The “46664” Concert Launched Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday
BY TIJAN NIMAGA, Bronx, New York
The Gregorian calendar date of June 25th 2008 was the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, the former South African leader. From the harrowing walls of Robben Island jail to the busy street of Johannesburg, millions of people from various parts of the world watched and listened to this remarkable, historic and sombre moment via radio and television. In Hyde Park in central London, the world came out together and celebrated the birthday of one of the greatest politicians and the most humble of humanitarian figures of the 21st the century. The concert, which was completely enveloped by protocol, brought back memories of the life of a man who dedicated his existence to ending racial segregation in a multi-racial society. It also recalled the struggle and pain Nelson Mandela went through while trying to establish rigid political barriers to end apartheid in South Africa. The birthday celebration in London’s Hyde Park was the most potent and unprecedented gathering to honour the world’s must famous political and civil rights activist. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the concert, as did actors such as Danzel Washington and Will Smith, television talk show producer Oprah Winfrey, Chris Whitaker and many other famous people.
The concert to commemorate his 90th birthday has been named 46664, which was Nelson Mandela’s prison number. Unlike many of his compatriots, like Steve Biko who were unable to survive the brutal apartheid regime, Nelson Mandela has become a unique international political icon and is recognized the world over as one of the greatest statesmen of all times.
Nelson Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, the son of a tribal chief. In 1944 he formed the Youth League of the African National Congress, the ANC, with close friends and compatriots the most notable of which were Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu. During his years of struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa, Mr. Mandela was charged with high treason in 1956 along with 155 other patriotic political activists. However, he was acquitted five years later and formed an underground military wing of the ANC after the white dominated apartheid government because of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre had outlawed it. The South African police lunched a nationwide manhunt for Mandela while he was on the run, as they had for many political activists before him. He eluded capture for nearly a year before he was re-arrested and, this time, the charges against him were severe. In June 1964 he was convicted of sabotage and treason and was sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island. As he started his jail term in Robben Island, riots and political uprisings began within the country, while international campaigns calling for his release became a political concern for all human rights organizations around the world. Anti-Apartheid movements in Africa and America also conducted rallies for his immediate release but all efforts fell on the deaf ears of the Apartheid regime of South Africa. A series of images including mass arrests and the utilization of life ammunition against the demonstrators by the South African police were constantly broadcast on televisions around the world. Wonderful work by artists around the world showed their feelings about the continuing imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and these were displayed at international gatherings, all demanding his immediate release. Mandela’s photo was printed on T-shirts and famous musicians wrote songs, all condemning Apartheid. Nelson Mandela quickly became the most famous political prisoner of his time. As the apartheid regime of South Africa continued to ignore international demands to release Mandela and end apartheid, super powers and international organizations around the world began to impose severe economic sanctions on South Africa. As the sanctions became more and more painful, riots continued until slowly and unwillingly the Apartheid government of South Africa agreed to lift the life sentence imposed on Nelson Mandela and, following demands from super powers and his wife, Winnie, Mandela walked out of Robben Island as a free man in 1990 after nearly 27 years of imprisonment. His freedom was something that many had not expected to see so soon. One of Mandela’s famous quotations is “only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts” That wonderful day will live in the memory of all who respect human rights.
Upon his release Mandela began an ambitious political career and emerged four years later in 1994, as President of South Africa after a landslide win in the country’s first multi-racial elections. The long held dream of this political icon became reality and, in one of his 1964 speeches Mandela said, “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Today, the world is pleased with the system of government in South Africa and Mandela’s struggle will play a major role in every chapter of South Africa’s history. He is the man who broke down the pillars that held up the bridges of Apartheid. He is the man that broke the curse of Apartheid, which was based on racial segregation, creed and colour, especially the colour black. So, the 27th June 2008 is a birthday celebration of a man who won his freedom and defeated a political regime that killed more black South Africans than any other. It is the birthday celebration of a man who is lucky enough to be alive today, unlike his compatriot Steve Biko. The date will also go down in the history of Hyde Park, and the 46664 concert itself will remind the people of South Africa of heroes like Steve Biko, another civil rights activist severely beaten by the South African police after being arrested. He later died of the injuries he sustained from the beating.
So the 46664 Hyde Park concert will be a political and humanitarian gathering to prove to the world that racial barriers and the political intimidation of innocent citizens are now only objects of the past and, in this sense, Nelson Mandela is a typical example of many South Africans who were victims of past political malpractices. But for every African, whether white or black, it is a birthday to celebrate and the memory of Nelson Mandela will continue forever in our minds as long as we live. HAPPY 90th BIRTH DAY NELSON MANDELA. The number 46664 is now a victory number and we wish you are praying for more heroes like you to establish truth when its needed for the goodness of mankind and to liberate the innocent, the voiceless, those who are disadvantaged by political myth and power crazed regimes.