Guest blog by Jacqueline Bunce-Linsell
Last Friday Preston Community Library (PrCL) held a reflection on the life of Nelson Mandela.
We opened by singing the South African National anthem made
famous by the ANC Choir - Nkosi Sikelele Iafrika -God Bless Africa- in Xhosa,
Africaans and English.
We listened to Mr Mandela’s own words from his
autobiography’ Long Walk to Freedom’ read stunningly as BBC Radio 4 Book of the
Week by the great South African actor John Kani.
Local singer, songwriter Jill Goldman sang and accompanied
herself on the guitar to a ‘Freedom’ a song she composed for the
occasion. (You will see her in the front of the photographs with her
guitar. Geraldine Cooke, a local literary agent, of Barn
Hill is standing next to her in one photograph and is at the back in the
other photograph.)
Geraldine Cooke, during many Apartheid years, was
the South African editor at Penguin Books.
She gave a fascinating talk, on her part in
working towards the release of Mr Mandela, which led to the rush publication of
the book ‘Mission to South Africa’ the Report of the so-called Eminent
Persons, several of them former heads of state from seven Commonwealth
countries, including Lord Barber who had been Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellor of
the Exchequer. This Group visited Mr Mandela three
times in jail and travelled widely in the country ignoring ‘Whites Only’ signs
on beaches and lavatories sending shock waves through the country.
Their Report ended with the words:’ if Nelson Mandela is not
released there will be the biggest bloodbath the world has ever known’.
The publication of this book proved the final push
which persuaded Mrs Thatcher, who alone in the Commonwealth had held
out against sanctions, to lean on President Botha to begin
negotiations with the man in Pollsmoor Prison.
Geraldine Cooke explained how she had steered the
printing and publication of the Penguin Special, as it was called, in just two
days around the world where it was a best-seller running to 100,000 copies
including South Africa which of course banned anything critical, the fastest
mass-market book ever published, worthy of inclusion in the Guinness Book of
Records.
To achieve this in such a brief time would be impressive
today with virtually instant printing-in 1986 when publishing schedules were
counted in months, and more often years, it was a miracle.
This talk was something of a coup for PrCL as this was the
first time Ms Cooke has revealed her part in this process, in public or
private.
Sir Shridath Ramphal, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
at the time speaking in London this July said that ‘Mission to South Africa’ “Changed
History”.
As a result, Ms Cooke was one of the first people to meet Mr
Mandela and Winnie Mandela privately when they came to London following the
release.
Sir Shridath gave permission for his statement from Barbados
on the eve of Nelson Mandela’s death to be read out at 235 Preston Road.
Two poems were sent to PCL: one, composed on the eve of the
first free and democratic elections in 1994 by Mick Delap,then Deputy Head of
the BBC World African Service, and one in which the poet Delap
breaking stones on his own land on Valentia island off the South West
coast of Ireland in 2010 imagines the imprisoned Nelson Mandela breaking
rocks on Robben Island- a truly great poem and the listeners were deeply moved.
To honour the Methodist tradition in which Nelson Mandela,
Walter Sisulu and other of the ANC leaders were brought up, as his funeral did
two days later last Sunday, there was a reading of the 100th
Psalm which urges the People to sing Praises as indeed millions have been doing
in South Africa for the last 10 days.
There was a specially composed Eulogy for the event in
praise of Mr Mandela and his life which was read to us by the South African,
Kevin Johnstone, from Pinner: written by his wife Jan in English and translated
by her into Africaans. Kevin read the tribute in both languages.
The event closed with a reprise of the Freedom song and
Nkosi Sikekilele Iafrica.
Preston Community Library was honoured to host this event
given added significance in this community by Nelson Mandela’s visit to
Wembley.
It was surely the equal to any held in any library or
council chamber in the country.
It is hard to imagine Mr Mandela being anything other than
dismayed at the difficulties people of the borough now have in access to books.
Books were the one thing which were not subject to sanctions.
Access to information was crucial in Struggle.
Students in South Africa rioted and were killed in their
demonstrations for access to education: sixty-nine in Soweto alone in one day.
This Thursday PrCL will be holding its annual marathon
reading of Charles Dickens’ novel ‘ A Christmas Carol’ in the original edition
for adults and in the children’s edition to be followed by its traditional
carol singing.
Anybody who would like to attend is more than welcome.
The event will commence at 2pm on Friday 20th December at PrCL’s
temporary base at 235 Preston Road, Wembley, HA9 8PE
Many areas badly affected by Government austerity