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Nelson Mandela long walk to freedom- English- Chapter 2- 10th CBSE- First Flight
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Nelson Mandela has become South Africa’s first Black President after more than three centuries of white rule. Mr Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) party won 252 of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections of South Africa’s history. The inauguration ceremony took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria today, attended by politicians and dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world. “Never, never again will this beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another, ” said Nelson Mandela in his address. … Jubilant scenes on the streets of Pretoria followed the ceremony with blacks, whites and coloureds celebrating together... More than 100,000 South African men, women and children of all races sang and danced with joy.
Apartheid Meaning:
TENTH May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days I had been pleasantly besieged (surrounded by armed forces)) by dignitaries (a person considered to be important because of high rank or office)and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration (a ceremony to mark the beginning or introduction of something)). The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre (an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators)formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria (capital of South Africa). For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy (being superior to all others in authority)and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation (place someone in a new position of authority, especially with ceremony) of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government. On that lovely autumn day I was accompanied by my daughter Zenani.
On the podium (platform on which a person may stand to be seen by an audience), Mr de Klerk was first sworn (given under oath) in as second deputy president. Then Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as first deputy president. When it was my turn, I pledged (commit a person or organization by a promise) to obey and uphold the Constitution (a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed) and to devote myself to the wellbeing of the Republic and its people. To the assembled guests and the watching world, I said: Today, all of us do, by our presence here... Confer (grant) glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary (very unusual or remarkable) human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
We, who were outlaws (ban or make illegal) not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege (a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group) to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all of our distinguished(recognize or treat someone as different) international guests for having come to take possession (the state of having, owning, or controlling something) with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation (the freeing of someone from slavery). We pledge (promise or undertaking) ourselves to liberate (set free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority).
all our people from the continuing bondage (the state of being a slave) of poverty, deprivation (the lack or denial of something considered to be a necessity), suffering, gender and other discrimination (the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex). Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. The sun shall never set on so glorious (having, worthy of, or bringing fame or admiration)a human achievement(achieving something). Let freedom reign (hold royal office). God bless Africa!
A few moments later we all lifted our eyes in awe as a spectacular array (noticeable or dramatic, especially when something is notable because it is so beautiful)of South African jets, helicopters and troop carriers roared in perfect formation over the Union Buildings (the official headquarters of the government of South Africa). It was not only a display of pinpoint precision (extremely fine) and military force, but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy, to a new government that had been freely and fairly elected (people vote to choose a person fairly). Only moments before, the highest generals of the South African defence force and police, their chests bedecked (chests decorate or cover) with ribbons and medals from days gone by, saluted me and pledged their loyalty. I was not unmindful (not conscious or aware) of the fact that not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me.
Finally a chevron (a V-shaped line or stripe, especially one on the sleeve of a uniform indicating rank or length of service) of Impala (antelope) jets (The smoke trail of impala symbolizes the national flag of South Africa) left a smoke trail of the black, red, green, blue and gold of the new South African flag. The day was symbolised (represent)for me by the playing of our two national anthems, and the vision of whites singing ‘Nkosi Sikelel –iAfrika’ and blacks singing ‘Die Stem’, the old anthem of the Republic. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem they once despised (feeling hate), they would soon know the words by heart (learned it so well that you can remember it without having to read it).
On the day of the inauguration with a sense of history. In the first decade of the twentieth century, a few years after the bitter Anglo-Boer war (War was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) and before my own birth, the white-skinned peoples of South Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned peoples of their own land. The structure they created formed the basis of one of the harshest (cruel or severe), most inhumane (without compassion for misery or suffering; cruel), societies the world has ever known. Now, in the last decade of the twentieth century, and my own eighth decade as a man, that system had been overturned (abolish, invalidate)forever and replaced by one that recognised (acknowledge the existence)the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin.
That day had come about through the unimaginable (difficult or impossible to imagine or comprehend) sacrifices of thousands of my people, people whose suffering and courage can never be counted or repaid. I felt that day, as I have on so many other days, that I was simply the sum of all those African patriots (a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors)who had gone before me. That long and noble line ended and now began again with me. I was pained (affected with pain, especially mental pain; hurt or troubled) that I was not able to thank them and that they were not able to see what their sacrifices had wrought (Shaped).
The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound (very great or intense) hurt. But the decades of oppression (prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority)and brutality (savage physical violence; great cruelty)had another, unintended (not planned or meant), effect, and that was that it produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes of our time* — men of such extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity (the quality of being kind and generous) that their like may never be known again. Perhaps it requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds.
It is from these comrades (fellow members) in the struggle that I learned the meaning of courage. Time and again, I have seen men and women risk and give their lives for an idea. I have seen men stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience (the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties) that defies(openly resist or refuse to obey) the imagination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph (a great victory) over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers (take control of a place or) that fear. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest (very serious) times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer (a faint sign of a feeling especially a desirable one)of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure (say something to remove fears of someone)me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished (put an end).
In life, every man has twin obligations (a duty) — obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community, his country. In a civil and humane society, each man is able to fulfil those obligations according to his own inclinations (a person's natural urge to act in a particular way)and abilities. But in a country like South Africa, it was almost impossible for a man of my birth and colour to fulfil both of those obligations. In South Africa, a man of colour who attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated (having minimal contact). In South Africa, a man who tried to fulfil his duty to his people was inevitably (unavoidably )ripped (move forcefully) from his family and his home and was forced to live a life apart, a twilight (when it is not completely dark )existence (continued survival)of secrecy (secret)and rebellion(armed resistance to an established government). I did not in the beginning choose to place my people above my family, but in attempting to serve my people, I found that I was prevented from fulfilling my obligations as a son, a brother, a father and a husband.
I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free — free in every way that I could know. Free to run in the fields near my mother’s hut, free to swim in the clear stream that ran through my village, free to roast mealies (a maize plant) under the stars and ride the broad backs of slow-moving bulls. As long as I obeyed my father and abided by the customs of my tribe, I was not troubled by the laws of man or God. It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood (time of being a boy )freedom was an illusion (a false idea or belief), when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first, as a student, I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory (not permanent )freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a young man in Johannesburg, I yearned (have an intense feeling of longing for something, typically something that one has lost or been separated from) for the basic and honourable freedoms of achieving my potential (having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future), of earning my keep, of marrying and having a family — the freedom not to be obstructed (get in the way of)in a lawful life.
But then I slowly saw that not only was I not free, but my brothers and sisters were not free. I saw that it was not just my freedom that was curtailed (impose a restriction on), but the freedom of everyone who looked like I did. That is when I joined the African National Congress, and that is when the hunger for my own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people. It was this desire for the freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect (pride)that animated (full of life or excitement)my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney (a lawyer) to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk. I am no more virtuous (high moral standards)or self-sacrificing (giving up one's own interests in order to help others)than the next man, but I found that I could not even enjoy the poor and limited freedoms I was allowed when I knew my people were not free. Freedom is indivisible (unable to be divided); the chains on anyone of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.
I knew that the oppressor (group that oppresses people)must be liberated (free from social conventions) just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice (preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience) and narrowmindedness (unwilling to accept ideas that are different from your own). I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
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