Young Madiba sees the 'magic'
2005-02-03 23:18
London - Five-year-old Dylan Madiba Gerber of Graaff-Reinet was almost speechless on Thursday when he saw the world leader, after whom he was named, in real life for the first time in Trafalgar Square.
His father, Allan, on whose shoulders he sat wrapped in a South African flag, said: "When we heard [former president Nelson] Mandela was coming, we knew Dylan had to be there. We don't think he will have the honour again."
Although the family has been living in Coventry in the English midlands for the past 10 years, they said they were actively raising funds for the Eastern Cape's Vuyani shelter for street children.
"I've written Mandela a letter," said Dylan, initially shy, but later he screamed at the top of his lungs and over the heads of at least 20 000 people: "He answered. I got a letter back."
'Must accept all as their equals'
Allan said: "The big thing I want Dylan and our other son - ZackYedwa, who is two - to learn from Mandela is to accept everyone as their equals.
"They must know he was in prison for 27 years and he still returned as a loving man." Allan said.
Like the Gerbers, Tracey Meyer of Grassy Park in the Western Cape gave up her lunch hour at work to come and hear how the world quietens down for five minutes to observe the "Madiba magic".
"I last saw and heard him in person when he was released from prison [February 11 1990]," she said.
"But, I was too young to really understand. Now, I know what he means when he says African countries need all the aid they can get. I'm glad I can listen to him now that I'm a little older."
A medical student from London, Kalyan Gillet, said wealthier countries, such as Britain and the United States, held the key to poverty-relief in Africa.
"They must stop pretending that they can't afford to abolish poor countries' debt."