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South Africa: Nelson Mandela laid to rest
Ahmed Kathrada, an anti-apartheid activist who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela, remembered his old friend’s ‘‘abundant reserves’’ of love, patience and tolerance. He said it was painful when he saw Mandela for the last time, months ago in his hospital bed.
‘‘He tightly held my hand, it was profoundly heartbreaking,’’ Kathrada said, his voice breaking at times. ‘‘How I wish I never had to confront what I saw. I first met him 67 years ago and I recall the tall, healthy strong man, the boxer, the prisoner who easily wielded the pick and shovel when we couldn’t do so.’’
Recalling her grandfather’s simple roots, Nandi Mandela said he went barefoot to school as a boy in Qunu, where he herded cattle before eventually became president and a figure of global renown. ‘‘It is to each of us to achieve anything you want in life,’’ she said.
In the Xhosa language, she referred to her grandfather by his clan name: ‘‘Go well, Madiba. Go well to the land of our ancestors, you have run your race.’’
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
