The news of the last few days has been filled with mentions of Bishop Desmond Tutu but many still have no idea who he was and why he became so important and globally respected.
The bishop was born in 1931 in Transvaal. and later ordained as a priest in 1960, in 1978 he managed to become the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.
He was a veteran peace campaigner, but Desmond Tutu is perhaps best known for his leadership in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, in addition, he was later elected Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town in 1986, the highest position in the Anglican Church in South Africa.
The beloved Desmond Tutu has formulated his objective as “a democratic and just society without racial divisions” and has set forward a few points as minimum demands such as equal civil rights for all, the abolition of South Africa’s passport laws, a common system of education and the cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the so-called “homelands”.
Tutu also supported the economic boycott of South Africa, while constantly encouraging reconciliation between various factions associated with apartheid, he is considered a hero because he is a man who deeply cares about his fellow citizens as well as a champion of peaceful opposition towards those who oppress others.
The name Desmond Tutu resonates strongly with people all around the world, in fact, while his vigorous anti-apartheid activism in his native South Africa first propelled him into the glare of international news media, today he is revered as a “moral voice” to end poverty and human rights abuses, in addition, he is one of South Africa’s most well-known human rights activists because he emphasized nonviolent protest and encouraged the application of economic pressure on South Africa.
The best takeout from his preaching was that the only way to experience healing and peace is to forgive until we are able to forgive, we remain locked in our pain and locked out of the possibility of experiencing healing and freedom, consequently being locked out of the possibility of being at peace.
When it comes to winning the Peace Prize award, it surely made a big difference to Tutu’s international standing and it was a helpful contribution to the struggle against apartheid, as a matter of fact, the broad media coverage made him a living symbol in the struggle for liberation, someone who articulated the suffering and expectations of South Africa’s oppressed masses, in truth, there are many indications that Tutu’s Peace Prize helped to pave the way for a policy of stricter sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s.
Sadly, the activist for racial justice and retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town died on Sunday at the age of 90, Tutu’s death was addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement. “it’s another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa” and again, “The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,”, he “distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights”, Ramaphosa added without disclosing any details on the cause of death.
Tutu is often hailed as South Africa’s moral conscience and the great reconciler of a nation divided by decades of racist politics, he led numerous marches and campaigns to end apartheid from St George’s front steps, and as a result, it became known as the “People’s Cathedral” and a powerful symbol of democracy, according to the local government.
Furthermore, the bishop was a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela and lived for a time on the same street in the South African township of Soweto, Vilakazi Street, the only one in the world to host two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Lastly, after the end of apartheid, Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was set up to unearth atrocities committed by the white-minority government from 1948 to 1991 when apartheid laws were repealed.
Was Tutu the last one standing?
References:
he touched many of us: South Africans mourn Desmond Tutu’s death, available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/26/desmond-tutu-south-african-mourns-apartheid-racism-legacy
South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu dies, available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/26/south-africas-archbishop-desmond-tutu-dies-aged-90-2
In Pictures: The life of South Africa’s Desmond Tutu, available at:
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Lecture, available at:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1984/tutu/lecture/
https://r4dn.com/who-was-desmond-tutu-and-what-did-he-do/
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
