Widgetized Section

Go to Admin » Appearance » Widgets » and move Gabfire Widget: Social into that MastheadOverlay zone

Obama Expected To Travel To South Africa For Nelson Mandela Funeral

Partager/Share this
President Barack Obama will likely travel to South Africa to mourn the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela, a White House official told ABC News on Thursday.













Huffington Post – Counting himself among the millions influenced by Nelson Mandela, President Barack Obama on Thursday mourned the death of the anti-apartheid icon with whom he shares the distinction of being his nation’s first black president.
« He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages, » Obama said in a somber appearance at the White House.
« I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life, » he continued. « And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set. »
Mandela died earlier Thursday at 95. He had spent much of the year in and out of the hospital, and his illness prevented a meeting with Obama when the U.S. president visited South Africa this summer.
Still, the former South African president’s legacy influenced nearly every aspect of Obama’s trip. Obama, along with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, made an emotional visit to Robben Island, standing quietly together in the tiny cell where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. Obama also met privately with members of Mandela’s family.
The president is likely to travel to South Africa for Mandela’s funeral, though a trip has not yet been announced. Other former U.S. presidents and dignitaries are also likely to attend.
Obama’s political rise has drawn inevitable comparisons to the South African leader. Both are Nobel Peace Prize winners and the first black men elected to lead their countries.

However, the two men met in person only once, a hastily arranged meeting in a Washington hotel room in 2005 when Obama was a U.S. senator. A photo of the meeting hangs in Obama’s personal office at the White House, showing a smiling Mandela sitting on a chair, his legs outstretched, as the young senator reaches down to shake his hand. A copy of the photo also hung in Mandela’s office in Johannesburg.
The two presidents did speak occasionally on the phone, including after the 2008 election, when Mandela called Obama to congratulate him on his victory. The U.S. president called Mandela in 2010 after the South African leader’s young granddaughter was killed in a car accident. Obama also wrote the introduction to Mandela’s memoir, « Conversations With Myself. »
Mandela had already shaped Obama’s political beliefs well before their first encounter. As a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Obama joined protests against the school’s investments during South Africa’s apartheid era. In 1981, Obama focused his first public political speech on the topic.
« It’s happening an ocean away, » Obama said, according to a retelling of the story in his memoir « Dreams From My Father. »  »But it’s a struggle that touches each and every one of us. Whether we know it or not. Whether we want it or not. »
                                            Cliquez sur la fleche pour jouer la video



         FREE T-SHIRT   
      with a $20 donation 

Click here or mail your donation to :
Haiti Infos
P.O. Box 1428
Spring Valley,NY 10977

(For security,do not send cash by mail.
Check or money order only)




Join our circle at plus.google.com/haitiinfos
Send  your articles, jokes, press releases and personal stories to
haitiinfos1804@gmail.com

When you advertise online,your message is being

seen 24 hours a day.It’s time to elevate your game by
launching your advertising campaign on one of the 
most popular Haitian websites in the world,according to 
alexa.com
Come to think of it,If you’re not advertising on Haiti Infos,
we’re both losing money.For details
and rates, get in touch with us  today at
haitiinfos1804@gmail.com







Partager/Share this

Laisser un commentaire

Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas publiée. Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués avec *

Ce site utilise Akismet pour réduire les indésirables. En savoir plus sur comment les données de vos commentaires sont utilisées.