Death Watch
"Tata's (father's) situation is critical. I'm not going to lie. He does not look good... anything is imminent. We still have this hope because when we talk to him, he'd flutter trying to open his eyes.From dawn to dusk silent visitors come to pay their respects, family members admitted entry, as well as political leaders. All enter Pretoria's MediClinic Heart Hospital in a hushed, respectful tone of expectation and sadness at the inevitability of it all. Outside the hospital it is crowded with people waiting for news. People who complain they are not being informed.
"There's sort of a racist element with many of the foreign media, where they just cross boundaries. It's like truly vultures waiting when a lion has devoured a buffalo, waiting there for the last carcasses. That's the image that we have, as a family.
"We don't mind the interest. But I just think it has gone overboard."
Makaziwe Mandela
People who gravely salute the man whom they fondly call the father of South Africa, the heart of the nation they love. People who have been disappointed that Nelson Mandela's African National Congress has never realized the potential for the people of the country that they anticipated. Poverty remains, unemployment is high, violent crime has surged and HIV/AIDS continues to ravage.
None of this they lay at Nelson Mandela's feet, nor should they. He released his country from the lethal pathology of Apartheid, in and of itself an Herculean task. He deserves peace, a rest from the turmoil of all that surrounds him. It is time, he has lived out his lifespan and more. The exceptional care he has been given speaks of his importance to the country, but enough.
"They are trying too hard to keep him alive. I would love them to let nature take its course. I wouldn't dream of doing this to my own mother. He is an old man and deserves to be left in peace", said Kebone Segwai, of Mandela being assisted in his breathing through the use of a ventilator.
Outside the hospital people continue to assemble, to be quietly involved simply through their presence, at the passing of history. Choirs sing as people wait for news. The news is skimpy and confusing; he is improving; he is in critical condition; his condition has improved somewhat; he has suffered a setback; he is somewhat better.
His oldest daughter is resentful of the foreign media coverage, hovering like vultures awaiting news of her father's departed spirit. A choir sings a song titled Wake Up, Why are you Sleeping? The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Pretoria prays, pays his respect. Archbishop Slattery states that in his opinion Nelson Mandela exemplifies "Umbuntu", an African quality of humanity.
He will soon be leaving, and the country will experience an overwhelming paroxysm of grief. That, and fear of what the future may bring. The potential for tribal confrontation is a possibility, some feel. The country's dire economic and social problems within a corrupt leadership gives little cause for hope to many.
Labels: Celebrity, Culture, Custom, Human Relations, South Africa
posted by Pieface @ Friday, June 28, 2013
<< Home