Letter: Much has happened since Mandela’s inauguration

If Nelson Mandela’s election as South Africa’s first fully representative democratic president exactly 30 years ago was the high-water mark of recent human history, the current state of the world feels like a low point (“The faltering legacy of Nelson Mandela”, The Big Read, April 24).

Not only has that moment of high-octane global optimism not been matched, but with the world mired in seemingly intractable conflicts and international law being stretched to breaking point, that day feels like a very distant place.

Some may ask “Where are today’s Mandelas?”, and although we may never see his like again, there are many around the world following in his footsteps. Their stories and struggles may not make the headlines, but each day courageous activists and human rights defenders, artists and politicians, lawyers and journalists stand up against injustice.

While these may be dark times, we should take strength from that day three decades ago.

Change does not come easily and it does not come quickly. It can be diverted, subverted and corrupted. But nonetheless, those who bore witness to the remarkable power of the South African liberation movement know that, with courage, change is possible.

As Mandela said at his inauguration: “Our deepest fear isn’t that we are weak. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence liberates others.”

Stefan Simanowitz
Former Press Officer, ANC Western Cape (1992-94)
London NW3, UK