Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei  South Africa in 1918, into a tribal royal family. He spent 27 years however in prison,  including periods of hard labour. He was fighting for what he believed in: social justice and anti-apartheid/racism. He was the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and took South Africa from the brink of a bloodbath to national reconciliation.

For those who have not seen the movie “Invictus,” it’s time to find it and understand what great leadership is all about. Mandela took the nation through a truth and reconciliation process, which has since been adopted by many countries with ethnic issues, civil wars, etc.

I spent some time in South Africa as a young boy, and my father, a missionary and religious minister, was amongst those who supported the change despite the personal risk during apartheid. Mandela is my hero, I went to see his humble home in Soweto. I recall playing the South African National Anthem (one anthem in five languages) in December 2013 at an event I was compering at Victoria Golf Club, Sri Lanka.  Mandela died on the 5th of December 2013. A South African visitor on the night came up and hugged me. We had tears in our eyes.

So what did Sri Lanka learn from this great man? Well, many government officials went over to South Africa on more than one occasion to study the truth and reconciliation process and to see how it could be applied in Sri Lanka post-war. Unlike the approach of South Africa, Sri Lanka kept the international community at bay and does not seem to have followed the many guidelines on international human rights or attempted to achieve international standards in this regard.

We need Mandela’s inspirational leadership for the Sri Lankan people. I thought it was only right to pay homage to my lifetime hero, Nelson Mandela, so I hopped on a boat and made the trip to the former leper colony, then the prison of Robben Island. It’s more than a museum, but a place to remember the freedom fighters and the end of an outdated and cruel regime of apartheid. Standing in his cell, you realize the strength of the man to keep his beliefs and rise up as one of the greatest leaders of his century. He spent 18 years of his 27 years of imprisonment on the island. He came out with not one ounce of hatred.

“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up,” Nelson Mandela.

Many of us have a dream that Sri Lanka has come out of its dark days. We need leaders with vision, empathy, and ability. Where religion, origin, or beliefs unite, not segregate. Today we stand on the biggest crossroads in Sri Lanka since the country gained independence. Give people hope and direction and slow the exodus of Sri Lankan people going to other lands.