Friday, December 06, 2013

Free Mandela: the song which reminds us that a great light has gone out


 “When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.”  (Interview for Mandela, 1994)
“It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.”  (South Africa, 7 July 2000) When people are determined they can overcome anything (Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 14, 2006)

~Mandela, like Havel and Hatton, showed us the true meaning of courage and dignity ...Mandela's most inspiring quotes 

The world turned to social media to mourn the passing of Nelson Mandela, the statesman who emerged from 27 years in prison to lead South Africa out of apartheid.
Mandela's death produced more than 3 million tweets in the first two hours after news outlets around the globe reported that the former South African president had died, according to measurement firm Topsy.
Google searches for news about Mandela spiked by 400%, as word spread of Mandela's death at age 95, according to the site's trend data. Tributes to Nelson Rolihlahla MANDELA 1918 - 2013

It was a song on the radio that first told me, alongside millions of other children and teenagers around the world, about Nelson Mandela. “Twenty one years in captivity, shoes too small to fit his feet,” sang Jerry Dammers on Free Nelson Mandela, a hit for the Special AKA in 1984. “His body abused, but his mind is still free. You’re so blind that you cannot see.  Mandela the song that danced its way into history 

"I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended." (From Long Walk to Freedom, 1995)
~ Gina's best birthday present to me was this on Mandela titled Long Walk to Freedom Memories of Mandela

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom opened in a limited release of four theatres in the US last Friday. When the film opens wide on Christmas, it's sure to draw larger crowds moved to remember Mandela. The Weinstein Company's challenge is to not appear to be capitalising on Mandela's passing, but celebrating his life. "One of the privileges of making movies is having the opportunity to immortalise those who have made a profound impact on humanity," Weinstein said in a statement. "We count ourselves unspeakably fortunate to have been immersed in Nelson Mandela's story and legacy. It's been an honour to have been granted such proximity to a man who will go down as one of history's greatest freedom fighters and advocates for justice." Nelson Mandela film shifts from tribute to eulogy