A Long Walk to Freedom.

 On Channel 4 last night there was the first part in a three part series entitled: Free Nelson Mandela. It’s well worth watching, if you want to understand the history of South Africa and the - struggle for democracy and freedom. This was the name of the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, that was published in 1994 about the historic struggle of the antiapartheid movement in South Africa. Mandela was imprisoned for life on Robben Island in June 1964 and spent 27 years in various prisons. I remember reading his book about the time he was incarcerated and he said there was was one line in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare - where Caesar says ‘cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once’. These few words sustained Mandela - to survive the ordeal of suffering - for the cause of freedom. Of course the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa in March 1960 where 60 innocent demonstrators were killed and where many more were injured - caused international condemnation. Another well known activist was Peter Hain, now Lord Hain. He was from South Africa and his family played an important role in the freedom movement. They had to leave the country in March 1966 for London because of the regime there. Now 76 he is still active in politics as a member of the House of Lords,