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South Africa: Mandela discharged from hospital – receiving treatment at home
Zuma urged South Africans to accept that Mandela had grown old and frail, saying all they could do was pray for him. During his hospitalization, well-wishers delivered flowers and messages of support to the hospital where he was being treated, and prayer sessions were held around the country.
The government has released few details about Mandela’s condition, citing patient confidentiality. Mandela has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment. The bulk of that period was spent on Robben Island, a prison off the coast of Cape Town where Mandela and other prisoners spent part of the time toiling in a limestone quarry.
Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is feted around the world as a towering figure of reconciliation. Despite being jailed for his prominent role in opposing brutal white racist rule, Mandela was seemingly free of rancor on his release in 1990, becoming the unifying leader who steered South Africa through a delicate transition to all-race elections that propelled him to the presidency four years later.
The United Nations has recognized Mandela’s birthday, July 18, as an international day to honor themes of activism, democracy and responsibility embodied by the former leader.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
