In a fundraising mailing signed by Winnie Mandela, she recalls the day the South African police arrested Nelson Mandela after a 17-month manhunt. At that time, he was President of the African National Congress (ANC) and one of the few black lawyers in South Africa. For daring to stand up for democracy, he has been in prison, under life sentence, ever since 1962. "Free Mandela" soon became a rallying cry, and Nelson Mandela has become the living symbol of our people's aspirations for freedom and democracy. The South African government has arrested or banned Winnie Mandela, as well. At age 52, she has spent nearly half her life under arrest or restriction by banning orders, including being held...
In a fundraising mailing signed by Winnie Mandela, she recalls the day the South African police arrested Nelson Mandela after a 17-month manhunt. At that time, he was President of the African National Congress (ANC) and one of the few black lawyers in South Africa. For daring to stand up for democracy, he has been in prison, under life sentence, ever since 1962. "Free Mandela" soon became a rallying cry, and Nelson Mandela has become the living symbol of our people's aspirations for freedom and democracy. The South African government has arrested or banned Winnie Mandela, as well. At age 52, she has spent nearly half her life under arrest or restriction by banning orders, including being held in solitary confinement for 17 months, abused and tortured by police officers, and, from 1977 to 1985, banished to a remote province. She is permitted to visit her husband for only 45 minutes, twice a month. Winnie Mandela says international support is vital, and she asks for support to TransAfrica's Free South Africa Movement - to publicize, educate, lobby, and boycott to end apartheid. TransAfrica and its Director, Randall Robinson, organized the protests in front of the South African Embassy that ignited the Free South Africa Movement (FSAM) in America and led to a groundswell of public outrage throughout the U.S. that was also deeply felt in South Africa. The FSAM helped push for divestment of U.S. businesses and helped push the Congress to override President Reagan's veto and pass the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. Winnie Mandela continues to call for mandatory and total economic sanctions, regardless of the immediate, short term discomforts that would accompany global economic sanctions on our people. Her letter also mentions TransAfrica's assistance to South African mine workers (along with the United Mine Workers of America), Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rev. Allan Boesak.
