Good People ! President Obama and First Lady Michele with daughters are in South Africa. They were was warmly welcomed by President Zuma with his wife; although the country is in a very sombre mood which some people dont understand. President Obama and President Zuma were both very wise to respect the wishes of the family in a dignified manner even when negative attitudes present their ugly praying provocative presence of both the media and the spoilers who kept wondering about where Mandela is hospitalized......... What is welcoming is the calmness at which a powerful sombre message by Winnie Mandela and daughter offered to the world to kindly respect the family and honor their wishes at this very difficult moment they are spending with their Dad, should be heeded and honored..........!!! President Obama and first Lady Michele meeting with Mandela family is very humble, honored and morally fitting. It will give them a sense of comfort and strength they mostly need at this moment in time........ I therefore Pray that, may God Bless Mandela family in abanduntly and annoint this wonderful African family to overcome snares of this world. May God nourish and heal their pain and sore they succumbed over many years....May God give them peace of mind and fill them up with love no man can provide and fanthom and give them strength and energy they need to help them undertake and go t hrough vigil in wait of what God has in store for our Hero Baba Mandela......!!!! It is not easy but, this are those moments we all need for encouragement and support each other for strength to gain Hope in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in........... Ahsante sana Mama Winnie Mandela.........God is able and God has the answer to the difficult things that are beyond our comprehension or understanding where, He God alone is able to lighten our loads ...!!! May Peace that passes all understanding be with us all and keep us in the spirit of sharing and caring in the Love of God always. Cheers !!! Judy Miriga Diaspora Spokesperson Executive Director Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc., USA http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com Winnie Mandela wants media sensitivity Published on Jun 28, 2013 The former wife of Nelson Mandela updates his condition and asks the media to be sensitive to the family's feelings Obama to meet ailing Mandela's family
South African President Jacob Zuma (2nd right) and his wife, Thobeka Madiba-Zuma (right) wave alongside US President Barack Obama (2nd left) and First Lady Michelle Obama (left) as they arrive at the Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 29, 2013. Obama and his wife Michelle will spend time with Mandela's family to comfort them in a difficult time, the official said, as the US leader arrived in Pretoria for talks with President Jacob Zuma. AFP By AFP Posted Saturday, June 29 2013 at 12:22 PRETORIA US President Barack Obama Saturday decided not to visit his political hero Nelson Mandela in hospital to preserve the "peace and comfort" of the anti-apartheid legend, whose family he will meet to offer prayers instead. The US leader will hold up Mandela's unifying legacy as an example to an emerging continent, even as the plight of the father of multi-racial South Africa added poignancy and a delicate political dimension to his visit. "The President and First Lady will meet privately with members of the Mandela family to offer their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time," a US official said, as Obama arrived in Pretoria for talks with South African President Jacob Zuma in the middle leg of a three-nation swing. "Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the official said on condition of anonymity. Obama said Friday he did not need a photo-op with Mandela, who he meet briefly in 2005, but aides did not definitively rule out a visit to the hospital before he arrived in Johannesburg on Friday night. Mandela's condition presented Obama with a delicate political challenge. He must balance a desire to honour Mandela, in perhaps his final days, with a message that the United States wants to play a key diplomatic and economic role in a region on the rise. Obama's helicopter swept low over the Pretoria hills to land in front of the imposing sandstone Union Buildings, the seat of South Africa's government, for talks and a press conference with Zuma. Later, he will head to Soweto, the sprawling township where riots sparked a nationwide struggle against the racist apartheid regime, while Mandela and fellow African National Congress leaders were in prison. The US leader will hold a town hall style meeting with young leaders from all over Africa, driving home his theme that it is time for a new generation to guide the continent into a new era of democracy and prosperity. Mandela may be out of sight, but his influence is palpable on Obama's tour of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. A public meeting between the first black presidents of the United States and South Africa, who in their own way both shattered racial barriers had long been anticipated, but Obama was unable to visit South Africa in his first term, before Mandela's decline accelerated. Instead, Obama will hold up Mandela's legacy Saturday as an example for African leaders as they seek to lift the continent from a challenging past to a more prosperous and peaceful future. "The message will be consistent because it draws on the lessons of Nelson Mandela's own life," Obama told reporters on Friday. "If we focus on what Africa as a continent can do together and what these countries can do when they're unified, as opposed to when they're divided by tribe or race or religion, then Africa's rise will continue. "That's one of the central lessons of what Nelson Mandela accomplished not just as president, but in the struggle to overcome apartheid and his years in prison." Fears for Mandela's health have eased slightly, as the 94-year-old's ex-wife Winnie said Friday there had been a "great improvement" though he was still said to be in a critical condition. Supporters have been gathering outside the Pretoria hospital to offer prayers for the man who negotiated an end to decades of white minority rule and a wall of handwritten prayers for Mandela's recovery has become the focal point for South Africans paying tribute to the father of their nation, with singing and dancing by day and candlelight vigils at night. Tokozile Sibalo, 50, a receptionist in an internet company came with her daughters, 20 and 12. "I'm here this morning to give my prayers. It's important because Mandela is so important to us South Africans and Africans," she said. Before the White House announced Obama's decision, she said she hoped the president would visit Mandela in hospital. "They share the same thing. Mandela has been the first black president in South Africa and Obama has been the first black president in America." "It will also lift up Mandela to see that Obama thinks about Africa", she said. A visit by Obama to Mandela's former jail cell on Robben Island, off Cape Town, on Sunday in particular is expected to be laden with symbolism. Obama will then visit former Archbishop Desmond Tutu's youth foundation HIV centre before delivering the central speech of his African tour at the University of Cape Town. Mandela has been hospitalised four times since December, mostly for a stubborn lung infection. The man once branded a terrorist by the United States and Britain walked free from prison near Cape Town in 1990. He won South Africa's first fully democratic elections in 1994, forging a path of racial reconciliation during his single term as president, before taking up a new role as a roving elder statesman and leading AIDS campaigner. In South Africa, song and prayer for Mandela on eve of Obama visitupdated 7:58 PM EDT, Thu June 27, 2013 STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- South Africans sang and prayed late Thursday outside the hospital where Nelson Mandela is being treated, singing "Viva Mandela!" after news the anti-apartheid icon's condition had stabilized. Colorfully dressed women danced in front of the Pretoria hospital where candles burned, the South African Press Association reported. Hundreds of people from the African National Congress Youth League and Women's League sang struggle songs, danced, and marched up and down the street in front of the hospital, according to the state-run South African Broadcasting Corp. "There is no other like him," they sang.
Zuma: Mandela's condition improves
 Revolutionary and politician Nelson MandelaMandela's condition improved, President Jacob Zuma said Thursday, as the eyes of the nation remained fixed on his progress. Zuma spoke after visiting Mandela in the hospital and said the medical team told him the former president "remains critical but is now stable." "I canceled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the doctors. He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night," Zuma said. Mandela, 94, considered the founding father of South Africa's modern democracy, has been undergoing treatment at the Pretoria hospital since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. His oldest daughter said earlier that although her father is critically ill, he opens his eyes and responds to touch. "I reiterate that Tata is very critical, that anything is imminent," Makaziwe Mandela told SABC. "But I want to emphasize again that it's only God who knows when the time to go is. And so we will wait." "Tata" is the word for father in the language of Mandela's Xhosa tribe. "He's ... still reactive to touch. We will live with that hope until the final end comes," she said. The stream of family visits continued, with the former president's granddaughter Ndileka Mandela and grandson Mandla Mandela the latest to come to the hospital, the South African Press Association said. Concerned about rumors Another grandson, Nkosi Mandela, issued a statement criticizing what he called "hurtful" and "mischievous rumors" about his grandfather's condition. "Our government has been keeping all of us informed in this regard, and there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the information they provide to the public," he said. "At the end of the day, my grandfather's fate, like that of everyone else, lies with God and our ancestors," he added. "However, many of us will continue to pray and hope for his recovery." An official briefed on Mandela's condition said he was on life support late Wednesday. Government spokesman Mac Maharaj declined to comment on the report, citing doctor-patient confidentiality. Zuma's statement also warned against a rash of misleading reports about Mandela's condition. The ANC is organizing prayer sessions around the country "where all South Africans can come together, hold hands and pray for Madiba, his family and medical team," it said in a statement Thursday. In South Africa, Mandela is most commonly referred to as Madiba, the name of the Thembu clan to which he belongs. It is a term of endearment and respect. 'We need you!' As the nation remained on edge, South Africans found solace in candlelight vigils. Police barricaded the street leading to the hospital's main entrance as crowds posted messages and left tributes at the hospital wall. "We need you!" one sign read. "We love you tata, get well soon!" said another. Police also cordoned off the street outside Mandela's Johannesburg home Thursday, the South African Press Association reported. About 30 journalists who were gathered outside were asked to move to the end of the street, but well-wishers were allowed to leave flowers and tributes by the house. 'A hero for the world' Mandela became an international figure while enduring 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid, the country's system of racial segregation. He was elected the nation's first black president in 1994, four years after he was freed. Even as he has faded from the spotlight, he remains popular and is considered a hero of democracy worldwide. He turns 95 next month. U.S. President Barack Obama, who is on a tour of the continent this week that includes South Africa, said his thoughts are with the nation's citizens. "He is a personal hero, but I'm not unique in that regard," Obama told CNN Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin in Dakar, Senegal, the first stop of his African tour. "I think he's a hero for the world, and if/when he passes, we know his legacy will linger on throughout the ages." First lady Michelle Obama said Mandela "is very much in our thoughts and prayers right now." Speaking to middle-school students in Dakar, she urged the children to "honor his legacy by leaving a proud legacy of your own." "If President Mandela could hold tight to his vision for his country's future during the 27 years he spent in prison, then surely you all can hold tight to your hopes for your own future," she said. "If President Mandela could endure being confined to a tiny cell, being forced to perform back-breaking labor, being separated from the people he loved most in the world, then surely all of us, we can keep showing up and doing our best -- showing up for school each day, studying as hard as you possibly can." Obama's schedule does not include a visit with the anti-apartheid icon.The president's trip to South Africa this weekend includes a stop on Robben Island, where Mandela spent a majority of his prison term. After South Africa, Obama plans to head to Tanzania, his last stop before returning to Washington. |
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