South Africa-raised comedian Urzila Carlson says although news of Nelson Mandela’s death was not a surprise, it "still came like a kick in the guts". The lesbian funny girl has a more sombre tone today, as she pays tribute to the trailblazing human rights beacon, who died this morning aged 95. "He was one of the greatest humanitarians of all time. He fought for what he believed in and for freedom and equality for all," Carlson tells GayNZ.com Daily News. "He was Africa's greatest son and he was father to a rainbow nation. May his legacy live on and my hope is that all of us can have some of the forgiveness and love that he had. “What a magnificent man. Not without faults but living his best life till the end." Current Mr Gay World Chris Olwage is another gay New Zealander who hails from South Africa, and says he has been profoundly touched by Mandela’s death. "I grew up in an Apartheid South Africa, I bore witness to some of the injustices, I remember the stories and the sense of pride when we learnt of what it meant to have him as a leader. I remember his inauguration, and also the joy and hope for better times the Nation shared in unison,” Olwage says. "Not only was he a beacon to those that suffered the injustices of racial segregation, lived below the poverty line and suffered institutionalised discrimination, but also to those who were and are afflicted with HIV and AIDS. He was a true humanitarian, seeker of justice and a bringer of light. No one will ever be like him." Gay Green MP Kevin Hague was heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement when Nelson Mandela was in prison. "At that time it was hard to know what was going on with him, as little information got out to the outside world," Hague recalls. "Yet he became the focal point of the worldwide movement." Hague says supporters had, and still have 'Free Nelson Mandela' coffee cups, but the only images they owned of him were from the early 1960s. "So I guess we came to think we knew about him, and when he was released from prison it was a shock to see how he now looked. What was also changed was his rhetoric, with the revolutionary language of a young man replaced with a voice of wisdom, humility, wit and reconciliation, though with no less resolve." He had the opportunity to be in the same room as Mandela twice, the first when he came to New Zealand to thank our anti-apartheid movement. "On the second I got to see that resolve first hand. It was at the International AIDS Conference in Durban South Africa. At the time Thabo Mbeki was president and had adopted the position that HIV did not cause AIDS, and therefore the Government should not fund anti-retrovirals. Nelson Mandela used his speech at the conference to set out his opposition to that position, powerfully and effectively, with the result that the South African position changed." Hague says lgbti communites gained enormously for Mandela’s commitment to justice and inclusion, “with South Africa leapfrogging most of the world from a state that legally entrenched prejudice, to one of the very first to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation - rainbow nation indeed."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 6th December 2013 - 1:11pm