The world Mourns the Lost of an Unforgettable Leader, Nelson Mandela

            On Thursday, December 5^th the hard hitting news that Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa and Leader of the anti-Apartheid movement has passed away. The heart wrenching announcement was delivered to the people of South Africa and the rest of the world late Thursday on national television by current South African President, Jacob Zuma. Before his death, Mandela was diagnosed with Pneumonia and lung infection after falling ill several times. He was taken to a hospital in Pretoria where he received intensive care for twelve weeks. When the news was sent out that Mandela condition had worsened, many gathered outside of the hospital, bracing themselves for the worst, his death. Despite his critical condition, the anti-apartheid leader clung on to his life for a few months and return to his home in Houghton, Johannesburg where he passed away.

            The ending of such a remarkable leader did not only cause grieve to South Africans but also to people all around the world. The Freedom Icon death was an ending of an unforgettable era but a new beginning for not only blacks but many minorities living in South Africa, where freedom and equality prevails. On Friday, one day after Mandela's death was announced, South Africans gathered outside his home in Johannesburg to mourn his death with singing, weeping and also celebrating the life of the unforgettable leader. Hundred of mourners also gathered in the Nobel Prize winner former home in Soweto to show their respect and tribute. Across the nation, and all around the world, respect and tribute for Mandela was held. In Toronto, a school named after Nelson Mandela honoured him and paid tribute to him for "never giving up" his fight to end the apartheid and the brutality many minorities faced in South Africa. This tribute also followed by a screening of the Hero's biographical movie at the Mandela Park Public school. Also In, Los Angeles and Chicago mourners placed flowers on murals in his honour while cricket fans in Adelaide, Australia took a moment of silence in his respect. Also, the New York's Apollo theatre, where he visited in 1990 lit up a marquee in his tribute.

           With such heavy impact Nelson Mandela has left on the world, the freedom fighter who embraced his oppressors and taught other to love will not be forgotten, but instead be celebrated and liberated for his courage and tremendous effort to end the apartheid and his remarkable lack of hatred, despite being jailed for 27 years for fighting for freedom . Many leaders around the world showed how much the former South African president has impacted their lives by acknowledging him as "the last great liberator of the 20th Century." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised Mandela for believing that education is the foundation to democracy. Political leaders and admires from all over the world will be travelling to South Africa to attend his funeral as the rest of the world watches. On Sunday, December 15th Mandela will be finally be laid to rest in Qunu, his ancestral village where he grew up. Even though South Africans have lost the father to their nation, the world has also lost an astonishing, once in a life Leader. His gift of forgiveness, Humanity, Unity, equality and reconciliation to the world will never be forgotten.