Please release him, let him go
|Published
Former president Nelson Mandela Former president Nelson Mandela
Durban - Who doesn’t love and admire Nelson Mandela?
Who does not think that without him there could have been bloodshed and civil war when our democracy finally dawned in 1994?
Now, as he lies seriously ill in a Pretoria hospital, a nation prays.
I am writing this on a Sunday morning and have just read a Sunday newspaper headline which says: “It’s time to let him go.”
It’s a comment from a close friend and former Robben Island comrade who says that, while we all pray, it is important that Madiba’s family must release him and put their faith in the hands of God.
On radio stations, many have also expressed their opinions, saying that Mandela, who is 95 next month, has lived a long and amazing life, but in the last few years has suffered deteriorating health, with numerous stays in hospital.
So I ask readers today: Is it not time to ask God (or whatever you believe in) to stop this man’s suffering and let him rest in peace?
Madiba has not made a public appearance or utterance since 2010. But there has been no need for him to do so, as he lived out his twilight years in his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape, plus spent time at his home in Houghton in Johannesburg.
His legacy will surely live on. His inspiring speeches are still in our minds.
He is still the spiritual leader of this country, and when he dies there will be a natural and necessary outpouring of grief, mourning and remembrance. Every newspaper and TV station in the world will be filled with tributes.
But, as after any death of a loved figure, I hope South Africa and the world will mourn, and then really celebrate his life.
I wrote recently about a friend’s funeral I attended, and although there were many tears and heavy hearts, the mood was lifted when a video was shown depicting the happy moments and achievements of this man and his family.
Of course, I can understand a family and Madiba’s loved ones clinging on and hoping for just one more day, one more month, one more year with their beloved hero and father, husband, grandfather.
But aren’t they – or we – being selfish? I know many won’t agree with my views, but in the case of my own father, who eventually succumbed to Alzheimer’s after a five-year battle, it was a merciful release for my sister and me when he finally passed away.
Although his mind had long gone and he was in no pain, he had no quality of life. My US-based sister, who had the task of looking after him in his final years, also realised it was time to let him go.
I felt the same way, thankful he had led a long and loving life. He was the best father a child could have wished for.
In Mandela’s case, his mind, as far as we know, is still strong, but he must be tired and perhaps realise that the pain and suffering he is going through is becoming unbearable – although we all know he will fight to the end.
We should bear that in mind when we think of him and say our prayers.
***
On a happier note, the way Bafana Bafana played on Saturday in a World Cup qualifying game, it was almost as if they were dedicating it to our former president, even though I imagine he was too ill to watch or worry about the result.
To see the boys playing good football was a revelation, despite a nightmare week in which they were holed up at an airport owing to a cancelled flight, and then had a terrible six-hour journey by bus to get to their destination.
Gordon Igesund has clearly shown he knows how to motivate the players, and the goal scored by Siphiwe Tshabalala was, I think, even better than that cracking goal he scored in Bafana’s first match in the 2010 World Cup. It was world-class.
But there is still a long road to travel. This weekend, we need to beat Ethiopia to stand any chance of topping our group, and then we have to beat Botswana at home, which should be far easier.
As for the Proteas, they have a must-win match against Pakistan in England today in the Champions Trophy.
Let’s hope they draw inspiration from Bafana Bafana’s superb performance.
* Michael Tarr’s Lift the Covers column appears in the Daily News every Monday.
Daily News