I miss him

"Forgiveness liberates the soul.

It removes fear.

That is why it is 

such a powerful weapon."

Sharing a Fanta with the legend, South Africa in April 1994. Photo: Magnus Walan

I miss Nelson Mandela. On December 5, it´s one year since he passed away. I was in the anti-apartheid movement and I was lucky enough to meet him a few times. He was just as wonderful as the world has come to know him. Above all, he was kind to everyone, not only to presidents and billionaires. Once he invited me for a glass of soda, although I was a "nobody" in his circles.
I was in Cape Town the night he died. Madiba had been poorly for a long time and we knew that the end was near. We thought we were prepared.
But the following morning, as the sun rise, I saw Robben Island from the window. Once, not too long ago, it was the Apartheid hell hole where Madiba and other political prisoners were incarcerated.
It hit home. I cried when Swedish Radio phoned for a comment. I did not want to live in a world without him.
I drowned my sorrows in green tea with a friend in a Sea Point café. Along with thousands of other South Africans, we made a pact to do our best to keep his legacy alive. To, when faced with an obstacle, ask ourself what Nelson Mandela would have done, and to live without fear, and to always grasp the opportunity to put a smile on a fellow human´s face.

I painted this in my journal. "Hamba Kahle Qhawe" means "Go well, hero" in Zulu.