Prayers for Mandela
2012-12-10 14:34
Johannesburg - South Africans united to offer prayers for
ailing national icon Nelson Mandela on Monday, who is spending a third day in
hospital for undefined tests.
Discussion about the health of the anti-apartheid leader
featured prominently in newspapers, church services, social media feeds and
conversations across the rainbow nation.
Madiba, as he is affectionately known by South Africans,
retains a prominent place in the national psyche, despite leaving office more
than a decade ago - a lifetime ago in the quick-moving politics of this
born-again nation.
"Nation prays for Madiba" was the front-page
headline in the Sowetan daily attempting to capture the zeitgeist of a nation.
"The fact is that when Madiba sneezes, South Africa
- and the rest of the world - catches a cold," the paper said in an
editorial.
"We love Madiba, we feel every inch of anxiety,
stress and pain with the rest of his close and distant family. And like
concerned loved ones, we want to know how he is doing."
Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto township, a centre
of the struggle against apartheid and where Mandela has a house, said prayers
during their Sunday service, according to the New Age.
The country's opposition parties joined the chorus of
prayers to wish Mandela well.
"When Mandela is admitted to hospital, all of us get
affected because we love and care for him," said DA
spokesperson Mmusi Maimane.
The Congress of the People expressed the hope that the tests being conducted find Mandela in good
health.
But there was also a level of resignation about Mandela's
fate - in contrast to the panic of previous health scares - and a sense that
Mandela must now be left in peace.
"Dear South Africans, Please let Nelson Mandela go,
he is old now and deserves to rest," @ComradeESETHU from Cape Town tweeted.
"Such sensationalism in the media. Yes, I admire
Mandela but the man is 94 years old! Whether sick or not, he's not going to
live forever," said @SediNtuli from Grahamstown.
The anti-apartheid hero and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
was flown from his home village to a hospital in the Pretoria on
Saturday.
