Unsung heroes: Men who were tried with Mandela | News from the world

T The world loves heroes, as we have recalled the divers who rescued the stranded Thai boys for 18 days, especially brave and modest heroes. He also needs models. And never more than in the era of Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma – and nowhere more than in South Africa.

The fall of Zuma, after years of allegations of corruption, cronyism and state capture, and the election of Cyril Ramaphosa, marks the most decisive moment of the year. history of South Africa since the first free and democratic election on April 27, 1994.

Last month, I had the privilege of being invited to the 93rd anniversary of my life. Andrew Mlangeni. co-accused at the Rivonia trial in 1964, where they were sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting to overthrow apartheid by sabotage. Everyone knows Mandela has spent 27 years in prison. Very few know that Mlangeni was imprisoned for 26 years, that he was tortured during interrogation and that every time his wife found a job to support their children, the special branch intimidated his employers to sack him. Without the support of the Anglican Church, they would have been starving.

The guest of honor at the party was President Ramaphosa. In his speech, he stated that at Mandela's funeral, an officer from another country had told him that South Africa had the unique chance of possessing the most valuable natural badet of any country: living heroes. The first time Ramaphosa met Mlangeni was as a member of the welcoming committee when he and his comrades were released from prison. The three leaders, Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki, were famous, but Ramaphosa knew nothing about Mlangeni. He soon recognized that Mlangeni shared their integrity and, when the ANC needed a chairman for its ethics committee, Mlangeni was the obvious choice. Twenty-eight years later, it is a man that Ramaphosa seeks to emulate. He renamed it Comrade Integrity.

Four years ago, I came across the stories of Rivonia's defendants and lawyers. I was surprised to see how few people, myself included, knew their names, not to mention their extraordinary stories.

If I were a young South African, I would like to know them – and I'm sure, once I've discovered about them, I'd be inspired to ask: if these Ordinary people were willing to risk their lives, endure torture and a quarter of a century in prison to achieve a free and democratic society, what can I do to make the world a better place?

I discovered that three accused, Mlangeni, Denis Goldberg and "Kathy" Kathrada, and three of the lawyers, Joel Joffe, George Bizos and Denis Kuny were still alive and still striving to make the world a better place. I've hired a young cameraman, James Callum, to tell their stories through their own voices. We spent a month interviewing – at the Rivonia security house where most had been arrested; in Court C of the Supreme Court of Pretoria, where they were tried; and on Robben Island, where Goldberg, the only convicted white accused, was prevented from serving his sentence with his comrades. The minds of these octogenarians were remarkably clear, their commitment to justice was intact. Two themes have distinguished themselves. First, they came to struggle from very different backgrounds. In the words of Mlangeni: "We were multiracial comrades whose goal was to establish a multiracial democracy." At a time when it is alarming that some young South Africans say that Mandela was selling to whites, is essential. [19659003LacélèbrecampagneBellPottingerconçuepourdétournerl'attentiondelacapturedel'Étatquiamistoutleblâmesurlalentetransformationéconomiquedel'AfriqueduSudsurlacapitaleblanchepostcolonialeesttombéesurunsolfertileLes"néslibres"n'ontjamaisconnul'apartheidetpeuventprendrepouracquisleslibertéspolitiquesremportéesparMandelaetlesautresJ'aiététémoindeceladeuxfoisdansQ&AsaprèslesprojectionsdemonfilmenAfriqueduSudlemoisdernierDanslabanlieuedeKhayelitshadèsquelescréditsontétédébloquésunjeunehommeadéclaréquel'AfriqueduSudappartenaitauxNoirsetquelesBlancsn'yavaientpasleurplaceJ'aifaitremarquerqu'ilvenaitdevoirDenisGoldbergmettresavieenjeupourtenterdesauverlesdirigeantsnoirsdel'ANCPensait-ilqueGoldbergnhadnotbeenallowedtoliveinthecountry?

At the Institute for African Alternatives, two others said the film had changed their views on Mandela because they did not know that he had asked lawyers to turn the lawsuit of a legal trial in a political trial in which apartheid was set apart. of world opinion. He had put his case before his life.

Mandela's speech at the wharf ended with the statement that he had fought both white domination and black domination; and that a free and democratic society in which all men live together with equal opportunities was an ideal for which he was ready to die. Eight months earlier, Martin Luther King had made his speech "I have a dream," in which he dreamed of a world in which "my four grandchildren … will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character "

The message of these two speeches led to the end of apartheid in South Africa and, much more quickly, to the end of segregation in the south of United States. It's a truth that's no less important because of temporary setbacks.

Mandela's speech was approved by all the defendants and he challenged the judge to hang them all. Everyone had only one neck and two of the accused were white and one was Indian. What turned Mandela from a narrow Africanist position in 1948 to his commitment to multiracialism in 1964 was his experience of working with whites and Indians who were willing to make the same sacrifices as blacks

. There were three prominent figures at the trial: Mandela, Sisulu and Bram Fischer QC, all of whom helped save the 10 accused from the gallows. When "Rusty" Bernstein, one of the accused, heard that Fischer had taken the defense case, he said that he deserved a VC because he was likely to be identified by farm workers who had seen him attend meetings at home. But the others were no less courageous. Kathrada and Raymond Mhlaba were informed that appeals against conviction and conviction would probably succeed. They refused and chose 26 years in prison with their comrades.

Mandela wrote, "The apartheid policy has created a deep and lasting wound in my country and in my people, and each of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from this deep wound. the precepts of oppression and brutality had another unexpected effect, and this was produced … men of courage, wisdom and generosity if Fifty years later, I was struck by the fact that the three survivors of Rivonia had never tried to trade or obtain money. money to access the top of the ANC.They have all lived, and two of them still live, extremely modestly.As initial Ramaphoria diminishes, it is encouraging to remember that during the grand parade in Cape Town, just before his swearing in, Ramaphosa planted his flag firmly in the ground to return to integrity of Mandela and trialists of Rivonia. [19659003] Sir Nicholas Felix Stadlen is a former judge of the High Court . His film, Life Is Beautiful: Mandela's Unsung Heroes, can be seen free at Southbank Center, London, July 27-29