Mandela: Many unsung heroes

Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela came close to rejecting the tag of icon in a display of modesty before a $1,000 per plate dinner held in his honour. It was his last engagement in TT held by Concacaf on Friday night at the Centre of Excellence at Macoya. “It’s not correct to credit one particular individual for progress. Progress and change are not the result of an individual effort; they are always the result of a collective where a group of men and women are responsible for that achievement.”

It could be the “silliest mistake,” he warned, to excessively praise the contribution of one person to a cause, while there might be other persons who had done more than the man everyone was praising. Such adulation, he said, could even discourage others from contributing. “There are many people who are very humble, who played a critical role in the development of humanity, but who might have preferred at that position not to be in the limelight.” Such persons saw themselves as merely the servants of a greater mass of people in a particular cause, he added. “I think that is a lesson we must accept and develop, because there are many people responsible for ideas which contributed to progress, would hide in a country parlour on a back seat.

“As long as we always remember that it is not an individual in general, and in particular it is not Mandela, who is responsible for progress of his own country or of humanity. “If people who are responsible for some of these developments do not want to come out and be exposed, they want to occupy a back-seat and place others in the forefront. It may well be that the man you are praising is not at all responsible for the things you are praising him for.  That is that many, many people are responsible for these ideas but who prefer to praise somebody else. “Many of the ideas I have expressed are not mine; they are the views of a collective, and I merely asked to give expression.  As long as you understand that, I’ll be very happy. “You may praise somebody who is not responsible for those ideas. I’m very happy to be here, but at the same time I would like to be praised for things I have done, not because I am the mouthpiece of a collective. I would like you to always bear that in mind.

“I don’t want to be credited for ideas which are really not mine, ideas which are of men and women who may not be in front of you. And as long as you appreciate that, I’ll be very happy.” The audience clapped his humility. That said, he thanked all present for their warm welcome, saying, “This was very inspiring for an old man.” “But it’s a great honour for me to be in this great room and to be welcomed as you do. “There is nothing more important than to earn praise from other human beings; sometimes you get praise for which you are not responsible, but nevertheless it is important to go to bed feeling inspired and feeling important and wanted, for having contributed towards the progress of mankind... Thank you very much.”