HUSSEIN SHOBOKSHI With the death of Nelson Mandela, the world has lost its greatest leader of the last century without a doubt. Nelson Mandela not only magnified the best that humans have to offer and the ultimate good in them but he was also the living proof that it can actually be done and not just talked about. Rarely do we see the world united in sympathy towards one person with such true passion and genuine sincerity. Mandela reignited the light of hope and belief in the power of the pure human spirit. How a “good man” can overcome and conquer all the evils of hate and revenge in him! How that “feeling” can be a source of motivation to forgive and forget, to unify and build, to work and succeed. Mandela was the great and powerful national unifying glue that South African so badly needed to put the country and the people together as the threat to break-up was so powerfully visible and threatening. Mandela will be remembered for many reasons. Each person will no doubt have his own “favorite” Mandela story, Mandela moment or Mandela quote. The man no longer belongs to South Africa or even the African continent but he belongs to the world and its collective memory. Nelson Mandela was the result of the honorable struggle of many of his country's counterpart which realized and witnessed one of the ugliest racist systems known to mankind. He was also very clearly influenced by the character and teachings of the great Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian icon, as well as by Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader. What Mandela lived and fought for all of his life, the dignity and freedom of mankind, away from all types of tyranny and oppression in his honor must not be called anywhere after his death. Israel remains the only country that practices a racist and apartheid-like system against the Palestinians and get away with it. We cannot remember a great fighter like Mandela and allow a system and a country that shamelessly does the opposite of his teachings. Nelson Mandela, you will be greatly missed. May your soul rest in peace! You were a great man!
