Conflicting reports about the former president’s recovery may have a deeper reason.
Nelson Mandela is one of the most admired men on earth. The former president of South Africa was a focus of global activism during his 27-year imprisonment for working against his nation’s apartheid government, and as president he was instrumental in repairing the terrible damage that government had wreaked on the people of South Africa, creating a peaceful transition some had thought impossible.
Today, the 94-year-old Mandela is hospitalized with a serious lung condition, and conflicting reports are emerging about the state of his health. Former president Thabo Mbeki has said that Mandela’s condition is improving and there is every reason to be optimistic. Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting an ambulance breakdown that delayed Mandela’s treatment, and CBS News says that their sources describe Mandela as unresponsive and in grave condition.
Mandela is an old man; born shortly before the end of the First World War, and unquestionably in the twilight years of a long and successful life. It is not impossible that he may be in a final decline. It is also not impossible that he is on the mend and will make a full recovery. If the latter is the case, then why would Mbeki say otherwise? The answer, if true, lies in the responsibility of a president and what Mandela represents to the people of the whole world, and most of all to the people of South Africa. If it is true that Mandela may be dying, or even if it is believed to be true, it could cause widespread disruption not only to the financial markets, but to the political balance in South Africa and elsewhere. Civil unrest wouldn’t be out of the question.
A national and international symbol like Nelson Mandela is, in a sense, a load-bearing structure. Much depends on him and how he is perceived. If he is in decline, that is news that any responsible government would want to handle carefully and responsibly, for the good and the safety of the very people that Nelson Mandela has always fought for. It is to be hoped that he will make a full recovery, but whether that’s true or not, the discretion of the South African government makes perfect sense.
Photo—Schalk van Zuydam/AP
President Mbeki? 1 he’s not the current president 2. He never spoke of Mandela’s condition. Get proper facts before posting an article. Tltltl some editor in chief you are. SMH!