Amandla~! Ngawethu~! iAfrika~! Maribuye~!

Those were the joyous cries that rocked South Africa after Nelson Mandela's release from a life-long sentence about two decades ago. I have read a great deal of books. This one touched my heart with his courage, his dedication, his long and difficult fight for freedom, not only for his own freedom but for the whole nation of South Africa.

To be borned into a nation where oppression and repression were so strong, it was difficult just to live like a normal human being. My prayer goes to Nelson Mandela who is 92 years of age now. For his whole life, he has fought against the apartheid system that condemned the Africans of their rights just because of their skin colour. The new generation might not understand his struggle and sacrifices as they are not in his shoes. To feel how a person really felt, there's no way of knowing but one should try to imagine and understand instead of making a blanket statement either through writing or drawing. A picture speaks a thousand words equal to action speaks louder than words.
The above picture was drawn by a South African local artist Yuill Damaso, a man who will draw what he likes. The statement he made regarding the painting,"He(Nelson Mandela) achieved great things by working hard, and he has so much influence on the country and the world, but the painting shows that he is just an ordinary man."

No one, no one can deny that he is just an ordinary man, breathing the same air and walking on the same ground as everyone else, but he has been chosen by God, appointed by God to walk this path, to lead his people to freedom from being oppressed. That's a HUGE difference~!!!! A task so huge that Mr. Yuill Damaso has no calling to. That drawing sparks controversy among the African National Congress people and the nation and at one moment, I am aghast by how dense and ignorant Mr. Yuill can be NOT to see the difference.

"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them."

[Psalm 12:5]

God preserved Nelson Mandela's life when he was in prison. No matter how bad the situation was in the country, he found favours in the eyes of the oppressors. He found favours in the eyes of the prison warders and everything was so because of God's timing. God's timing was never out. God does things at His own pace, in a miraculous ways no one can even explain.

Out of an oppressed and repressed nation, Nelson Mandela was chosen and raised up to break the bondage. For the oppressors - the whites mainly, you've forgotten that there's a sovereign God above you and the Lord will judge you for what you've done to a nation - a nation who is innocent and fought hard to live like anybody else.

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him..."

[Exodus 22:21]

That verse is clearly stated regarding Social Responsibility in the Bible.

The Lord is very clear about how one should NEVER oppress a person...

"He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, all is gone."

[Job 27:19]

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

[Psalm 9:9]

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

[Proverbs 14:31]

A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

[Proverbs 28:3]

The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

[Habakkuk 2:11]

Go on and read the whole book of Habakkuk...

This is a man whose fight against apartheid and succeeded in doing so has drawn international attention thus, he has been the Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1993. That drawing by Mr. Yuill Damaso is really really very disrespectful to someone who is so much older than he is and without him, Mr. Yuill will still live under oppression and might not even have the freedom to draw anything that he likes not to mention the freedom of voting in a democratic country. Even worse, without the work of Nelson Mandela, Yuill Damaso will not even have the chance to exhibit his work of art. You owe Nelson Mandela a public apology as your artwork has been published worldwide so it is only wise that you apologize to him worldwide, in every form of mass media that you can think of.