Editorial | Emulating Nelson Mandela’s life lessons

Unfortunately, the day, July 18, passed with little notice or remembrance in Jamaica of the life, work or philosophy of Nelson Mandela.

However, it is never too late to celebrate Mr Mandela, whose influence in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean is rooted in a shared understanding of freedom, dignity and the right of people to determine their own future, as well as in Jamaica’s unflinching campaign for his freedom and against apartheid in South Africa. It is noteworthy that Mr Mandela visited Jamaica on July 24, 1991, less than 18 months after his release from prison and at a critical moment as South Africa transitioned to democracy from white minority rule.

Indeed, Mr Mandela’s dignity and approach to leadership when he became president of South Africa after nearly three decades in jail are worth studying in the context of today’s turbulent international environment. His opposition to apartheid was uncompromising because the system denied the majority of South Africans basic political and human rights. Yet, when apartheid ended, he understood that South Africa could not be governed indefinitely through revenge. It is a perspective captured in the basis for the United Nations’ declaration of Nelson Mandela International Day as “a global movement to honour his life’s work and to change the world for the better”.

Mandela’s legacy has been honoured with the naming of a major section of the Kingston-Spanish Town Highway and the Nelson Mandela Park in Half-Way Tree, both of which need better maintenance. This newspaper firmly believes that honouring Mandela’s legacy is doing the right thing, through action rather than symbolism.

FUNDAMENTAL LESSONS

Mandela’s way of life provides fundamental lessons in leadership:

– Leadership foremost was service and power was to be exercised for the common good.

– He stood firmly for principle. But his opposition to apartheid demonstrated that compromise should not mean surrendering fundamental rights.

– He listened to opponents. He firmly believed that political settlements require engagement with people with whom one may profoundly disagree.

– He insisted on using power responsibly. So, political victory wasn’t permission to humiliate or exclude opponents.

– He believed in promoting investment in education, which he identified as central to individual opportunity and national development.

– He believed in thinking beyond the immediate political cycle. Mandela understood that rebuilding a society divided by decades of institutionalised discrimination would take generations.

At a time when political disagreements are becoming harder to manage, diplomacy more complicated and international relationships less predictable, Mandela’s guiding principles can play an important role.

His values, those of standing for principle without abandoning dialogue, seeking justice without surrendering humanity, and using political power without allowing it to become personal, are lessons at a time when tribalism and verbal innuendoes are rife.

Mandela’s anti-apartheid stance was against the system that denied black South Africans basic political and human rights. Yet, when apartheid ended, he understood that South Africa could not be governed indefinitely through revenge. South Africa’s transition required victims of apartheid to confront a painful past while finding a way for a divided society to move forward.

DEFINING FEATURES

His willingness to work towards reconciliation rather than collective punishment became one of the defining features of his presidency, which is relevant in today’s hostile geopolitical environment. Political disagreement does not have to become permanent hostility.

Caribbean societies have their own unresolved questions about inequality, political division, poverty and the legacy of colonialism. Mandela’s example suggests that confronting difficult history does not require societies to remain permanently divided by it. There is a difference between remembering injustice and allowing injustice to determine every future relationship.

Countries can defend their interests without treating every disagreement as a reason to sever relationships. Governments can be firm while leaving room for negotiation. This is particularly important for small states.

Jamaica and other Caribbean countries have limited economic and political influence individually. Their strength therefore depends partly on principled diplomacy, regional cooperation, and the ability to maintain relationships across political divides.

For the region, these are worth considering at a time when small states must navigate competing pressures from larger powers, geopolitical tensions, climate change, economic uncertainty and shifting international alliances.

Mandela’s life was difficult because his principles had consequences. After being imprisoned for 27 years, he emerged to negotiate with people whose system had put him behind bars. He became South Africa’s president and then voluntarily left office after one term.

Mandela once said, “It is in your hands to make the world a better place.” This is the need of the hour.