Africa

Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu raise their fists in 1990, one day after Mandela was released from jail.

World News

As We Memorialize Mandela, Remember Those Who Stood With Him

3:36pm December 08, 2013

by Scott Simon

By the time he died, Nelson Mandela was considered one of the few giants on the world stage. As NPR's Scott Simon remembers, Mandela was not alone in offering his life for freedom, so the acclaim justly heaped upon Mandela is also a credit to those who worked, served and led with him.

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Seleka fighters pose for a photograph in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, on Nov. 25. The landlocked country has been gripped by violence since the mainly Muslim rebels seized power in the majority Christian country in March.

World News

Violence Escalates In Central African Republic; U.N. OKs Troops

7:35pm December 06, 2013

by Hannah McNeish

Amid growing fears of a potential genocide, the U.N. has approved military intervention in the former French colony. Muslim fighters staged a coup in March in the majority Christian nation. The fighting has displaced an estimated 400,000 people.

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Former NPR Correspondent Remembers Working For Mandela

11:57am December 06, 2013

NPR's former South Africa correspondent John Matisonn worked for Nelson Mandela, helping the leader improve his media savvy after he was released from prison on Robben Island. Matisonn remembers Mandela's keen intelligence and resilience. Matisonn tells Robert Siegel the Nobel Peace Prize recipient emphasized that he was an ordinary man, and insisted he was no saint.

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Former Robben Island Inmate Recalls Mandela's Discipline, Courage

11:57am December 06, 2013

For 27 years, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island for his fight against South Africa's apartheid regime. Saki Macozoma served time on Robben Island alongside Mandela in the 1970s, and he joins Robert Siegel to remember Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95.

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Freed From Prison, Mandela Preached Harmony, Equality

11:57am December 06, 2013

On Feb. 11, 1990, upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela stood on the steps of City Hall in Cape Town, South Africa. He told the gather crowd of more than 100,000 people to seize what he called "a decisive moment." In the audio above, you can listen to a segment of that speech.

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World News

Renee Montagne Reflects On Covering Mandela

10:49am December 06, 2013

Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison in 1990. Steve Inskeep talks to Renee Montagne about her time covering South Africa in the early 1990s.

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Why Music Played An Important Role In Mandela's Life

10:49am December 06, 2013

Morning Edition reports on the music that sustained Nelson Mandela and other members of the anti-apartheid movement while they were in a South African prison. Many of them were huge reggae fans.

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World News

For Much Of His Life, Mandela Was A Controversial Figure

10:49am December 06, 2013

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is universally admired but there was a time when he was caught up in controversy. Steve Inskeep talks to Bill Keller, a columnist for The New York Times, about Mandela's controversial past.

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Songwriter Clegg On Mandela, South Africans' 'Bridge'

10:49am December 06, 2013

Renee Montagne talks to South African musician Johnny Clegg about his relationship with Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95. Clegg says his banned 1980s song that named Mandela and became an anthem came to him one day when he woke to gunshots and wondered "who can bridge you and me, every South African."

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World News

Near Mandela's Soweto Home, A Gathering Of Mourners

10:49am December 06, 2013

NPR's Gregory Warner speaks with Renee Montagne about the scene near the family home of Nelson Mandela in Soweto, South Africa, where people are gathered to mourn the former president's life.

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