In a symbol befitting a nation in mourning, dark gray clouds swept over Johannesburg on Friday.
Under overcast skies that
threatened to rain any minute, South Africans draped in flags and
images of Nelson Mandela gathered on the streets to sing and dance.
Children spelled out "we
love you Mandela" on the grass using rocks near his home in the suburb
of Houghton. Nearby, stuffed animals and flowers sat in a heap.
Others wept as they lit candles.
Mandela, 95, died
Thursday. The nation's first black president battled health issues in
recent years, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous
hospitalizations.
President Jacob Zuma announced the loss late Thursday night, long after many South Africans had gone to bed.
They didn't find out until Friday morning.
"I woke up and was
shocked when I saw it on television," said Wilson Mudau, a cab driver in
Johannesburg. "It's sad, but what can we do? Let him rest in peace.
It's time ... Madiba has worked so hard to unite us."
South Africans affectionately refer to him as Madiba, his clan name.
In Soweto township,
where Mandela lived before he was thrown into prison for 27 years, giant
posters of his face adorned walls. Residents surrounded his former red
brick house on a busy street and crooned freedom songs.
Around the world,
memorials popped up from Los Angeles to Chicago, where flowers and
candles were laid in front of murals bearing his likeness. In
Washington, crowds gathered in front of the South African Embassy.
Australian and English cricket fans observed a moment of silence in Adelaide, Australia.
"I admired Mandela
(because) he had not poisoned his heart," said Leo Udtohan of Bohol,
Philippines. "He learned to forgive despite the horror he experienced
while in prison."
Man of complexities
Mandela helped South Africa break the shackles of racial segregation and do away with white minority rule.
Imprisoned for nearly
three decades for his fight against apartheid, he emerged from prison in
1990, determined to unite the nation.
Instead of anger and bitterness at the white government that imprisoned him, he chose forgiveness and reconciliation.
"As I walked out the
door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't
leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison," Mandela
said after he was freed.
His call to avoid
vengeance inspired the world. It also set him on a path of evolving
roles, from freedom fighter, to prisoner, to a world symbol of the
struggle against racial oppression.
But one role remained dominant: father of modern South Africa.
And four years after he
left prison, he became the nation's first black president, cementing his
place in the consciousness of the nation and the world.
"I'm just glad he finally found his place of rest," said Omekongo Dibinga of Washington.
"From the family drama to his health problems, it just seemed like he
could never get a break in his later years. Now I hope be can finally
rest but he'll probably still be watching down on us in frustration. "
'We all knew he'd leave us at some point'
With his recent bouts of illnesses, South Africans seemed prepared for the worst.
"We all knew he'd leave
us at some point," said Tony Karuiru, a Johannesburg resident. "But we
were hoping that he would be with us during the festive season. It's the
holidays, we're all expecting a bonus. I just wish God would have given
him a bonus of a few more days with us as well."
Thomas Rabodiba said
even that though Mandela's death was expected after so many years of
illness, he's having a hard time accepting it.
"At first, I heard
rumors and thought it was the usual rumors I'd heard before," he said. "
After I heard the president's announcement later that the old man has
departed, then I believed that he's really gone."
His legacy
Mandela will be remembered for many things, but his message of forgiveness and reconciliation will resonate the most.
"Mandela's biggest
legacy ... was his remarkable lack of bitterness and the way he did not
only talk about reconciliation, but he made reconciliation happen in
South Africa," said F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's last white president
and Mandela's predecessor.
His casket will lie in
state for several days in Pretoria. Next week, it will be flown to his
ancestral hometown of Qunu for a state funeral and burial, sources said.
Leaders react
Until that funeral, Zuma has ordered flags around South Africa to be flown at half-staff.
"He is now resting. He
is now at peace," Zuma said late Thursday. "Our nation has lost its
greatest son. Our people have lost a father."
The United States
followed suit while Buckingham Palace said it will fly the Union flag at
half staff when Queen Elizabeth II leaves Friday morning.
"We must pay tribute to Mandela, the best state leader of all time," said Zaid Paruk, 23.
Mandela has been hailed by leaders near and far.
"Nelson Mandela achieved
more than could be expected of any man," Obama said Thursday. "Today,
he has gone home. And we have lost one of the most influential,
courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share
time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us - he belongs to the
ages."
In the final years of
his life, secret plans were hammered out between the government, the
military and his family as they prepared for a fitting farewell.
Events will be held over
the next 10 days, culminating in a state funeral to be broadcast
worldwide and a private farewell for those closest to him.
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