He was an Anglican priest who was a Chaplain to students at both black and white universities in Durban. He was later expelled from South Africa to Lesotho and joined the African National Congress. Together with the ANC and other anti- apartheid movements he worked towards putting an end to the horrendous racial segregation in South Africa.
This "white" priest who was fighting for the rights of the "blacks" was finally sent a postal bomb from which he lost both his hands!
His good work did not end as a result but he was further motivated to be involved in seeking reconciliation and justice. He lives as an exemplary reminder to the world of how people can selflessly contribute to the betterment of others and restore hope in humanity!
Father Micheal will be in Sri Lanka from the 14th - 21st of January 2014 for a workshop on reconciliation and 'Healing of Memories'!
Redeeming the Past - A tribute to Madiba
Father Michael Lapsley,SSM,
Director of the Institute for
Healing of Memories, Cape Town South Africa
"I am a product of the people of South Africa
Imagine for a moment what would have happened if
Nelson Mandela had walked out of prison and said "Its time to get
them". We would have died in our millions. it is said that revenge is when
you drink poison and hope that someone else will die. Instead he said:
"Never, never and never again shall it be that this
beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by
another."
The world was astonished if not gob smacked that when
Nelson Mandela left prison after 27 years .there was not a trace of bitterness
- no words of hatred or revenge crossed his lips. Instead he repeated
what he had said before going to prison for life - a commitment to a common
society in which we would live together in peace as human beings. The
presence of his prison guard in a place of great honour at his inauguration was
a potent symbol of a nation in which enemies would become friends.
Those 27 years were like a crucible, a refining fire.
What Nelson Mandela did from February 11 1990 till December 5 2013 was to
redeem the past, to bring life out of death, good out of evil.
Was it bad that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in
prison – yes of course it was an act of evil and should never have happened.
Nevertheless the fruit which came out of those years has been a wonder to
behold.
Madiba understood very early that the road to freedom
lay through sacrifice, especially self-sacrifice. We now know that those
closest to him at the treason trial did not want him to say the final words of
his speech “…I am prepared to die” but he insisted.
There were and are countless Nelson Mandelas who are
not characterised by hatred and bitterness. Particularly because those in
the struggle who were able to make sense of their suffering.
However even as we go about our daily lives countless
South Africans continue to show signs of multiple woundedness which crosses
generations.
In the first democratic parliament the piece of
legislation which was debated more than any other was the Act which set up the
Truth and Reconciliation commission lead by the other moral icon: Desmond Tutu.
Madiba understood that he was president of a wounded nation The past would have
to be acknowledged and there was a need for us all to tell each other our
stories and we would all need to find ways of redeeming our past.
I am a New
Zealand South
Africa
Three months after Nelson Mandela’s release from
prison, my hands were blown off by a letter bomb hidden inside two religious
magazines. My years in the struggle, and the examples of Mandela,
Tambo and Huddleston had prepared me for the possibility of death
although not for permanent major physical disability. Nevertheless I
could make sense of my loss even as I grieved and felt the pain. Like
Mandela how people responded to my bombing meant that my story was
acknowledged, reverenced and recognized. I was prayed for, loved and
supported.
In the countless tributes crossing the world so many
people have said that in their encounters with Tata Madiba, they felt
acknowledged and special.
In my own small way, inspired by Mandela and so many
other heroic women and men, I try to make all people I meet, feel special and
of great value.
More than that, like Madiba, I surrounded myself with
a collective and we created together an Institute for Healing of Memories.
Greatly encouraged by Mandela’s leadership in creating a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, we seek to create safe and sacred spaces where
healing happens – because people feel acknowledged, reverenced and recognised.
A year after Nelson Mandela became President he
officially opened the First Southern African Solidarity Conference with Cuba US
delegation at the funeral were to return to the USA
There is never a good day to become an orphan which is
part of what we have felt these last few days. We all lost a
father. So we cry and we also laugh and party for the treasure we have been
given in the form of the greatest leader of our time.
How wonderful that we and people all over the world,
especially our young people are listening to and reading the words of Nelson
Mandela inviting us to embody and exude peace, healing and
reconciliation.
I don’t believe that Nelson Mandela will rest in peace
if we keep naming things after him. I am sure he will rest peacefully if
we live out our lives in the pursuit of a gentler, kinder, more just and
therefore more peaceful world inspired by his example.
Now it's up to us!