He set aside all family and personal interests, sacrificing the best years of his life for the freedom and well-being of an entire nation. After 27 long years of imprisonment, Mandela returned to the South African community in glory, surrounded by the love of his family and friends. One thing that is rarely mentioned is the romantic life of this great man.
Mandela and Graça Machel married when he was 80 years old.
Born into a Thembu family, Mandela spent his early years in Qunu. At the age of 19 (1937), after his father's death, he was entrusted to the tribal chief for upbringing. At 23, Mandela moved to Johannesburg, where he witnessed the hardships faced by Black South Africans under the oppression of the white minority. Under the apartheid policy, South Africans were divided into three groups: white, Bantu (completely Black), and people of color or Asian descent. Black people were denied the right to vote, had no private property, were not allowed to marry white people, or travel to restricted areas without a passport…
These unjust oppressions angered young Mandela, who joined the anti-apartheid group called the African National Congress (ANC), and collaborated with like-minded Oliver Tambo to open the first black-owned law firm in South Africa.
He married a nurse named Evelyn Mase, with whom he had four children, but they divorced in 1957, as constant conflicts had caused him to neglect his family life. The following year, he married Winnie Madikizela, with whom he had two children.
Thousands of people attended Nelson Mandela's funeral (December 2013).
Shortly after South African police murdered 69 black people during a peaceful protest in Sharpeville on March 21, 1960, Mandela was arrested on charges of treason. In the winter of 1964, at the age of 46, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and imprisoned on Robben Island. The solitude within the prison walls and the arduous labor in the limestone quarries did not shake Mandela's fighting spirit. In 1985, after more than two decades in prison, he once again moved the world when he rejected an offer of release on the condition that he renounce violence.
Five years later, under international pressure, on February 2, 1990, South African President FWDe Klerk announced to Parliament that he would lift the ban on the ANC and release Mandela, who, after nearly 27 years in prison, had become a legend of South Africa. Nine days later (February 11, 1990), amidst the anxious anticipation of millions around the world, Mandela walked out of prison with dignity.
Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)
These developments opened up new prospects for South Africa, with both Mandela and De Klerk receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. A year later, on April 27, 1994, all South Africans, regardless of race or color, went to the polls, and Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. In the spirit of national reconciliation, he nominated former South African President De Klerk as one of his two vice presidents.
Despite his political career reaching its peak, Mandela's family life was more fragile than ever during the 1990s. Nearly 30 years of separation from Winnie had become an immense burden on their relationship. In 1992, amidst public outcry over his wife's infidelity and the political scandals she had caused, Mandela made one of the most difficult decisions of his life: to divorce Winnie. He confided, "For a woman who shared some of the best times of my life with me, who endured and toiled for my freedom, and who bore me two wonderful children, that decision (to divorce) was not easy at all!"
After a period of sadness and loneliness, Mandela found new love at the age of 80 (1998). That was Graça Machel, the widow of the late President of Mozambique, Samora Machel. On Mandela's quiet 80th birthday, Graça decided to live with the then-President of South Africa. The following day, at a birthday party attended by many world-renowned figures, the groom Mandela solemnly introduced his bride, Graça…
In an interview with Oprah magazine, Mandela stated that during their first meeting, he still viewed Graça as the wife of a president he had never met. However, the encounter later changed his perspective. He found Graça to be more mature than himself and a very good mentor in both family life and international relations.
That relationship lasted 15 years. Mandela passed away in 2013 at the age of 95, leaving behind deep admiration and unforgettable memories for the people of South Africa. ( to be continued )
(Excerpt from "Everyday Lives of Famous People Around the World ," recently published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House)
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