Taming the enemy

BY JEROME C. VARON

A LOT of historic events happened in the 1980s, many of which brought abrupt and significant changes in the lives of populations in many parts of the world.

Among these momentous events were the 1986 People Power Revolution in our country, the fall of the Berlin Wall leading to the unification of Germany, the subsequent liberation of countries in Eastern Europe which put an end to communist clout and control of the Soviet Union, and the end of white dominion in South Africa, among others.

The dominant theme during these years was “liberation of the people” in countries which suffered the inglorious pains and misery brought about by enslavement, abuses, murders, torture, and discrimination from their respective rulers. They endured  for years, some for centuries.

Except for a few courageous dissenters who put their lives on the line in continuing the fight against the well-entrenched despots in these countries, most of the citizens accepted their fate, convinced of not seeing the dawn of their redemption during their lifetime.

In South Africa, the fight against apartheid or racial discrimination gained ground through the years. One man stood up and became the iconic symbol of his people in the struggle. His name was Nelson Mandela.

After spending more than half of his adult life in incarceration, he was finally released and led the new government of the just liberated nation. He was confronted with the various challenges in keeping the country intact and unified as a primary step towards normalization. Revenge was a prevailing emotion among the black majority at the time, sending shivers to white communities. He needed to act fast before the situation got out of control.

In the movie “Invictus”, one of the first official acts by Mandela was to retain the mostly white-skinned staff in the presidential building where he held office. Against the advice of his security chief, he also retained the white personnel as his security detail.

As if this was not enough, he gave his full support to the white-dominated national rugby team which was included in the shortlist of participants to the World Championship only because South Africa happened to be the host of the championship. The rest was history.

South Africa won the World Championship in the exciting finals against New Zealand in spite of being marked as a long shot in the tournament. Mandela was in the stands wearing the team’s uniform and cheering for their national team.

That victory opened the mindset of the South Africans in embracing and accepting the white population in their community as brothers and friends. Financial help and trade cooperation with non-black nations poured in right after and Mandela got the needed springboard to launch his nation into normalcy.

The lesson in this story is: sometimes the best way to win over your enemy is not always through confrontation and use of force. It has always been proven time and again that a smile, a gesture of kindness and humility, good deeds and sincerity could disarm and render meek as a lamb a ferocious foe in front.

Mandela appeased the white population of his country by putting to action his offer of cooperation and acceptance. He made it clear to his black constituents that the whites were relevant and essential components in their existence, and it’s okay to coexist with them. Reconciliation from then on was swift and smooth.

Mandela successfully tamed the enemies on both sides. He said that he did not want anybody else in his country to suffer the experience he had, regardless of his skin color.

In the wake of turbulent episodes happening in the world today, violent confrontations will only aggravate the despair and misery we have. There will always be differences and contrasting beliefs, opinions and points of views on many things. But winning against them starts by taming your enemy.

And you can begin with yourself. For all you know, you are your worst enemy./PN