He was what we aspire to be
Like the rest of humanity today, I quickly became aware of the sad news of the death of Nelson Mandela.
As I heard the news, I immediately wanted to express my own memories of this remarkable citizen of our world. These words flowed as easily as my tears.
There are many ways to describe Nelson Mandela. None will do complete justice, but all will apply — giant of our times, nation-builder, emancipator, incredible, gentle, kind, sincere and loving — and so many more.
I had the extreme good fortune to meet Mandela in person when I was working on Parliament Hill for the House Speaker. It was 1990 and it seemed like the entire globe was celebrating the end of Mandela’s unfair bondage and imprisonment. When I met him and stretched out my hand to shake his, I looked into his eyes and all I could see was kindness.
I vividly recall thinking to myself: After 28 years of this astonishing life being wasted in prison, how can he possibly display such kindness and forgiveness to anyone?
But that is the real mark of this man. He is what we all aspire to be: a defender of the oppressed and the less fortunate wherever they may be. An individual who respects the views of others, while not capitulating to wrong. Someone who spends their lifetime making the world, and their own small piece of it, better for everyone.
This world of ours will miss this man immensely. I will treasure always the handshake, the memory of his smile and the few words we shared.
I cannot write of Nelson Mandela in the past tense, at least not yet.
There is too much to honour and respect in his life to consign it overnight to a grave.
He is a person that we should rejoice in thinking of each and every day. There is no one in my lifetime who has changed the world in the way Mandela has managed. He breaks down racial barriers every day and will continue to do so in death, as in life.
This world of ours will miss this man immensely. I will treasure always the handshake, the memory of his smile and the few words we shared. I recall the words of his address to the joint sitting of our houses of Parliament on June 18, 1990, when he recalled his youth, saying, “Like young people everywhere, as we grew up in South Africa, we embarked on an exciting voyage to discover the world.”
I remember that day how he thanked Canadians for their help along his journey and declared: “Our common victory, the victory of democracy and non-racialism, is within our grasp. Liberty, equality and fraternity shall reign supreme in our country as well.”
His words are those that we should all try to remember. His life is one to emulate — today, tomorrow, and for all of time — for all of us.
Thank you, Nelson Mandela, for touching so many lives in such remarkable ways. Jim Watson met Nelson Mandela in 1990 when Watson was director of communications for the Speaker of the House of Commons. He is currently mayor of the City of Ottawa.