By Ian Woods, in Pretoria, South Africa
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has spent a fourth day in hospital recovering from pneumonia, and has received a visit from his wife Graca Machel.
Pictures of her being driven into the Mediclinic private hospital in Pretoria provided the first conformation of where he is being treated.
His friend and former fellow Robben Island inmate Mac Maharaj confirmed on Saturday that Mr Mandela had had fluid drained from his lungs to help him breathe, and he was continuing to make progress.
South Africans know that time is inevitably running out for the 94-year-old, and when the do finally mourn his death, they will be joined by millions of people around the world.
But the cling to the man they call Madiba like a respected grandfather and as a Father of their Nation.
Nelson Mandela's wife arrivesat hospital in Pretoria to visit him Despite having retired from politics and stepped out of the public spotlight, many still believe he retains a position of moral authority over those who succeeded him in government, as well as the people.
Mpho Swanyane, a 30-year-old BMW worker, told Sky News: "He is an icon. And as an icon, he brings a certain mindset to people that they can still do well.
"As long as he's still alive, I believe that people can be on a good path."
One of the unintended consequences of bringing equality to South Africa is that poverty now extends across racial barriers.
After apartheid ended the privileged position of the white minority, some of them found it hard to adapt. And while the black middle class has grown dramatically, working class whites are no longer immune to economic hardships.
Louis John is 30 but he looks older. He sits on a busy street in central Pretoria holding a sign urging people to give him money to help support his family. Like his three young sons, he is barefoot and dirty.
Dylan, aged 12, Kyle, aged 11, and five-year-old Shane sit alongside their father, but he insists they have not gone hungry in the month since they moved to Pretoria in search of work. Louis lost his job as a welder, and he and his wife are currently living in a one room apartment with no electricity or running water.
Painted stones are left outside Mr Mandela's house on his birthday You might expect him to be bitter about the new South Africa and care little for the health of Nelson Mandela, but even he gushes with admiration for the man who helped end white rule.
"I think he is a great man to be the person he's been. What he went through! He's been in jail for half his life and then he came out with forgiveness. There's not a lot of hatred in him. If it was me, I don't know if I could be like that.
"I think he's a kind of saint. If they locked me up I would have been a bitter person. I would have been angry at the world."
Louis said most of those who stop in the street and give him money are black South Africans, sympathetic to his plight.
"I don't know about apartheid. Because my mum is from the UK we didn't believe in that. If you go to hospital you don't get black blood or white blood, you're getting blood. It's the same thing. I'm not racial at all."
A few yards away, Anna Chabalala is doing brisk business at her market stall. She still credits Mr Mandela's peaceful transformation of her country two decades ago with her contended life today.
"If it's not Madiba, I'm not selling here. My children would not go to school. Me too, I can eat. I can pay the rent. I can do everything (because of) Madiba, really. If not for Madiba - nothing."
If and when he is well enough to go home, millions of South Africans, just like their beloved Madiba, will breathe more easily.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Mandela: South Africa Holds On To Ailing Icon
Dengan url
http://buangdwiet.blogspot.com/2013/04/mandela-south-africa-holds-on-to-ailing.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Mandela: South Africa Holds On To Ailing Icon
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Mandela: South Africa Holds On To Ailing Icon
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar