Letting Go

So the atmosphere in South Africa has been somewhat tense Nelson Mandela was re-admitted into hospital for the 3^rd time since December.

Madiba grew up in Qunu, which is a small rural village 20 miles south-west of Mthatha.  Until recently, Mandela he was permanently living in his Qunu home, but due to his deteriating heath and lack of quality health care in the Transki, Mandela was moved to Johannesburg.  As South Africa and most of the world watches and waits anxiously for any news on his condition, many are fearing the worst.  But then I think… is it the worst?

The man is 94 years old – which, if you ask me, is an achievement in itself! – who spent 27 of those years in prison doing hard manual labour.  He was sent to jail because he was fighting for ‘his peoples’ freedom and to bring an end to the apartheid.   Although there is a lot of debate about whether everyone in South Africa are treated quality (not just in terms of race, but also gender), Mandela and the ANC achieved what they had sent out to do… bring an end to the brutal regime which was the apartheid!!

The abolishing of the apartheid is still so fresh and South Africa is still suffering from the scars that were left behind.  The majority of the people still in extreme poverty are black, who struggle to get finical support or quality health care from the public health care system.  Working in Bethany Home, I see first hand how poverty affects people and what drives people to do.  Most of our children are orphaned through HIV or treatable diseases like TB, or are abandoned.  A lot of pregnancies in the rural areas of South Africa are unwanted, due to lack of knowledge of contraception; and women are often left to raise the child alone.  This leads to newborn babies being abandoned on the street or in the hospital because they have a lack of money to provide the child with what they need.  For me this is so incredibly sad, when teenagers in the UK are purposely having children just to claim money off the government.  Also the public health care system in South Africa needs a serious shake up!  Hours and hours of my year at Bethany have been spent queuing with children waiting to see a doctor.  Also some of the conditions the hospital and clinics are in are unbelievable!  The UK Health Standards Agency would have a fit if a hospital were in that state in UK!  Once I was in the local hospital’s A&E on a Friday night and what I witnessed truly shocked me, people were lying on the floor barely breathing, two people came in with stab wounds who were just left to bleed on a trolley in the hall way and how many doctors were on duty? One.  I know the NHS has been under a lot of scrutiny lately and I know I used to complain about it… but what I’ve seen here makes me see how lucky we are to have a health care system that is efficient, accessible and free.  Whether all of this is lasting affect of the apartheid or proof that the health care system needs to change, in my opinion, it’s going to take a few generations for South Africa to totally heal.

However Nelson Mandela is in a private hospital receiving ‘the best quality of care’ according to reports.  A few days ago I read in an article that someone had said, “why should Mandela get special treatment and private health care, he should wait in a queue like everyone else”.  REALLY?!  For a man who spent 27 years in prison because he fought for basic human rights and over coming ‘The Struggle’, I think that’s the least he deserves.  I mean, who knows where South Africa would be if the apartheid hadn’t been abolished.  Anyway, that’s a touchy political topic that I could talk about for hours.

Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela remains in a ‘critical condition’ in hospital and is no doubt being kept alive on a ventilator.  The man has done more for his country and the world than most could ever dream! Personally I believe he is an inspiration and a good man, so isn’t it time we let him go with some pride and dignity?