Remembering Mandela

In the evening we went to an event to mark the opening of an exhibition which told the story of Dundee and Scotland’s part in the campaign to release Nelson from prison in South Africa. He was controversially given the Freedom of the City of Dundee in 1985 at a time when he wasn’t free in his own country. It was controversial because Margaret Thatcher’s government maintained Mandela was a terrorist.

We heard from speakers who related their experiences in the long battle against the injustice of Apartheid. The main strategy was to get people to boycott South African goods and to shame big companies into disinvesting from SA. Sports events were also boycotted. It wasn’t until 1990 that Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison.

I have to say that Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr have been heroes of mine since the 60’s and 70’s. The plaque in the photo is hung in the Central Library, Dundee, where the Exhibition is presently displayed.

I guess a current equivalent hero today is Alexei Navalny, in prison for his opposition to President Putin.