Anou koz parol-17

A special tribute to Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his 108th birthday and International Nelson Mandela Day

In November 2009, the United Nations decreed July 18 as International Nelson Mandela Day, the anniversary of his birth. In the past, Anou Koz Parol has already had the opportunity to pay tribute to the giant that Africa has produced in two of its previous students: edition 81 and edition 100, both, in 2013, the year of his death. In our edition today, we wished to take up some of the things we have already mentioned in these two editions, and put them in perspective today to allow the younger generation to be inspired by the life of the African who has been elevated today to the rank of the heritage of humanity. We will also reproduce here the text Amandla (which means "strength" or "power"), which Bam Cuttayen produced in 1986 on his album "Children of the Earth". The text was a tribute to Nelson Mandela, at a time when he was still in prison.Â

1918 : Birth of Rolihlahla which literally means « mess-up »

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, alias “ Madiba ”, was born on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, a village in South Africa. Interestingly, in the Xhosa language, Rolihlahla, his real first name, means « troublemaker ».  According to available historical information, Nelson Mandela came from a royal family. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was the village chief of Mvezo. But because of differences between him and the colonial authorities, he lost his title and had to be exiled to Qunu, another South African village. [..] Â

1925: Beginning of his schooling, where he receives his English first name âNelsonâ

It was in 1925, at the age of 7, that Mandela began his schooling, and it was in the school he attended at that time that he got his first name Nelson. At that time, it was common practice in South Africa for schoolteachers to give an English first name to their students once they entered school.Â

1944: The beginning of his fight against apartheidÂ

In 1944, Nelson Mandela joined the ANC (African National Congress) which was leading a struggle against the political domination of the white minority and racial segregation practiced in South Africa. As a lawyer, he began to take part in fights against racist laws passed by the government of the day. After the victory of the National Party (which included only Afrikaners, ie « Whites ») in the 1948 general election, a new policy of racial segregation, more severe than the previous one, began to take place. People will call this new system: «ÂApartheid ».Â

1960:  Cooking in Sharpeville

In the wake of the repressive laws that were part of apartheid policy, the South African government outlawed the ANC in 1960. The year was also marked by the Sharpeville massacre, in which 69 people (including eight women and 10 children) were shot in the back, when police opened fire on a crowd of 5,000 anti-apartheid protesters. From these events, Mandela's peaceful struggle against apartheid would be transformed; he would foundUmkhonto we Sizwe, the military branch of the ANC in 1961. This branch would lead sabotage campaigns against facilities