Mandela Explained?

What was it about Mandela that made him such an international figure?
JOHANNESBURG - One question is rarely asked here: Why Mandela? How is it that he of all people became such an international hero, an icon, a legend; a figure for whom world leaders made the effort to go all the way to Johannesburg in order to participate in his funeral, which is almost unparalleled in history.

Mandela was first and foremost a local hero, of the type that was also born in other countries. Here he is venerated because he brought justice, shaped the image of his country and made history. There is no point in adding more words about this giant of a man and what he did in turning his country into a state where justice has replaced evil.

There is no point in talking once again about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and about the amazing revolution he brought about, seasoned with compassion and forgiveness. That is why the cult of personality that has developed here is understandable - for days the television stations have been discussing only him, two days ago they devoted a one-hour program to “Madiba Fashion,” the shirts he wore, and now they are trying to decide in what to wrap the body of the deceased.

But Mandela lived and worked in Africa, the most remote continent, which doesn’t interest the world except for its exploited natural resources and the stories of its backwardness; its diseases, poverty and its bloody wars. Africa is not on the map, and yet Africa, of all places, gave rise to the greatest icon of our time. And not simply an icon, but the kind that world leaders, including those who ignored his struggle and clandestinely or openly helped to perpetuate apartheid - including “the leader of the free world,” the United States, until relatively late in his career - are now competing with each other to praise.

To tell the truth, Mandela brought about a local revolution, not an international one. He inspired others, too, but his direct influence remained limited, unfortunately, to the borders of his country, which is also relatively remote, despite all the cliches now being showered on its founding father. Mandela did not make the world a more just place, he changed only his own country. He became an international hero because he was a model of ethical behavior. Not a general with many victories behind him, not a financial tycoon, not a statesman who took his country to war, not a momentary mega-celebrity. Suddenly it turns out that despite all the cynicism, despite the talk of realpolitik, economic and military interests and the absence of a connection between ethics and politics - there is an undercurrent of international longing for a leader with ethics.

Now Mandela is in the international pantheon, along with Mahatma Gandhi, Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, all fighters for freedom and justice, representatives of minorities or of the oppressed. We could also add Winston Churchill, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Lech Walesa and our own David Ben Gurion to the list, perhaps their Yasser Arafat too, but they don’t make it to the top of the list. The world will remember Mandela, Guevara, King and Gandhi far more.

Mandela, who embodied the opposite of contemporary international politics, is the last hero, for now; there is nobody like him at present. That’s the reason for the longing. The world is desperately seeking heroes, people with ethics. In the Middle East they dream of an Israeli or Palestinian Mandela, and have to make do with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas. In Africa they are crying out for another Mandela, and have to make do with Robert Mugabe, Goodluck Jonathan and Charles Taylor, and Europe is giving rise to technocrats. Only in America was there a momentary burst of hope, the hope of Obama, which swept the world and is about to be a partial disappointment.

Mandela’s death reminded us that sometimes the good guys really do win. It’s a fact that they enter history, and in a big way. His death reminded us that despite all the cynicism there is still room for morality, for a struggle for human rights, for freedom and democracy, and there is a tremendous longing for them. That even those who are now denounced are likely to be venerated some day, as happened to the number one wanted man, prisoner no. 46664, the traitor and terrorist, Nelson Mandela.