"jan -feb 2006" a South Africa Travel Page by kenHuocj

Had a short visit early this year,
after a three and half year absence

left with very mixedd feeling,
but the "een poot van dir Kameelperd "
remains stuck in the African continent.

the high cost of housing [inflation]
the high cost of everyday foods
the global pricing of BRANDED LABELS

leaves me wondering....
are the prices the same throughout Africa
or is it just S Africa

the widenning gap of have and have nots
then sooon after my return to the NCR
with the Tsotsi's Oscar awrd
a film all ineterested in Africa / urbanisation
should see

April 27th, 1994.
a Public Holiday for celebrating the first official day of celebration,
Nelson Madela was to be the first elected President of South Africa;

having dropped spouse and girls who were involved in some flag waving for the many dignitaries driving from the presidential grounds to the Union Buildings,

i walked up to one of the accesss roads to see a few of the presidetns drive by including Gadaffi, Castro and Arafat, quite fascinating to see the real persons.

on the lower lawns, amongst many real SOUTH AFRICANS, me included, we enjoyed on the big screen the handover of power from the Apartheid to a new democratically elected government.

mixxed thoughts. mixed views...
but very nostalgic

a week of celebration for a remarkable PERSON
see also my Homepage and Travelogue below

and remember ~ The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 ~ "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa" http://www.nobel.se/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-lecture.html

Every South African, irrespective of where they live cannot be unmoved by Madiba
see also
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/
http://www.mandelabridge.co.za/
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=21465
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/specialreports/madiba/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1454208.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/16/mandela.birthday/index.html

and a few relevant quotes courtesy of >>>http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/specialreports/madiba/
.........
"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- from Nelson Mandela's statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the Rivonia Trial, Pretoria Supreme Court, 20 April 1964.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us."

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society. If needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die for."

"I left prison more informed that when I went in. And the more informed you are, the less arrogant and aggressive you are."

"I will use the rest of my life to help the poor overcome the problems confronting them--poverty is the greatest challenge facing humanity."

"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."

"Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated."

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find ways in which you yourself have altered."

"When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat."

"I learned to have the patience to listen when people put forward their views, even if I think those views are wrong."

"A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special."