My important person is South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela. Being a civil rights activist, I connect with him because I have a passion for freedom and equality and feel that everyone in the world has a right to be led by people of their choice. Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and he died in 2013 (Biography.com Editors, n.d). He was a civil rights activist who became the president in 1994 and exited in 1999. I would like to have an imaginary conversation regarding his life and the struggle to liberate the people of South Africa from the hands of foreigners as he referred to their then leaders.
Me: hello Sir, my name is James, I would like to learn a few things about your life and how you fought for freedom in South Africa.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Mandela: welcome James, I was born at a time when the black people were not allowed to own any powerful position in South Africa and no one was allowed to question the way the leaders conducted their activities. People lived in fear and were oppressed.
Me: what motivated you to fight for your people and deliver them from the power of the white man?
Mandela: I began active politics when I was in my 20s and when at the university, I was elected to work at the SRC but resigned when students’ demands could not be met by the administration. After the death of my father, I was adopted by a chief and my interest began when I got to learn about our people from other chiefs who visited the chief for official matters. I later joined other youths in 1942 and pushed the agenda of the ANC youth league to mobilize the grass root to fight for democracy (History.com Staff, 2009).
Me: Tell me about your arrest and detention. When you were released after 27 years, you were elected the first black president. How did that feel?
Mandela: we had always done peaceful demonstration against the government but we were arrested and charged with treason although we were acquitted later. I was in the Rhodes Island for 18 years where we did hard labor under the bad weather. When I was released, I felt I should fight to free our people who until then were still considered second class citizens. People overwhelmingly supported me and South Africa was finally liberated.
Me: Thank you so much Mandela for your time.
Mandela: Welcome, it was my pleasure.
References
Biography.com Editors (n.d). Nelson Mandela Biography . Retrieved from: <http://www.biography.com/people/nelson-mandela-9397017#related-video-gallery/>
History.com staff (2009). Nelson Mandela . Retrieved from <http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela/>
