What a release! Mandela’s freedom etched in people’s minds

Though it’s 35 years since 11 February 1990, the day that Nelson Mandela was released from his 27-year imprisonment, the day is imprinted on the minds of many Jewish South Africans.

So many recall being glued to their television screens – or portable radios – to see the man walk out of prison with his head held high, holding the hand of his wife, Winnie, signalling a new South Africa.

Arthur Goldstuck, the chief executive of World Wide Worx and the editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, described the day as the “happiest radio day in my life”.

Goldstuck was sitting in the Johannesburg studios of Capital Radio in Milpark with then news editor David O’Sullivan when suddenly, the five bells sounded from the telex machine – where all news organisations got their news – signalling that something momentous was happening.

“We both dashed to the machine, knowing what to expect because a major press conference had been called for that afternoon in Cape Town,” he said. “There was one announcement that the world was waiting for, and it declared itself over the telex machine: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela would be released from prison the following day.”

Likewise, Max Price, the former vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town, said he and his friends were all wondering what Mandela would look like when he walked out of prison.

“We wondered whether he would resemble the posters and campaign pictures that were all based on a grainy photo from the 1960s,” he said, “When he came out with Winnie and then later, when he spoke from the balcony at Cape Town City Hall, it was exhilarating.”

Journalist Nechama Brodie was similarly perplexed as to what Mandela would look like when he stepped into the spotlight. “We thought it would never happen, and suddenly, we were seeing this old man coming out of prison and we had never seen him before, only pictures of him as a young man, as the state had restricted images of him. The sight of him leaving the prison was the first time that most South Africans had seen his face, which would become the beloved face of this grandfather of our democratic nation.”

Former African National Congress (ANC) councillor Sol Cowan said, “It was spine-chilling because I didn’t think it would ever happen, to be quite honest. And then just suddenly to see this – you had to pinch yourself to see if it was real.”

Watching Mandela being released and the end of apartheid was one of the many reasons why Cowan decided to jump into the world of politics as an ANC member.

Many community members who weren’t in the country remember that day fondly. Often it was the catalyst that brought them back to South Africa.

An anonymous community member said that though she was living in Israel, watching Mandela being released gave her the impetus to return to South Africa.

“That was the moment when I knew that I had to come home,” she said. “I could see that South Africa was changing, and I needed to be there to see it happen.”

At the time of Mandela’s release, Marc Lubner, now group chief executive of Afrika Tikkun, was living in Chicago in the United States. He had been there since being placed on a security police watchlist in South Africa after the June 1976 riots. He had participated in organising a protest at City Hall in Johannesburg, and was bashed by police.

“I decided while watching Mandela being released that I wanted to return to be a part of the ‘Rainbow Nation’, where respect and love for the diversity of life here would be more appealing than simply making dollars for myself,” Lubner said. “Mandela’s inauguration was attended by my dad and brother, and I felt a pang of remorse at not being home.”

For Daphne Kuhn, the owner, producer, and artistic director of the Theatre on the Square in Sandton, Mandela’s release not only signalled a new future for South Africa, but also for her professional career. “It gave me new hope for our country,” she said, “and allowed me to continue with my plans to become an independent producer and open a new theatre for Johannesburg.”

Johannesburg resident Mandy Rosin remembers that day like it happened yesterday. Her entire family was gathered to celebrate her parents’ 30th wedding anniversary when the party stopped while everyone sat watching the televised reportage of Mandela walking out of prison.

“When he was released, the party came to a complete standstill,” she said. “Anyone who was eating food put their knife and fork down and went to watch.”

Similarly, businessman Howard Sackstein, who was working at Werksmans Attorneys at the time, was so excited about Mandela’s release that his birthday party turned into a Mandela release party a few days before Mandela was released.

“I was with a few friends watching TV on the day he was released, and when we saw those iconic pictures of Nelson and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela walking out of Victor Verster prison, we erupted in celebration,” he said. “So we all then went to Hillbrow. There were tens of thousands of people on the streets of Hillbrow, singing and dancing. People were breaking branches off the trees and dancing with the branches up and down the streets of Hillbrow. It was a day full of exhilaration, hope, and inspiration.”