My friend, Mandela

Denis Herbstein

Introduction:

Nelson Mandela was the most famous prisoner in the world. He is probably now one of the most famous grandfathers in the world! Here he is celebrating a birthday with his family.

This book is about another grandfather, who is not world-famous. He is talking to his young grandson about nelson Mandela. The young grandson is called Andile(And-eel-ay) and he is growing up in a very different South Africa to that of his grandfather and Nelson Mandela.

Andile has friends who are both black and white, and knows little of the struggle that Nelson Mandela fought for a better life for South Africa’s black people. So, Andile’s grandfather tells him that story.Andile calls his grandfather tamkbulu, which means grandfather.

 

Chapter1 Childhood

 (1918-1941)

Nelson Mandela was a country boy. When I first knew him he lived in a small village near the India Ocean, in a hut shaped like beehive.

With his mother and his three sisters , he ate meals out of a communal pot. The food was usually samp, a porridge made from corn on the cob. Mmm, it was delicious!

He was five, even younger than you, when he became a herd boy. He looked after the sheep and cows. It wasn’t all hard work. He played tag and hide-and-seek with his friends, just like you do. The winters were cold, I remember, so sometimes he would wear a blanket. And he loves to drink the warm milk straight from the cow.

When he turned seven his father sent him school. He was the chief of the village and he wanted his son to look good. He cut down a pair of his trousers and tied them with string round his tummy to hold them up.

It was a Methodist hurch school and he began to learn English. The teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each pupil an English name. who knows why she did this? But suddenly, he was called Nelson. Did you know, he was a famous English admiral?

Then Nelson’s father fell ill and died. It was a blow, but now he had a stroke of luck. His father was a cousin of the king.

Andile: Aab, so he was a prince?

Not really…So the regent, the king’s son, invited him to live in the royal palace. He had a good education. And he learnt about his own people, the Xhosas, how they had fought bravely against the British, though they lost much of their land..

The regent liked him---maybe because he worked hard and was ready to pull his weight. One job he liked doing was to iron the regent’s trousers. People have always said Mandela is fashionably dressed.

The regent sent him to boarding school , and afterwards to a university for black students. But then he found a wife for Nelson. He was only 22, too young to get married. So he ran away. Of course, the regent was cross, but what could Nelson do?

Andile, his xhosa name is Roliblabla. Do you know what it means?...”the troublemaker”. That’s what people said he would be.

Chapter 2 a leader

 (1941-1962)

So he went to Johannesburg,  the City of Gold. It was a good place for rich white people but hard work for the black man who dug out the gold in the mines a mile below the ground.

He decided to study law. He had barely enough money to buy candles for light to read in his room. But he passed the exams, and with his friend, Oliver Tambo, they opened a lawyers’ office.

Apartheid is gone now, Andile, but it was bad. It meant separating white and black people, but whites got the better things. Black children often went to school without breakfast, walking barefoot for miles. There could be a hundred pupils in one classroom. Think of that!

So Nnelson joined the African National Congress, which helped black people. He became one of its leaders. He was away from home and married by then. One day his son asked his mum:”where does daddy live?” he was only five. It made Nelson sad.

You have heard how he liked to keep fit by doing exercises every day? He was a keen boxer.

Andile: why did he like it,tamkhulu?

He’s over six feet tall and was quite strong. He said boxing taught him to stand up to bullies.

Eventually, he and his friends realized that peaceful protests would not change the laws. They decided to fight the government. Nelson became the commander-in-chief of the army, the spear of the nation.

Andile: a soldier!

It was long ago, my boy.

The police wanted to arrest him for this. He disguised himself in old clothes and grew a beard. He was captured and put on trial. He escaped and was working as a chauffeur when the police caught him again. He was prepared to die for the freedom of his people!

The judge sentenced him to prison for the rest of his life. He was 45 years old. The government thought it had got the better of him.

Andile: And had they?

Wait and see.

Chapter 3 prison

(1962-1990)

The prisoners were considered dangerous. The police flew them to Robben island prison. It was a green place with penguins, antelopes and a lovely view of Table Mountain. But it was no holiday in the sun. It was a fortress, guarded day and night.

His cell was tiny. He could cross it in three paces. At first he slept on a mat on the floor. In winter he shivered under thin blankets. He had to wear a shirt, shorts and sandals. They worked in the blinding light of a lime quarry. The food was not at all nourishing. But on Christmas Day they were given an extra cup of coffee.

Andile: No turkey and Christmas pudding?

Don’t joke, please.

It was awful being separated from their families. They were allowed to receive only one letter every six months. How they looked forward to news of their loved ones. Nelson said a letter was like the summer rain which makes the desert bloom.

But at night they worked hard at their studies and educated themselves. And he did his exercises before dawn. Secretly, in the long nights, he wrote the story of his life and buried the book in the yard because it was forbidden under the prison laws. It was smuggled out. That is the book you see in the shop windows, long walk to freedom.

After many years things became better. The outside world began to hear about them. People wore T-shirts saying, “Release Nelson Mandela”. In London, the BBC organized a huge pop concert at Wembley Stadium to celebrate his seventieth birthday.

He was becoming as big a nuisance inside prison as he had once been outside.

Addile: Your friend had a pop concert,tamkhulu!

Chapter 4 Mr. President

(1994-1999)

Nelson wrote that he knew some day he would feel the grass under his feet and walk in the sunshine as a free man. In 1990, he was freed from prison. For twenty-seven years no one was allowed to see his face. Now, millions could at last see him on the television.

Four years later he became president of our country, South Africa. For the first time, all our people, white and black, in cities and small villages, voted in the election. He tried hard to make all the people live together in friendship.

When he meet the queen of England, they walked in the gardens of Buckingham palace. He told her he was still a country boy at heart. He wanted to build a home near his boyhood village where he would spend his old age.

Andile: I would like to visit him there, tamkhulu.

Story background

Apartheid was the law of racial segregation which allowed te white minority to keep political power in south Africa. Between 1948 and 1994 the white national party used this law to discriminate against the rest of he population.

Today there are over 40 million people in South Africa from lots of different backgrounds. That is why it is sometimes called “the rainbow nation”.

South Africa is beginning to grow away from the bad years of apartheid. Many people travel there now on holiday or for their work. South African sportspeople, both black and white , are now taking part in events at the highest levels. This was not always possible because of apartheid.

译文（转载于网络）

我的朋友曼德拉

引言

纳尔逊·曼德拉曾是世界上最著名的囚犯。现在他可能是世界上最著名的祖父之一。

在这里他正和家人一起庆祝自己的生日。这本书是关于另一个不是那么举世闻名的祖父。他正对他年幼的孙子讲述纳尔逊·曼德拉的故事。这个年幼的孙子名叫安得雷，他成长在与他祖父和纳尔逊·曼德拉曾生活的那个南非截然不同。安德雷有着不同肤色的朋友，年幼的他对纳尔逊·曼德拉曾经为南非黑人谋求更好生活所经历的斗争一无所知。于是他的祖父为他讲述了这以下这个故事。安德雷叫他祖父“tamkbulu”，意思是爷爷。

第一章

 

童年（1918-1941）

纳尔逊·曼德拉出生在乡下。我最初了解他的时候，他住在印度洋边一个小村庄的一个形似蜂窝的小屋里。他和母亲还有三个姊妹一起靠吃大锅饭生活。食物通常是玉米粥，就是用老玉米煮的粥。嗯，那东西很好吃。

他才五岁就成了牧童，比你现在还小。他负责看管牛羊，不用一直都忙活。就像你一样，他和小伙伴们经常玩捉迷藏。我记得那时候挺冷的，所以他总会披条毛毯。另外他还喜欢直接从奶牛身上挤牛奶喝。

七岁那年他父亲送他去学校上学。他爸爸是那个村子的首领，希望自己的儿子出人头地。他裁了一条裤子缠在儿子身上用绳子绑紧。他上的是一所教会学校，在那他开始学习英语。他的老师Mdingane小姐为每个学生都取了英文名。谁知道她为什么要那么做。就在那个时候他被称为纳尔逊。那可是个著名英国海军上将的名字呢。

之后，纳尔逊的父亲得病去世了。这对他来说是个打击，可是也是个意外的好运，因为他父亲是国王的堂兄弟。

安德雷：“哇，那他不就是个王子了吗？”

其实也不算是。摄政王，也就是国王的儿子，请他去皇宫里生活。就这样他获得了良好的教育，同时也了解到，他的同胞科萨人纵然失去大片家园，依然在勇敢地与英国殖民者进行抗争。也许是他努力做好自己分内的事，摄政王很欣赏他。

他特别喜欢做的一件事就是熨摄政王的裤子。人们总说曼德拉的打扮很时髦。摄政王先后送他去寄宿学校和教育黑人学生的大学读书。但后来他给纳尔逊找了个妻子。纳尔逊那是才22岁，结婚对于他来说太年轻了。于是他选择了逃跑。摄政王当然十分生气，不过纳尔逊还有能什么选择呢？安德雷啊，纳尔逊的科萨语名字叫Roliblabla。知道那是什么意思吗？就是“捣蛋鬼”的意思。那就是人们对他的印象。

第二章

领袖（1941-1962）

他去了约翰内斯堡，黄金之城。那对富有的白人来说是天堂，但是对黑人来说却十分艰辛，因为他们得在地下矿井里挖黄金。他决定学习法律。虽然连看书要点的蜡烛的钱都没有，但还是通过了司法考试，并和他的朋友奥利弗·坦博一起开了一家律师事务所。安德雷啊，种族隔离制度现在虽然已经被废除了，但那时却十分严重。那意味着将黑人和白人分开，但只有白人有更好的生活条件。黑人孩子通常得不吃早饭的光脚走上很远的路去学校上学。一间教室里可能得有一百多个学生在一起上课。简直无法想象。

于是纳尔逊参加了有利于黑色人种的非洲国民议会，并成为领袖之一。结婚之后他便远离了故土。一天，他年仅五岁的儿子问他的妻子：“爸爸去哪了？”这使纳尔逊十分伤心。你听说过他有多么喜欢通过每日运动来保持健康吧？他当时可是一个敏捷的拳击手。

安德雷：“那他为什么喜欢拳击呢，爷爷？”

他身高超过六英尺（182.4厘米）且身体十分强壮。他说拳击教会他如何勇敢地面对那些恃强凌弱的人。尽管如此，他和朋友们意识到和平的抗议无法改变现有的法律。他们便决定武力反对政府。纳尔逊成为了军队的总指挥，民族之矛。

安德雷：“哇，一名军人啊。”

那是很久之前的事了，我的孩子。为此警察企图搜捕他。他把自己乔装成一个穿着破旧逸夫留有胡子的人，不过最终被抓住并被审问。逃跑后当了一名司机结果再次被捕。为了人们的自由，他已做好牺牲的准备。法官判他终身监禁。那时他45岁。政府认为这样就击败了他。

安德雷：“之后呢？”

等着瞧

第三章

铁窗生活（1962-1990）

犯人被认为是很危险的人。警察把他们流放到罗宾岛监狱。那里有企鹅、羚羊和平顶山美景的绿地。但那里不是阳光下的假日，而是被日夜看守的堡垒。他的牢房很小，两三步就走到头了。起初他睡在地板上的垫子上。冬天只能在薄薄的毯子里瑟瑟发抖。他不得不穿着衬衣短裤和凉鞋。不过在圣诞节那天会被多提供一杯咖啡。

安德雷：“没有火鸡和圣诞布丁吗？”

别闹了孩子。与家人分离实在是太糟了。他们只被允许每半年通一次信。他们直接该有多么渴望获得挚爱的亲人的消息啊。纳尔逊说一封家书如炎炎夏日里能让沙漠里开花的甘霖。但一到晚上他们会努力自学与研究，每天清晨锻炼身体。慢慢长夜里他秘密的记录自己生活同时把写的书埋在院子里，因为这在监狱里不允许的。那些书都是被偷偷运出来的，就是你在商店的橱窗里看到的书，记录着通向自由的漫漫征程。多年之后，境况渐渐好转。

外面的世界开始得知他们的故事。人们在衣服上写到“放了纳尔逊·曼德拉”。在伦敦，英国广播公司在温布利体育场举办了一场盛大的流行音乐会来庆祝他的七十大寿。就和他之前在外面一样，他在监狱里也成了一个大麻烦。

安德雷：“哇，您的朋友开过一场流行音乐会，爷爷。”

第四章

总统先生（1994-1999）

纳尔逊曾经写到他知道自己终有一天能成为一名自由的人在阳光下漫步感知着脚下的青草。

1990年，他从监狱里被释放。27年来没有人被允许探视他。现在，数以百万计的人们能在电视上见到他。四年后，他成为了我们国家，南非的总统。这是有史以来第一次，全国所有人们，不论肤色和出身共同投票选举的结果。他竭尽全力让所有人友好和谐的生活在一起。当英国女王接见他时，他们一起在白金汉宫的花园中漫步。他告诉女王在他自己心中他仍然是一个来自乡下的小男孩。他希望能在儿时生活的村庄旁建一栋房子安度晚年。

安德雷：“爷爷，我想到那去拜访他。”

故事背景

种族隔离制度曾是南非的一项旨在维护白种少数人统治而设立的种族隔离法律。

1948年到1994年期间国家党通过这项法律对人们进行种族歧视。今天的南非有超过四千万来自不同背景的人们。也是为什么有时我们把南非称作“彩虹民族”的原因。南非已经开始走出多年种族隔离制度所产生的阴影，现在许多人们来此渡假或工作。南非的运动员，不论是黑人还是白人现在在很多体育项目上有着很高的经济水平。如果种族隔离制度仍然存在这几乎是不可能的。