Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Toby Reynolds
And, as part of celebrations to mark his 85th birthday this month, Mandela plans to extend some of that wisdom to an audience of 2 billion young people via a special television broadcast on the big day, July 18.
The former South African president and Nobel peace laureate will commandeer an hour on MTV, the international music television channel, to discuss three subjects close to his heart: HIV/AIDS, the struggle for democracy and reconciliation.
Since stepping down from front-line politics in 1999, when he handed the reins of South Africa's fledgling democracy to President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela has concentrated on what he considers the world's ills.
AIDS -- a disease ravaging sub-Saharan Africa -- is top of the list. With as many as one in nine South Africans carrying the HIV virus, Mandela has repeatedly used his international stature to urge young people to battle the epidemic.
In December, he carried his AIDS campaign to a global audience in an MTV concert staged in Cape Town.
While the broadcast featured stage shows by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Alicia Keys, Mandela broached more serious matters, introducing a young rape victim who had contracted HIV and highlighting the discrimination she suffered as a result.
POLITICAL FIRE STILL BURNS
Mandela has not completely abandoned the fiery politics that made him the apartheid government's No. 1 enemy in the 1950s and 60s and landed him in prison for 27 years.
The revered peacemaker has returned to the limelight more than once to rebuke President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for their handling of this year's Iraq conflict, and for what he says is their disregard of United Nations unity.
And, ahead of his 85th birthday, some of that fighting spirit is still on view.
During the interviews recorded for the birthday program, Mandela renewed his attack on Bush and also had harsh words for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- this time focusing on their approach to the Middle East peace process.
Confronted by the grievances and faltering faith of a Ugandan infected with HIV, a Burmese democracy activist and an Israeli and a Palestinian robbed of family members by fighting between their two sides, Mandela advocated hope and trust in peaceful means.
He had words of encouragement for Ugandan Henry Luyombya, an HIV-positive AIDS activist who said he was running out of faith in his work to raise awareness of the disease in his country and to fight the stigma attached to it.
"I asked Mandela how he managed to survive under hard conditions, and what motivated him ... And he told me he didn't do it own his own. In our struggle against HIV/AIDS we need a combined effort," 23-year-old Luyombya said.
ENCOURAGEMENT...AND HARSH WORDS
But when Mandela came to speak to Israeli Guy Levy, who lost his sister to a Palestinian suicide bomber, and to Palestinian Jumana Issa Al-Ali, whose father was shot by Israeli soldiers, his words were less comforting.
He told them that Palestinians and Israelis had to suppress their anger with each other to achieve peace. "Your blood (says)...these people have treated me cruelly in the past, and I do not want to have any dealings with them, but your brain speaks a different language."
He slammed the election of Sharon and his right-wing government earlier this year as "suicidal" for peace, and said Bush's sidelining of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was a big mistake for a man who was "president of the United States, not president of Palestine."
Mandela maintains a pace that would exhaust a person decades younger.
His charity work, channeled largely through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, keeps him busy raising funds and he is frequently called on to meet visiting luminaries ranging from soccer star David Beckham to the foreign minister of France.
But South Africa's grand old man -- known affectionately to millions of South Africans by his clan name "Madiba" -- has made more time for young people both at home and abroad, and his birthday special could mark his broadest cross-generational appeal yet.
MTV executive Bill Roedy told Reuters he hoped the program would reach at least 2 billion young people, and that Mandela's influence, together with the youths he spoke to, would raise awareness of the issues they covered.
030702
RE030703
Copyright © 2003 - Reuters, Ltd. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Contact Reuters.
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .