking away anyones powers and giving anyone an advantage over another, but rather giving everyone an equally important voice and rights in south africa, one of the final countries to hold onto this out of date beleif that whites were the "supreme" race, rather than racial equallity, that the rest of the world had realised. Also, Nelson didn't want the blacks to have special benifits of to be considered better than other races, but all he wanted was equality, along with the open mindset to make that possible. That open mindset also made other changes in South Africa and neighbouring counties from their out of date and closed minded ways.

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1. Sharpeville, M. (2018). Massacre in Sharpeville - Mar 21, 1960 - HISTORY.com. [online] HISTORY.com. Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massacre-in-sharpeville [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].
2. HISTORY.com. (2018). Nelson Mandela - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com. [online] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].
3. Nelsonmandela.org. (2018). Biography of Nelson Mandela – Nelson Mandela Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].