Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013.  Nelson Mandela was a great man and the world is still mourning his death.  He died from a recurring infection.  Even though we are still mourning his death it is a time to remember all the great things he has done not only for South Africa but for the world.  He fought against a system called Apartheid.  Apartheid was a system of segregation in South Africa.   The government had divided the country along racial lines.  One part was White Africa and the other half was Black Africa.  He was sentenced to life in prison for fighting against the system in 1962.  He was kept in prison for 27 years, but was finally released in 1989.  While he was in prison along with other leaders of the ANC (African National Congress) other civil rights fighters still tried to rebel against the government. The apartheid government finally came to an end in 1990.  Mandela became South Africa’s first chosen black president in 1994.

I find his Nelson Mandela very interesting because his story is very inspirational and he has done wonderful things.  Upon his death, I became more interested in learning how his life has had such an impact on the world.  I am also impressed by how he acted when he was finally released from prison.  He didn’t hate his captors, but instead treated them with respect and forgave them.  There aren’t many people who have had such a large impact on not only their country but on the world.  Some people have even compared him to Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln.  I’m very impressed with how determined he was to help South Africa end Apartheid.  In his early days he tried to end Apartheid with some forms of violence against the government and military.  He stated that he wanted to overthrow the government and reconstruct South Africa with freedom, democracy, and most importantly, equality.  He wanted all people to be equal so badly that he said “It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs to be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”  The most impressive part of his life was that his long imprisonment made him more in favor of a peaceful solution.

~Luke