Celebrating February 11: A Story of Freedom

Around 100 years ago, one of the earliest thoughts on freedom of South Africa came from Gandhi. In the year 1908, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi spoke to a gathering at Johannesburg:

"If we look into the future [of South Africa], is it not a heritage we have to leave to posterity, that all the different races commingle and produce a civilisation that perhaps the world has not yet seen?"

Fast forward to February 11, 1990: Nelson Mandela is freed from prison after 27 years (Watch video). Thousands danced and celebrated on the streets of Cape Town. Addressing 50,000 people assembled outside the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall, he declared:

"Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. Our march to freedom is irreversible."

He was the 466th prisoner at Robben Island in 1964 - he was anointed as prisoner number "46664". After his freedom, he immortalized this number by using this number as an icon for a global HIV AIDS awareness campaign.

In his book, Long Walk to Freedom he said:

I have walked that long road to freedom.
I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way.
But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill,
one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
I have taken a moment here to rest,
to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me,
to look back on the distance I have come.
But I can rest only for a moment,
for with freedom comes responsibilities,
and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

His ideas on freedom:

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

Read this line again - "respect and enhance the freedom of OTHERS"!

Amazing!

Now, how would you define freedom?