Nelson Mandela, former South African president and freedom fighter, died yesterday.
He was 95.
Bahamians who campaigned for years for Mandela's release from a South African prison yesterday remembered him as an inspiration and for his peaceful stance in the face of adversity.
Mandela spent 27 years in prison before his release in 1990. He was jailed for his opposition to apartheid, the former social system in South Africa that segregated blacks and whites.
Mandela was elected as South Africa's first black leader in 1994.
In a statement, Prime Minister Perry Christie said Mandela's death marked the loss of "one of the world's greatest heroes".
Christie said The Bahamas joins other countries that are grieving for Mandela.
"He was the personification of the timeless virtues of personal sacrifice and perseverance in the pursuit of freedom, racial equality, human dignity and moral truth for all the peoples of this planet," Christie said.
"He was also a shining exemplar of the redemptive power of forgiveness and reconciliation."
The Bahamas played a pivotal role in the end of apartheid by extending economic sanctions against South Africa's white minority government at the 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Nassau.
Then Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling led the principled campaign within the Commonwealth to secure Mandela's release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
Mandela traveled to The Bahamas not long after his prison release and visited the country several more times after.
During a visit to the country in September 1993, Mandela thanked Bahamians for the country's support in the fight against apartheid.
"It is a great honor and a pure pleasure for me . . .to thank both the government and the people of this commonwealth for the solid support which they have given us in our struggle against the most brutal, the most cruel system of racial oppression our country has seen," Mandela told a crowd assembled on the front lawn of The College of The Bahamas.
Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs and immigration, was secretary of a local anti-apartheid committee that campaigned for Mandela's release from prison.
That group, which was led by the late Beryl Hanna, wife of then Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Hanna, held several marches to raise awareness of Mandela's plight.
"I think he inspired scores of people in this country that you stand up for your beliefs and you fight to the end and you don't give up," Mitchell said. "At the same time you don't lose your humanity, you are respectful of people's dignity even as you oppose them."
Activist Rev. C. B. Moss was also a member of the local anti-apartheid group and said he was moved by Mandela's convictions.
"I realized that anyone who is prepared to go to prison for his beliefs that was somebody that I should support," Moss said. "Mandela's actions and his fortitude inspired me, and that is why anything that I stand for I am prepared to go to prison for."
Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts was also a member of the group. Roberts said Mandela, "was an inspiration to every black man, not only to Bradley Roberts, but all people of color. He was a freedom fighter . . ."
In a statement, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said words fail to explain the loss felt by Mandela's passing.
"Still, because of his heroism, his gentle kindness and his forgiveness for all who ever wronged him, we have an extraordinary example to follow, a life to emulate and a standard to strive to achieve as citizens and as public servants," Ingraham said.
"Nelson Mandela stirred the imagination of generations of people around our globe, most especially of those committed to democracy, respect for human rights and the dignity of all people.
"In South Africa he is rightly revered as a father, 'Madiba', and as a hero and proud son of Africa and indeed of the African Diaspora.
"Moreover, his message of peaceful cooperation and reconciliation is one of his greatest contributions to human history, especially in countries torn asunder by ancient hatreds which often fail to heal with the passage of time."
Free National Movement Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said the world lost a great statesman yesterday.
"The Free National Movement government had the privilege to be the host of Mr. Mandela when he visited The Bahamas prior to his election as president of South Africa, where he was warmly embraced by every Bahamian, as a role model and beloved world leader, even before his ascension to the presidency of his homeland," Minnis said in a statement.
Mandela was admitted to hospital in June and was not discharged until September.
Well-wishers in South Africa left notes and flowers outside the hospital as they prayed for his health.
Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg.

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