Roundtable Held On Nelson Mandela’s Legacy

Approximately fifty-odd residents from various backgrounds gathered at the Cathedral Hall on Friday, July 18th from 12.20 – 1.30 pm for the Roundtable Discussion on the Legacy of the late Nelson Mandela.

An Imagine Bermuda spokesperson said, “That diverse group; young and old, almost 50-50 black and white, were joining other members of the Human Family who were involved in some way in the UN Designate ‘Mandela Day’.

“The Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon had urged Global citizens to “…celebrate this day, by helping to address some of the problems in our communities”. Reports are that people in more than 120 countries participated in a variety ways. Glasgow, Scotland, which in 1981 was the first city in the World to award then-prisoner Mandela, the ‘Freedom of the City’, had organized a variety of activities on Friday, on their ‘Nelson Mandela Street’, including a music festival.

“At Cathedral Hall, Lisa [Lister] Reed of the Human Rights Commission laid out the rules of engagement for the Discussion on how Madiba’s legacy might benefit Bermuda. The session was opened with a dramatic piece by 11 yr-old head-student of Saltus Primary, X’achela Robinson, who read her biographical sketch of Mandela, that she had so wisely crafted. She received a standing ovation.

“Elder Statesman, Ottiwell Simmons provided the opening presentation of the Roundtable. He offered an overview of key milestones of Mandela’s journey from the perspective of a veteran of the movement. The former union leader suggests that Mandela’s legacy is one of ‘Moral Leadership’. Ottie added a personal note of how he was brought to tears when he had watched Mandela emerge from prison on that Sunday morning of February 1990.

“Dianna Kempe reported on how she had the opportunity to work closely with Nelson Mandela when she was representing the International Bar Association at a conference in South Africa in 1996. From her first-hand observation, the quality of character that she thought was most impactful was Madiba’s sense of respect for those people with whom he engaged. His obvious sense of reverence for others people was something Dianna thought could benefit us all.

“Tifffany Paynter shared with us that during her teen years she had experienced personal challenges and that a friend of hers had introduced her to the poem ‘Invictus’; which is Mandela’s favourite. Tiffany found that this translates to the example set by Mandela for all of us, reminding us that notwithstanding the difficulties we may face that I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my Soul.

“Glenn Fubler remembered the period of early ‘80’s when not many were aware of the cause of South Africa, but that patient persistence led to an increased momentum. He suggested that Madiba’s legacy of being able to ‘disagree without being disagreeable’ and his capacity to mindfully master his ego, gave the iconic leader the significant leverage in his role of facilitating the transformation of the ‘Rainbow Nation’.

“Stratton Hatfield had spent a period of time working in South Africa in the last decade. From his experience engaging with a diverse group of work colleagues, he found that the legacy that Mandela offers us in Bermuda is the willingness to forgive past injustices. Stratton felt that this is a capacity that he believes can help our society to move forward.

“This drew a response from one of the audience members who posed the question that if a husband who was involved in cheating on his wife, simply comes to her and admits same, without any ‘process’; should there be a simple ‘forgiveness and forget it’. That drew another contribution supporting the idea that there was the need for a ‘process’ to work through the implications of those injustices of our shared past.

“Martha Dismont suggested that in her view that Mandela’s most significant contribution was that ‘love’ be the means for addressing any and all challenges in society. She expressed the view that this pertained to matters relating to family or those addressing wider social and political issues.

“Sen. James Jardine felt that Nelson Mandela offers a Globally-recognized example for those around the World on the best qualities of leadership.

“The session was closed with attendees reflecting on the potential that each of us have to ‘be the change’ that we wish to see in Bermuda and the World. We committed to repeat the exercise of the Roundtable, in other venues in the island in the not-too- distant future.”

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