This was a day that was bound to come soon but when it happened I was shocked especially since I was still in Africa (actually South Africa) on that date.
I have not been staying up to date with current events but I was well aware of the stories surrounding the first President of South Africa. For months Mandela had been in and out of the hospital (this I am sure you all knew). You may have even heard some drama surrounding his family and grandchildren. What you probably did not hear was all the rumors running around South Africa during these months. No one really knew exactly how sick Nelson Mandela was so people first speculated that his family was trying to keep him alive until his 95th birthday. It passed. Then people started saying that the ANC (African National Congress, Mandela's party) wanted him to be alive until the next election for his endorsement. I also heard from some South Africans that rumor had it that the father of the nation had already passed but the family didn't want anyone to know. It's really quite sad hearing all the things people were saying.
I was in South Africa the night he passed and I woke up on the morning of the 6th to a continuous news cycle of Madiba's passing and life story. It was interesting seeing the report on a local South African station which spoke about how he was raised, his involvement in the ANC, and his personal life, and CNN's report which spoke about his time in Robben Island, ending apartheid, and being a father to a nation. Let's just say that South Africans and Americans have very different views on Nelson Mandela's life.
In July I was in Pretoria with a few friends and we decided to visit Pretoria Heart Hospital where Nelson Mandela was staying at the time. There were many people there including police and press. People were leaving cards, posters, and flowers. In honor of his passing I wanted to share a few of these photos with you.
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| There was press everywhere just waiting for some news |
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