In this day and age it's not common place for a single individual to make themselves remembered in history. In the future people will talk about the United States and the War on Terror, North Korea, and various other countries or policies that have developed over this time. But, individuals who seem larger than history are relatively unknown today. Barack Obama will be touted as the United States' first African American President, but he will not be remembered as a giant of history like, positively, Mahatma Ghandi or, negatively, Josef Stalin.
Passing away at the age of 95, Mandela's legacy endures as the former Â鶹ÊÓƵ African President is credited with abolishing the apartheid system in the country and making it a place of equality. He is a giant amongst history.
However, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ African apartheid regime had actually denoted the African National Congress (ANC), which Mandela was a member of, as a terrorist organization. Between 1948 and 1994, a long battle embroiled many before racial segregation would be ended and during this time Mandela was not seen as the hero he is today.
It was during Mandela's freedom fight that the ANC would be placed onto the terrorist list as countries around the world continued to uneasily support the apartheid regime in place. Margaret Thatcher, a former U.K. Prime Minister, refused to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime, while President Ronald Reagan declared Mandela and the ANC terrorists. The United States did have sanctions imposed upon the Â鶹ÊÓƵ African apartheid government, but found the ANC to be engaging in terrorism.
Mandela became an outlaw. He was a terrorist according to those in power and nicknamed the "Black Pimpernel." He was becoming increasingly interested in guerilla warfare to bring about change and was being hunted by the state. Eventually Mandela was found and arrested for treason and sabotage.
Though prepared to bring change through any means necessary, Mandela would be presented with an option he had hoped for since the beginning of his fight, an alternative solution, political negotiations.
It was during this time, the time when Mandela was essentially a terrorist in the eyes of the government which had been in power that he was added to the U.S. terrorism watch list. However, despite gaining praise from around the world for his work as an anit-apartheid activist and taking up the presidency following his time in jail, he would remain on this watch list until 2008. That is 14 years after being elected to the presidency in Â鶹ÊÓƵ Africa and nine years after he had left his presidential seat.
Though I feel as though Mandela did much good for Â鶹ÊÓƵ Africa finding a way to end the apartheid system and endlessly working towards human rights, it is interesting to note how history wavers. A man who is once considered a terrorist by the world comes to be "the last great liberator of the 20th century," according to U.S. President Barack Obama.
Though he was a great liberator and he eventually brought the end to the apartheid system in Â鶹ÊÓƵ Africa influencing and inspiring many around the world to be better to each other, he wasn't like Ghandi who preached continual non-violence. Mandela was a man of action who wanted basic human rights for everyone and was willing to go about this through any means. At the time he was a terrorist and had the anti-apartheid movement not won he would still be considered as such.
But, the fact that the anti-apartheid movement gained traction and eventually went into political negotiations leading to Mandela becoming president it is interesting to note how even though this is a very positive story about bringing change to an unjust system that the winners of history are the ones' who write it. How someone's point of view leads them to see their version of the truth, which can be a shared belief by many, though contingencies will disagree with this shared truth.
Nelson Mandela is a giant in history and is "the last great liberator of the 20th century," but his story is even more interesting when thinking that only five years ago he was still on the United States' terrorist watch list even as President of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Africa and highly regarded around the world for his fight for human rights.
His story is one that will endure.
