Selasa 10 Dec 2013 09:12 WIB

Pile of flower grows outside Mandela's home in Johannesburg

Former South African president Nelson Mandela (left) and the late US pop star Whitney Houston pose for photographers at the presidency in Pretoria, in 1994. Mandela shows his fond of batik in many occasions. (file photo)
Foto: Reuters/Juda Ngwenya
Former South African president Nelson Mandela (left) and the late US pop star Whitney Houston pose for photographers at the presidency in Pretoria, in 1994. Mandela shows his fond of batik in many occasions. (file photo)

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JOHANNESBURG -- Four days after the death of former president Nelson Mandela, hundreds of people visiting his Johannesburg home have left a pile of flowers, condolence cards, balloons and burning candles, which formed a colorful wall.

These are flowers of love being delivered by people of different races, various nationalities and from in and outside South Africa, to show their appreciation for the man they loved so dearly.

Green, yellow, red and white flowers dominate the wall, while purple, pink, and blue colorful ones also refuse to be overshadowed. There are both original and artificial flowers, coming in singles and bunches.

Balloons of different colors, also delivered by mourners, have added a rainbow-like lining to the mountain of flowers. There are also hundreds of condolence cards with praise messages for Mandela who died on Dec. 5 after battling with a recurring lung infection for months.

 

A message from Alessio reads, "You will never be forgotten." Dharma Naidoo and his family choose to use a normal writing pad and wrote, "Thank you for the job well done." A yellow T-shirt hanging on the flowers stated it all, "Thank you for making South Africa a better place."

Hundreds of candles in different colors, and shapes continue to burn next to the flowers despite windy and rainy conditions at times. Those who bring them say they are a symbol of peace, signifying the brightness they saw in Nelson Mandela's life.

One of the mourners was Zizipho Sogawula, who works in Houghton not far from Mandela's house. During tea break on Monday morning, she walked to the site.

"It's touching. There are actually hundreds of candles here. They are still burning and it means that his spirit still lives on, no matter what happens his spirit truly lives on, even though he is not here with us but his spirit still lives on. It's only when you are here that you really get emotional seeing all these tributes and all these flowers from everyone. I think it's very admiral, I like it," Sogawula said.

Tracy Nail brought her two daughters Jody and Emma to deliver three bunch of flowers to the pile.

Nail said, "I brought my girls here to put flowers down for Madiba, because I feel that it's very important that they know the history of our country.

I think his death has unified us all again and helped us to be more positive about the future and just make us remember everything that he stood for and how important it is to just keep on believing in that."

Ten-year-old Jason Smith, also came with his mother to deliver flowers and an enlarged photograph of himself, his brother Kevin and Nelson Mandela, taken two years ago when his family visited the world icon at his Qunu home, in Eastern Cape.

Jason said the memory of that visit is still fresh in his mind. "I saw the security guards and then his grandson called me and my family to meet him and he was lying down in his chair, I felt so happy that I saw Nelson Mandela, I'm so sad that he passed away," said Jason.

Events commemorating Mandela will culminate on Dec. 10, the day of official memorial service at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, and on Dec. 15, when a funeral service and interment ceremony will take place at Mandela's home and final resting place at Qunu.

sumber : Antara

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