On International Nelson Mandela Day, South Africans long for a rekindling of Mandela's vision of reconciliation
Thirty years ago, Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years as a political prisoner, took the oath of office at the Union Buildings in Pretoria – an act that declared to his country and the world that white minority rule had ended in South Africa. On that autumn Tuesday, all South Africans were finally free and equal before the law. Apartheid was over, the transition to democracy was peaceful, and now we could boldly look at the future.