Today is a day to remember, it's the day our country changed. On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was finally released from prison, marking the end to apartheid in South Africa. Today is the 20th anniversary of that day. I was just 12 at the time, but I can still remember watching him walking through the gates of Victor Verster prison in Paarl. Victor Verster was where Madiba had spent the last couple years of his prison term, after 27 years in a tiny cage (I've been to see it) on Robben Island. 27 years? That's a lifetime (here's a timeline of his life to date)!I'm not proud of the way white South Africans behaved during the apartheid era and I'm glad that it's over. I'm glad that I can be friends with who I want, that they can come over to my house without the risk of being arrested and beaten for being in a "whites only" community. Apartheid was terrible and I'm embarrassed for how "we" treated our fellow man. Mandela went through what he did for our country, for each and every one of us. He was arrested as a political terrorist for going against the government, when all he was fighting for was equality. And he would've given his life for what he believed in.
I know you are all muttering that some things have not improved with our new government. There are a lot of unfulfilled promises (especially within the underprivileged communities). Crime is a huge problem, it's worse now then it's ever been before, but still, when I think about South Africa and about being a South African, I feel a bubble of pride rising within my chest. I am proud of what has been achieved and of how far we have come.
He's met with presidents, kings, queens, princes and paupers and I doubt there are many people worldwide, who have not heard his story. He treats everyone with the equal respect and he truly is an icon of our times. His name will be in the history books that our kids have to study one day - how lucky are we to have been witness to his story?
Today, thousands will descend on Cape Town (I'm not going, the traffic is going to be chronic in the city) to celebrate Madiba's 20 years of freedom, to remember all that he has done for our country. Tonight is the opening of parliament, also in Cape Town, and Madiba's struggle will again be honoured.
And that's all I have to say. Here are some pics I found on the net:
The prison on Robben Island, with Table Mountain covered in cloud in the background...
This was Madiba's home for 27 years on Robben Island. Arms outstretched, you can nearly touch the window and cell door at the same time...
This picture wasn't taken on the day of his release (he was wearing a suit that day), but this is Mandela behind the gates of Victor Verster...
A free man! Mandela punches the air as he leaves Victor Verster prison... 
Meeting the masses of people there to show their support. Mandela's address to the nation (and the rest of the world) on the day of his release can be read here... 
FW de Klerk with Madiba. FW was the president at the time who made the decision to have Madiba released from prison...
The statue of Madiba outside Victor Verster prison (now the Drakenstein Correctional Centre), which was declared a memorial site yesterday. The statue is of Madiba with his fist raised, as it was when he walked through the gates as a free man (see picture at top of page)...
Madiba as he is, at the age of 91, today. The moral and political icon of our generation...
Thank you! Sue X
