As he
rests in his eternal sleep, I am certain of one thing: that Madiba's face is
enveloped in a gentle, enduring smile. No, not the broad, beaming smile we are
accustomed to. Not the one so full of warmth that one felt bathed in sunshine.
Rather, the quiet smile, reflective, born out of looking over his life and
times; a smile tinged with a hint of mischievousness for having beaten the
odds, cheated the hangman and knowing he had helped make South Africa and the
world a better place. Overarching his life of struggle, hardship, humiliation,
pain and suffering there must be the sense of fulfilment that he has left an
indelible footprint in the service of humankind.
His is a life that touched millions not
only in South Africa, not
only in our continent of Africa, but
throughout the world. For the greater part of his life he was a beacon of the
struggle.
In his later years he became the symbol of
hope. In death he stands confirmed as the embodiment of humanity's hope for the
future.
