SUING FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE AS THE 2016 NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY IS MARKED TODAY, MONDAY JULY 18
July 18 each year, the world over celebrates the Nelson Mandela
International day, or simply the ‘Mandela Day’, in hour of the late icon Dr
Nelson Madiba Mandela who happened to be the first democratically elected
President of South-Africa. The day, which is being celebrated annually and
internationally, is an event organized by the United Nations Department of
Public Information (UNDPI).
It was endorsed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in November
2009 to mark Mandela’s birthday, thereby creating awareness on the need for
everyone to support selfless service to humanity which helps to uplift peace
and justice and to free mankind from all sorts of bondages. The day isn’t a
public holiday, but specifically a day to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela
and his values, through volunteering and community services. The remarkable
event was first celebrated by the UN in 2010. However, other groups began
celebrating Mandela Day on 18th July 2009.
The Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that
each individual, regardless of status or age, possesses the power to transform
the world as well as the ability to make an impact on any society he/she finds
him/herself. This implies that we are expected to strive relentlessly towards
bringing a positive change wherever we find ourselves.
In the world over, just as everyone constantly and persistently prays to
have peace, so do we pray for justice in all our endeavours. In the same vein,
whosoever that is faced with any kind of bondage, either spiritual or physical,
shall never have rest of mind until he/she regains freedom. This is to say
that, every man is consistently striving towards actualizing unalloyed peace,
justice, or freedom, as the case may be.
The above assertion signifies that no man wishes to encounter any form
of bitterness in any field of endeavour, on a daily basis. This is the reason
the global community through the effort of the United Nations (UN), came up
with the ongoing International Nelson Mandela Day to ensure that everyone
considers peace as a priority towards societal and human-capital development.
It’s not anymore news that the late Nelson Mandela, while on earth, gave
sixty-seven (67) years of his life to the struggle for human rights and social
justice. As a founding member of the then ruling democratic party in South
Africa known as the African National Congress (ANC), Mandela was arrested in
1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent twenty-seven (27) years in
prison but remained unstoppable in leading strategic revolution against
apartheid government.
Interestingly, when Nelson Mandela was elected the President of South
Africa in 1994, he did not call for vengeance or retribution against the
whites; rather, he led a sensitive reconciliation movement that amazed all the
African as well as International politicians. Furthermore, he campaigned for
peace, unity and love among South Africans irrespective of race or tribe.
Because of the astonishing character of the late icon, the UN General Assembly
in 2009 proclaimed the annual International Nelson Mandela Day.
So, as the world over commemorates the Nelson Mandela International Day,
there’s need for collective support and solidarity by all and sundry from all
walks of life irrespective of race, age, background or status toward ensuring that peace and justice are sued at all costs. In view of this,
the international community is urging us today to devote at least sixty-seven
(67) minutes of our time to helping others. By devoting 67 minutes of our time
– one minute for every year of Nelson Mandela’s public service, people can make
a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step toward a global moment
for good, which we all anticipate.
Hence, take action, inspire change, and mobilize the human race to do
more in order to build a peaceful, sustainable and equitable world. This is the
best tribute we can pay to an extraordinary man who embodied the highest values
of humanity while on earth and ensured that we saw ourselves as one indivisible
body.
Reportedly, UN staff around the world have made a difference through a
variety of activities in the past, such as supplies to school children,
preparing meals for the elderly ones, helping out in an orphanage, cleaning-up
parks, delivering computer literacy seminars and workshops, and what have you.
Also, in New York of the United States of America (USA) for instance, UN staff
volunteered their time on 17 and 18 July 2013 to help rebuild homes that were
destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
We can as well contribute our own quota to public service by
individually or collectively indulging in any of the following humanitarian
activities, but not limited to:
v
Make
a new friend; get to know someone from a different cultural background because
it is only through mutual understanding we can rid our communities of
intolerance and xenophobia.
v
Read
for someone who can’t; visit a local home for the orphans and the
less-privileged.
v
Help
someone get a job; prepare a CV for them and help them acquire the required
interview skills.
v
Take
a little time to have a chat with the terminally ill people and bring some
sunshine into their respective lives.
v
Get
tested for HIV as well as other Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and encourage
your partner, colleagues and friends to do so too.
v
Donate
blood, wheelchair, or cash to someone in need.
v
Lastly,
but not the least, buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer use in
your home and give them to someone in need.
Frankly, we all are expected to unanimously support this remarkable
life-touching event globally recognized as Nelson Mandela International Day,
because the life and times of the celebrity in question, Dr Nelson Madiba
Mandela were no doubt worthy of emulation. Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights
activist-
Chief Executive
Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career
Development - Owerri
______________________________________
http://frednwaozor.blogspot.com
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
Twitter:
@mediambassador
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