SUING FOR PEACE
AND JUSTICE AS THE 2017 NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY IS MARKED ON TUESDAY
JULY 18
Nelson Mandela
July 18 each year, the world
over celebrates the Nelson Mandela International day, or simply the ‘Mandela
Day’, in honour 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. 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!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Clinic - Owerri
______________________________________
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@mediambassador
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