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HELLO AND WELCOME TO A SPECIAL EDITION OF ON ASSIGNMENT, AS WE LOOK BACK ON THE LIFE
OF FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT AND ANTI-APARTHEID ICON NELSON MANDELA.
THE MAN KNOWN AFFECTIONATELY AS MADIBA, OR TATA, DIED ON DECEMBER 5TH AT THE AGE OF 95.
WE'LL TALK WITH VOA PROGRAM HOSTS AND REPORTERS ABOUT MANDELA'S GROUNDBREAKING POLITICAL LEGACY.
WE WILL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT MR. MANDELA'S IMPACT ON THE YOUNG, HIS PLACE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S
SPORTS HISTORY AND MORE.
OUR SPECIAL EPISODE ON THE LIFE OF NELSON MANDELA STARTS RIGHT NOW.
MY VERY FIRST POLITICAL ACTION, THE FIRST THING I EVER DID THAT INVOLVED AN ISSUE OR
POLICY OR POLITICS, WAS A PROTEST AGAINST THE APARTHEID. LET US PAUSE AND GIVE THANKS
THAT NELSON MANDELA LIVED, A MAN WHO TOOK HISTORY IN HIS HANDS.
[[HOST: ALEX VILLARREAL [[AV]], NDIMYAKE MWAKALYELYE [[NM]]
NELSON MANDELA LEAVES BEHIND A VAST POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS LEGACY. HE IS ADMIRED IN
SOUTH AFRICA AND AROUND THE WORLD FOR LEADING THE INTENSE STRUGGLE TO END SOUTH AFRICA'S
OPPRESSIVE SYSTEM OF RACIAL SEGREGATION, KNOWN AS APARTHEID. HE SPENT 27 YEARS IN PRISON
FOR HIS OPPOSITION TO WHITE MINORITY RULE, AND EMERGED TO BECOME SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST
BLACK PRESIDENT IN 1994.
NOW I'M JOINED NOW BY NDIMYAKE MWAKALYELYE, LEAD REPORTER ... HELLO NDIMYAKE, AND WELCOME
TO THE SHOW. SHE IS THE LEAD REPORTER AND ANCHOR-AT-LARGE FOR AFRICA 54, VOA'S DAILY
ENGLISH TV PROGRAM TO AFRICA. NOW DIMI, YOU ARE LIVING HERE IN THE U.S., REPORTING FROM
HERE, BUT YOU ARE FROM TANZANIA YOURSELF. GREW UP IN ZIMBABWE, AND SO OF COURSE ISSUES
REGARDING THE AFRICAN CONTINENT ARE STILL VERY CLOSE FOR YOU. HOW HAVE YOU RESPONDED
TO THIS OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM FIGURES AROUND THE WORLD AT NELSON MANDELA'S
PASSING?
I HAVE TO SAY I KNEW THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT BUT I HAVE TO SAY
I'M ASTOUNDED BY THE EXTENT OF IT. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU THINK, RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK, FOUR
U.S. PRESIDENTS ARE IN SOUTH AFRICA IN ADDITION TO ABOUT 100 I BELIEVE TOP OFFICIALS FROM
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. AND JUST NEVER MIND JUST THE COMMON PEOPLE. THIS
MAN JUST SEEMED TO HAVE HAD SUCH AN IMPACT ON SUCH A PERSONAL LEVEL TO SO MANY PEOPLE.
AND I THINK MORE AND MORE AS PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO HEAR ABOUT HIM, THEY ARE STARTING TO FEEL
AND UNDERSTAND WHY HE HAS THIS PERSONA THAT ATTRACTS PRESIDENTS AND QUEENS AND LEADERS
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. SO THE SURPRISE IS JUST THAT IT'S JUST MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED
BUT I AM DEFINITELY I WAS ALWAYS SURE THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A BIG MOMENT. AND I THINK
A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW THAT TOO.
SPEAKING OF THAT PERSONAL IMPACT THAT HE'S HAD FOR YOU BEING AFRICAN YOURSELF. HOW WOULD
YOU DESCRIBE HIS IMPACT ON YOUR OWN LIFE? AND THEN ALSO AMONG PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT JUST
SOUTH AFRICAN, BUT JUST AFRICANS AS A WHOLE?
WELL THE SADDEST THING IS I NEVER GOT TO MEET HIM. WHICH I KNOW IS TRUE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD. BUT I FEEL LIKE I KNOW HIM. AND THAT IS WHAT I FIND THAT SO MANY PEOPLE
ARE SAYING. I'VE MET SO MANY SOUTH AFRICANS, MANY WHO HAVE NOT MET HIM DIRECTLY OR TOUCHED
HIM, BUT SOMEHOW HAD IMPACT, YOU KNOW? AND THE SAME IS TRUE, GROWING UP IN ZIMBABWE,
BEING IN TANZANIA. OF COURSE MY FIRST REAL STRONG KNOWLEDGE OF APARTHEID WAS THROUGH
SOME OF THE SOUTH AFRICANS WHO WERE LIVING IN ZIMBABWE AT THE TIME WHO WERE ESCAPING
THE APARTHEID'S REGIME, AND THEY JUST SPOKE SO HIGHLY OF THIS MAN, AND WHEN I STARTED
UNDERSTANDING, MYSELF, I FELT LIKE YOU KNOW HE WAS SOMEBODY TO BE REVERED, SOMEBODY TO
BE ADMIRED. YOU KNOW, LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID, IT MAKES HIM A BETTER MAN. IT MAKES
ME A BETTER WOMAN, FOR SURE.
YOU TALK ABOUT FEELING LIKE YOU KNEW HIM. HOW DID YOU REACT WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THAT
HE HAD PASSED?
WELL I WAS HERE AT WORK AND I JUST HEARD IT DOWN THE HALLWAY, "MANDELA'S DEAD," OR "MANDELA
DIED!" AND I WAS ON THE PHONE AND I JUST FOUND MYSELF ALMOST ABOUT TO BREAK DOWN AND CRY.
I DON'T KNOW WHY IT JUST HIT ME SO PERSONALLY YOU KNOW. OF COURSE EVERYBODY KNEW IT WAS
GOING TO HAPPEN, HE HAS BEEN SICK FOR A WHILE, AND IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT FOR ME
I GUESS IT WAS A SENSE OF OH MY GOSH THE WORLD HAS LOST SOMETHING YOU KNOW LIKE GLUE. HE
WAS LIKE THIS GLUE THAT I FELT FOR ONE EVEN AS HE WAS IN THE BACKGROUND, REALLY KEPT SOUTH
AFRICA TOGETHER. AND EVEN AS HE WAS IN THE BACKGROUND REALLY KEPT THE WORLD TOGETHER
BECAUSE EVERY TIME SOMEONE REFERRED TO MANDELA IT WAS ALMOST LIKE YOU KNOW JUST THIS SENSE
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. SO IT HIT ME IN A WAY THAT SURPRISED ME ACTUALLY BUT AGAIN LIKE I SAID,
THE MORE I KEEP HEARING ABOUT HIM, I UNDERSAND WHY.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT MANDELA AND HIS STORY THAT YOU THINK CONTRIBUTES TO HIM BEING SUCH A
POWERFUL SYMBOL FOR PEOPLE LIKE US ALL OVER THE WORLD?
AS I KEEP HEARING IT, AS I KEEP DIRECTLY HEARING FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE MET HIM AND HOW YOU WALKED
INTO A ROOM AND APPARENTLY JUST FELT THAT A POWERFUL MAN WALKED IN, EVEN THOUGH HE HIMSELF
WAS SO HUMBLE. THAT IS IT, HIS HUMILITY, HIS SENSE OF COMPASSION. HIS SENSE OF FORGIVENESS,
THE NEED TO FORGIVE, THE NEED TO RECONCILE. AFTER 27 YEARS OF WHICH HE SERVED UNDER A
VERY BRUTAL YOU KNOW PRISON SYSTEM, WHERE HE WAS MADE TO DO A LOT OF HARD LABOR, WE
WAS EVEN FORBIDDEN FROM GOING TO BURY HIS CHILDREN WHO HAD DIED WHILE HE WAS THERE.
AND JUST AT THE END OF THE DAY BEING ABLE TO STILL ONCE HE WAS OUT INVITE THEM TO HIS
INAUGURATION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY MAKE THEM FEEL THAT THEY WERE WELCOME AND NOT THAT THEY
WERE THERE TO BE TAUNTED AND MADE TO FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW I'M GOING TO SHOW THE WORLD.
IT WAS INTERESTING HOW HE GAVE IT, AND IT WAS INTERESTING HOW PEOPLE RECEIVED IT. THERE
WAS THAT SENSE OF GENUINESS.
ABSOLUTELY, AN UNBELIEVABLE LIFE AND LEGACY THAT MANDELA HAS LEFT US WITH NOW. THANK YOU
SO MUCH DIMI WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON. AGAIN NDIMYAKE MWAKALYELYE REPORTER AND
ANCHOR FOR VOA'S AFRICA 54 PROGRAM THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY.
THANKS FOR INVITING ME.
NELSON MANDELA IS THE FIGURATIVE FATHER OF SOUTH AFRICA, BUT HE IS THE LITERAL FATHER
OF SIX CHILDREN. AND HE HAD 17 GRANDCHILDREN, INCLUDING KWEKU MANDELA, WHO WAS BORN WHEN
HIS GRANDFATHER WAS STILL IN PRISON. KWEKU MANDELA WAS IN WASHINGTON EARLIER THIS YEAR,
AND HE STOPPED BY VOA TO TALK ABOUT HIS FAMOUS GRANDFATHER. VOA'S CAROLYN PRESUTTI HAS THE
STORY.
KWEKU MANDELA DIDN'T KNOW HIS GRANDFATHER'S HISTORY WHEN HE FIRST MET HIM AT AGE FOUR.
HE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HIS STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID AND HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE AFRICAN
NATIONAL CONGRESS THAT LED TO 27 YEARS IN PRISON.
KWEKU VISTED HIS GRANDFATHER HERE, DURING HIS FINAL YEAR OF ARREST AT WHAT WAS THEN
KNOWN AS THE VICTOR VERSTER PRISON. IT WAS THE ONLY TIME THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWED FAMILY
INSIDE MR. MANDELA'S ROOMS.
"THEY HAD CARTOONS ON THE TV, AND HE IMMEDIATELY WALKED IN AND SAID, IS THIS MY GRANDSON?'
AND OFFERED US HOT CHOCOLATE."
KWEKU SAYS HIS GRANDFATHER IMMEDIATELY CHARMED HIS GRANDCHILDREN. AND, WHEN HE GOT OUT OF
PRISON... ...THOSE YOUNG RELATIVES BECAME HIS TEACHERS.
"THERE WAS SUCH A GULF FROM WHEN HE WENT TO PRISON, THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS MOBILE
TELEPHONES OR COLOR TV OR TVS AT ALL. SO HE CAME OUT, AND HE HAD TO LEARN THESE THINGS
PRETTY QUICKLY."
KWEKU SAYS HIS GRANDFATHER'S LEGACY IS HERE IN QUNU ((COO-NEW)) SOUTH AFRICA. IT'S WHERE
MR. MANDELA GREW UP -- TENDING CATTLE IN THIS SMALL VILLAGE. HE ALSO RETIRED IN QUNU.
KWEKU SAYS NELSON MANDELA'S LIFE DEMONSTRATES THE POTENTIAL WE ALL HAVE.
"ONE THING THAT'S ALWAYS FASCINATED ME ABOUT MY GRANDDAD'S STORY IS HOW A RURAL COUNTRY
BOY TRANSFORMS HIMSELF TO BECOME THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT AND BLACK PRESIDENT OF SOUTH
AFRICA. AND THAT KIND OF SHOWS ME THAT ANY INDIVIDUAL, REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND
OR WHERE THEY COME FROM, CAN HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY THEY LIVE IN AND THE
WORLD AT LARGE."
KWEKU MANDELA IS COMPLETING A DOCUMENTARY ON HIS GRANDFATHER -- EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED
BY THE END OF THE YEAR. CAROLYN PRESUTTI, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON.
AND COMING UP NEXT IN OUR SPECIAL EPISODE - MY CO-HOST IMRAN TALKS WITH VOA'S JACKSON
MVUNGANYI ABOUT NELSON MANDELA'S IMPACT ON THE YOUTH. YOU'RE WATCHING ON ASSIGNMENT.
SOME 60-THOUSAND SOUTH AFRICANS GATHERED ON DECEMBER 10TH TO BID FAREWELL TO ANTI-APARTHEID
ICON NELSON MANDELA. THE EVENT IN THE RAIN AT A JOHANNESBURG SOCCER STADIUM BROUGHT TOGETHER
DIGNITARIES AND CELEBRITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD AS WELL AS ORDINARY SOUTH AFRICANS WHO
BRAVED LONG WAITS AND BAD WEATHER TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE MAN EVERYONE CALLS MADIBA. MR. MANDELA'S
IMPACT ON AFRICA WILL BE FELT FOR A LONG TIME, PERHAPS MOST NOTABLY BY YOUNG PEOPLE AND I'M
JOINED TODAY BY JACKSON MVUNGANYI, CO-HOST OF UPFRONT, A FAST PACED VARIETY SHOW FOR
YOUNG AFRICANS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME. WHAT DO YOU THINK NELSON MANDELA MEANT
FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF AFRICA?
WELL, NELSON MANDELA REPRESENTED A PERIOD OF RESILIENCE FOR MANY YOUNG AFRICANS, NOT
JUST SOUTH AFRICANS AND HE CONTINUES TO BE THAT SYMBOL OF THE PERSON WHO PERSEVERED AND
AND IS A MAN OF CIRCUMSTANCES. REMEMBER HE HAD TO FACE A REGIME THAT WAS NOT HOLDING
BACK IN TERMS OF ITS POWER AND ITS ABILITY TO CRUSH ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST LIKE NELSON
MANDELA. SO, YOUNG PEOPLE IN THESE VERY CHALLENGING TIMES RIGHT NOW ON THE CONTINENT, ALL OVER
THE CONTINENT LOOK AT MANDELA AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION IN MANY WAYS.
IN YOUR PROGRAM UPFRONT, YOU AND YOUR CO-HOST, WHAT KIND OF REACTION ARE YOU GUYS GETTING?
WELL, THERE'S A SADNESS REALLY THAT THAT HE HAS PASSED BUT WE SAW THIS COMING. AND, BUT
ALSO, IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE IMAGERY A, AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE WE'VE SPOKEN TO ON
THE SHOW, THERE'S A CELEBRATION. A CELEBRATION THAT WE'RE ALIVE, REALLY, FRANKLY AS YOU KNOW,
WE LIVED ON THE PLANET AT THE SAME TIME AS A GREAT INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE VERY
FEW MANDELA'S THAT WILL LIVE DURING OUR LIFETIME AND HE'S ONE IN A MILLION. AND, SO THEY ARE
VERY HAPPY THAT THEY WERE AROUND, THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE WHAT HE DID AND THEY'RE ALSO HAPPY
THAT SOME OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS THAT HE FOUGHT FOR ARE ENJOYING SOME OF THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS
RIGHT NOW. IT'S A MUCH MORE, THERE'S LESS, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT YOU
CAN SEE THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM FOR SOCIAL MIGRATION IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING
JOBS, GETTING EDUCATION, A HAVING SOME MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THINGS THAT NELSON MANDELA FOUGHT FOR.
CONSIDERING THAT HE'S GONE THROUGH A LOT IN HIS LIFE WHAT KIND OF ROLE MODEL DO YOU THINK
HE CAN BE FOR NOT JUST LEADERS IN AFRICA BUT AROUND THE WORLD.
WELL, NELSON MANDELA IS A LEADER THAT WANTS TO BE EMULATED. AND I SAY WANTS TO BE EMULATED
BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY LEADERS ACROSS THE AFRICAN CONTINENT WHO WANT TO ATTACH THEIR
NAME TO HIM AND HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. BUT HONESTLY THERE ARE VERY FEW THAT CAN STAND UP TO HIM.
HE SET A STANDARD BUT IT'S REALLY HIGH FOR ANYBODY, ANY OF THE LEADERS WE HAVE IN POWER
RIGHT NOW TO ATTAIN, TO ACHIEVE AND THEY CAN TRY HARD TO GET THERE, BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN
THAT THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF THE CONTINENT CANNOT ASPIRE TO BE THE NEXT
NELSON MANDELAS OF TOMORROW.
YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO THE MEET THE GUY BUT I COULDN'T. WHAT ABOUT YOU, DID YOU
GET A CHANCE TO MEET HIM.
I NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO MEET HIM. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO MEET MADIBA BUT I FEEL LIKE
MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE'VE KIND OF MET HIM SOMEHOW. YOU KNOW, HE WAS PART OF OUR LIVES
IN MANY WAYS WHETHER THROUGH POP CULTURE, WHETHER THROUGH HIS STRUGGLES, THROUGH TV,
THROUGH MOVIES, THE SONGS, THE MUSIC. ON THE SHOW TODAY WE PLAYED MUSIC THAT HAD, THAT
WAS ABOUT NELSON MANDELA SO YOU COULD FILL A WHOLE ALBUM, POP CULTURE ALBUM OF NELSON
MANDELA. THAT'S HOW MUCH THIS MAN WAS REVERED.
AND IN CLOSING IF CAN JUST TELL US WHAT WAS THAT ONE THING ABOUT HIM THAT ATTRACTED PEOPLE
TOWARD HIM? I MEAN THERE'S SOMETHING ON HIS FACE HE HAD THIS CHARISMATIC LOOK
...A VERY CHARISMATIC FELLOW.
WHAT WAS THE CORE OF NELSON MANDELA?
I THINK HE HAD A PERSONA AROUND HIM, A COOLNESS, YOU KNOW. HE'S A MAN WHO HAS ENDURED A LOT
OF SUFFERING BUT HE ALWAYS STILL HAD A SMILE ON HIS FACE, YOU KNOW. HE WAS A MAN WHO WAS
VERY FORGIVING. HE...WHEN WE WATCHED THE MEMORIAL CEREMONY SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE PART
OF THE PROCESS OF PUTTING HIM INTO SO MUCH TROUBLE THAT THEY WERE PART OF THE MEMORIAL
PROCESS, YOU KNOW THE PROCESSION, AND THAT SPEAKS TO THE CHARACTER OF A MAN WHO WAS VERY
WILLING TO FORGIVE AND LOOK PAST EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN DONE TO HIM BECAUSE HE UNDERSTOOD
THE STRUGGLE IN ITS LARGER CONTEXT THAT THE STRUGGLE WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN MANDELA. HE
HAD A VERY FATHERLY QUALITY TO HIM TOO, YOU KNOW. THAT'S WHY THEY CALLED HIM TATA OR MADIBA,
I JUST CALLED HIM MADIBA, YOU KNOW, TEACHER. A MANDELA WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. HE IS
ONE IN A LIFETIME TYPE OF FIGURE THAT WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE LIVED AT THE SAME TIME AS
HIM.
ABSOLUTELY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. JACKSON MVUNGANYI HOST OF THE VERY POPULAR
UPFRONT PROGRAM ON VOA.
THANK YOU.
WE'RE TAKING A BREAK. COMING UP NELSON MANDELA'S IMPACT WAS FELT JUST AS STRONGLY IN SOUTH
AFRICA'S SPORTS WORLD. SONNY YOUNG JOINS ALEX FOR THAT IN A MOMENT. YOU'RE WATCHING ON ASSIGNMENT.
NELSON MANDELA WAS A FIGHTER IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. HE WAS AN AMATEUR BOXER AS A
YOUNG MAN, AND HE CREDITED THE SPORT WITH HELPING INSTILL DISCIPLINE AND THE WILL TO
PERSEVERE THROUGH ADVERSITY. I'M JOINED NOW BY VOA'S SONNY YOUNG, FROM THE SONNY SIDE
OF SPORTS. HI SONNY. HI ALEX. WELL WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT MR. MANDELA'S LIFELONG ASSOCIATION
WITH SPORTS. AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT WAS, WASN'T IT SONNY? I MEAN, HE WAS A STUDENT
OF BOXING BUT HE REALLY HAD A LOVE FOR ALL KINDS OF SPORTS.
HE WAS A BIG SPORTS FAN ALEX. AS YOU MENTIONED HE WAS AN AMATEUR BOXER IN HIS YOUNGER DAYS.
HE WAS ALSO A RUNNER. IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, HE WROTE ABOUT HOW MUCH
BOXING HELPED HIM WITHSTAND THE BLOWS OF HATRED AND IMPRISONMENT. 27 YEARS BEHIND BARS. WHEN
HE CAME OUT HE LOOKED VERY FIT. HE WAS IN HIS EARLY 70S WHEN HE GOT RELEASED FROM PRISON
BUT I THINK HIS LOVE OF FITNESS REALLY HELPED HIM LIVE A LONG LIFE.
IT'S AN INTERESTING ASPECT OF HIS LEGACY TOO BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF US HEAR ABOUT MANDELA
IN ASSOCIATION WITH POLITICS AND APARTHEID BUT TO KNOW THAT HE WAS SUCH A SPORTS FIGURE
AS WELL.
HE ALSO IS CREDITED WITH HELPING SOUTH AFRICA WIN ITS FIRST AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS TITLE
THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN AFRICA FOOTBALL. THEY WON IT A FEW YEARS
AFTER HE WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON. HE INSPIRED THE TEAM JUST LIKE HE INSPIRED THE RUGBY TEAM
IN 1995.
RIGHT, WHICH I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT. SO THERE'S THIS FILM OF COURSE ABOUT THAT CHAMPIONSHIP,
THE RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1995 AND THE FILM STARS MATT DAMON, IT'S CALLED INVICTUS.
AND THAT EVENT IS VERY EMBLEMATIC OF COURSE AS YOU MENTION TO NELSON MANDELA'S POWER TO
LEAD AND UNITE HIS PEOPLE SO WHAT MORE CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?
WELL MATT DAMON PORTRAYED THE CAPTAIN OF THAT 1995 RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, STEVEN
PIENAAR, WHO BY THE WAY WAS AT SOCCER CITY STADIUM FOR MR. MANDELA'S OFFICIAL PUBLIC
MEMORIAL. PIENAAR HE DESCRIBES IT LIKE HE DEVELOPED A VERY UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WITH
MANDELA. THEY DECIDED THAT THIS RUGBY TEAM COULD BE USED TO RECONCILE THE SOUTH AFRICAN
PEOPLE. THE RUGBY TEAM WAS VERY MUCH VIEWED WITH DISDAIN BY THE BLACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
THEY SAW IT AS A LEGACY OF APARTHEID. AND MR. MANDELA THREW HIS SUPPORT BEHIND THE TEAM.
THE SPRINGBOKS IS THE NICKNAME OF THE TEAM. AND IN ONE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL SCENES FROM
THAT MOVIE YOU MENTIONED MR. MANDELA PRESENTS THE TROPHY TO STEVEN PIENAAR AT ELLIS PARK
IN JOHANNESBERG AND THE CROWD JUST WENT CRAZY IN APPRECIATION. HE'S VERY MUCH VIEWED AS
A MAN WHO RECONCILED THE SOUTH AFRICAN PEOPLE OUT OF A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD IN THAT COUNTRY'S
HISTORY.
AND THEN HOW AMAZING TOO THAT HIS MEMORIAL WAS HELD IN THIS SPORT STADIUM.
SOCCER CITY STADIUM, ALSO CALLED THE FNB STADIUM IN JOHANNESBERG. WHERE COINCIDENTALLY HE MADE
WHAT IS REALLY REGARDED AS HIS LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE BEFORE THE 2010 WORLD CUP FINAL
BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE NETHERLANDS. I WAS AT THE STADIUM THAT NIGHT ALEX AND I REMEMBER
EVERY FAN GETTING OUT OF THEIR SEAT TO CHEER MR. MANDELA. HE CAME INTO THE STADIUM IN A
GOLF CART. THEY JUST LOVE TO SEE HIM. HE DIDN'T STAY LONG BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY CHILLY NIGHT
IN JOHANNESBERG BUT IT THINK IT MAY BE APPROPRIATE THAT HE KIND OF SAID FAREWELL AT SOCCER CITY.
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR YOU THE MOMENT. SEEING MR. MANDELA IN PERSON, SUCH AN ICON AND SOMEONE
YOU'VE OF COURSE STUDIED IN HISTORY BOOKS AND YOU'VE REPORTED ON.
WELL I WAS KIND OF UP IN THE NOSEBLEED SECTION. I WASN'T EXACTLY WITHIN ARM'S REACH OF MR.
MANDELA BUT IT WAS STILL A THRILLING MOMENT TO BE THERE IN FRONT OF SUCH A HUGE CROWD
TO SEE ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN OF THIS CENTURY.
RIGHT. WELL FINALLY VERY QUICKLY. THAT 2010 WORLD CUP. HE'S CREDITED WITH BRINGING THE
WORLD CUP TO SOUTH AFRICA. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT?
A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL IF IT WASN'T FOR MR. MANDELA'S LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF SOUTH AFRICA
THAT THE FIRST WORLD CUP EVER STAGED IN AFRICA WOULD HAVE GONE TO PERHAPS MOROCCO WHICH WAS
ANOTHER BIDDING COUNTRY FOR THAT WORLD CUP. BUT YEAH HE'S VERY MUCH SEEN AS THE MAN INSTRUMENTAL
IN BRINGING THE WORLD CUP TO SOUTH AFRICA.
RIGHT. A HUGE IMPACT ON THE WORLD OF SPORTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH SONNY WE REALLY APPRECIATE
YOU COMING ON TODAY. SONNY YOUNG, OF VOA'S SONNY SIDE OF SPORTS.
THANK YOU ALEX.
THANK YOU SONNY. NOW AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON AND RAPID RISE TO THE PRESIDENCY IN
1994, NELSON MANDELA ALSO BECAME AN UNLIKELY FASHION ICON IN SOUTH AFRICA. VOA'S ANITA
POWELL TAKES A LOOK AT THIS MUCH DIFFERENT ASPECT OF MR. MANDELA'S LEGACY.
NELSON MANDELA'S FRIENDS SAY HE ALWAYS HAD AN IMPECCABLE SENSE OF HOW TO MAKE A STATEMENT.
AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON, HE MADE FASHION NEWS WITH HIS GAILY PATTERNED SILK SHIRTS.
THEY ARE NOW CALLED "MADIBA SHIRTS," A REFERENCE TO HIS CLAN NAME. BUT ALSO WORE THE TRADITIONAL
GARB OF HIS XHOSA PEOPLE AT TIMES DURING HIS STRUGGLE, AS A SYMBOL OF DEFIANCE TO THE WHITE-LED
GOVERNMENT. HE LATER SAID HE WAS "LITERALLY CARRYING ON MY BACK THE HISTORY, CULTURE,
AND HERITAGE OF MY PEOPLE." THAT'S THE MISSION OF A FASHION LINE STARTED IN HIS HONOR. IT'S
CALLED "46664" ((FOUR DOUBLE SIX SIX FOUR)) -- AFTER HIS PRISONER NUMBER AT ROBBEN ISLAND,
AND IT AIMS TO FURTHER HIS LEGACY AND HIS SARTORIAL STYLE -- WHILE FUNDING CHARITABLE
PROJECTS ALONG THE WAY, SUCH AS SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES. WAYNE BEBB, CEO OF THE BRAND, SAYS
THE LINE STRIVES TO SPREAD MR. MANDELA'S SPIRIT -- BUT NOT REPLICATE HIS DISTINCTIVE WARDROBE.
"MR MANDELA WAS A UNIQUE DRESSER, HE HAD HIS OWN EXPRESSIVE STYLE. BUT I THINK THE MESSAGE
IN THAT WAS NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT FASHION, BUT THAT MESSAGE WAS THAT YOU CAN EXPRESS
YOURSELF IN ANY WHICH WAY, AND YOU SHOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT DOING THAT. SO OUR
BRAND TAKES THAT ICONIC INSPIRATION OF THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGING AND HIS WORDING, AND
IT TRANSLATES THAT IN EVERY TOUCHPOINT OF THE BRAND."
YOUNG DESIGNERS IN JOHANNESBURG SAY THE COUNTRY'S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT HAS INSPIRED THEM TO
EMBRACE THEIR CULTURE IN THEIR DESIGNS. SANDI MABASA EMPLOYS A STAFF OF LOCAL TAILORS TO
CREATE HER URBAN, YET ETHNIC, LOOK FOR HER FASHION LINE, FABROSANZ. SHE SAYS SHE OFTEN
HEARS ONE REQUEST FROM CUSTOMERS.
"THEY ASK ME, SANDI, CAN YOU DO US MADIBA SHIRTS?' SO I THINK HE HAS, IN A WAY, INFLUENCED
FASHION."
VUSI NXUMALO, THE CO-OWNER OF THE HOUSE OF GRANDE ARISTOCRATS, SAYS THESE BRIGHTLY COLORED
SHIRTS ARE A FRESH, YOUNG INTERPRETATION OF THE MADIBA SHIRT.
"HE HAS IN SOME WAY INFLUENCED US IN TERMS OF FASHION AND WHERE WE COME, FROM THE DARK
DAYS, IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW."
SOUTH AFRICA'S FASHION SCENE IS EVOLVING, BUT CHERISHES ITS TRADITIONAL INFLUENCES.
TODAY'S YOUNG DESIGNERS ARE TAKING THAT FORWARD IN NEW AND COLORFUL WAYS -- AND THEY ALL SAY
THEY OWE THAT FREEDOM TO ONE WELL-DRESSED, BRAVE MAN: NELSON MANDELA. ANITA POWELL, VOA
NEWS, JOHANNESBURG.
AND WITH THAT, WE CONCLUDE THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF ON ASSIGNMENT, DEDICATED TO "TATA" - MODERN
SOUTH AFRICA'S REVERED FATHER.
AND WE WANT TO THANK OUR VOA COLLEAGUES WHO TOOK THE TIME TO SHARE THEIR REFLECTIONS WITH
US.
WE'LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER NEW SHOW, WHEN OUR REPORTERS WILL TALK ABOUT THE RESURGENCE
OF POLIO IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE GROWING WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON OF MASSIVE WILDFIRES.
YOU CAN CATCH ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ON VOANEWS.COM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. WE'LL CATCH
YOU NEXT WEEK.
I HAVE FOUGHT VERY FIRMLY AGAINST BLACK DOMINATION. I CHERISH THE IDEA OF A NEW SOUTH AFRICA WHERE
ALL SOUTH AFRICANS ARE EQUAL.
HE MADE US UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
NEVER AGAIN SHALL IT BE THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND WILL AGAIN EXPERIENCE THE OPPRESSION
OF ONE BY ANOTHER AND SUFFER THE INDIGNITY.
NOW WE MUST DEVELOP DETERMINATION OR ENTHUSIASM TO CARRY HIS SPIRIT.
A MORAL GIANT WHO EMBODIED THE DIGNITY AND THE COURAGE AND THE HOPE AND SOUGHT TO BRING
ABOUT JUSTICE, NOT ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA, BUT I THINK TO INSPIRE MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD.