Over the years, I have met many politicians and statesmen who are, or were, household names. Some had impressive careers, others started well and ended as great disappointments. Some were democrats, others dictators; some were bad, others simply mad. Two stand out in my memory, leaders who presided over a positive change in their nations, and, in the manner of their doing so, offered a lesson of lasting value to their people and to the wider world beyond.
One is the late Sheikh Zayed. The other is South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday.
I first heard of Mandela in the late 1960s, when I became involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Britain (AAM), which supported the struggle of the people of South Africa against the heinous system of apartheid, that discriminated against people on the basis of their race. To me, and to others of liberal views, whatever their political affiliation, that was utterly unacceptable.
The AAM advocated both the end of apartheid and support for the African National Congress, ANC, of South Africa. Its best-known figure, then incarcerated in the prison of Robben Island, was Mandela, serving a life sentence imposed in the Rivonia Trial of 10 ANC leaders accused of launching an insurgency against the apartheid government.
In his speech during that trial, Mandela had made a powerful statement of his political credo. It concluded: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle ... I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
I served on the AAM national executive for several years before work brought me to the Middle East and, eventually, to the UAE. I was – and am still – proud to have been involved in its campaigns.
Years later, in 1990, Mandela was released from prison, and a process of democratic transformation began that culminated in his election as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. The next year, he visited the UAE at the invitation of Sheikh Zayed.
He was then one of the most highly respected, and most recognisable, people in the world, acclaimed for his ability to forgive those who had oppressed his people for so long. He and Sheikh Zayed, both wise men, but of widely different backgrounds, hit it off immediately, forging a friendship between the two countries that has deepened in subsequent years.
I remember two stories about his visit. One is that of the amazement of the municipality gardeners working in the early hours as they saw him striding among them for his morning walk, followed by a bevy of aides and security personnel.
The second is how he personally thanked the staff who had served him during his stay in the UAE. One was the laundryman, whom he visited to offer his thanks. As the story goes, the laundryman broke down in tears, saying that, in all of his years at the palace, no guest had ever come to thank him.
There is another tale – an experience of my own.
An old ANC friend of mine was accompanying Mandela on his visit and he and the South African ambassador told him that a former member of the AAM Executive was living in Abu Dhabi. Mandela wanted to see me. As I stuttered my thanks at the honour of meeting him, he stopped me. “No,” he said, “it is my pleasure to meet someone who, when so much of the world was against us, devoted time and effort to supporting the anti-apartheid cause. It is I who should thank you.”
It is difficult to sum up Mandela’s greatness in only a few words. His dedication to freedom, for which he suffered so long; his extraordinary ability to forgive; his humility – it is because of these, and much more besides, that his life offers a lesson in leadership that is of relevance not only to his country and his people, but far beyond.
Many years ago, I was asked to name the person I most wanted to meet. I replied: “I’ve met him – Nelson Mandela.” I mourn his passing, but his life will remain an inspiration when most of the other leaders I have met have faded into obscurity.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
