Farewell to Desmond Tutu, symbol of the struggle against apartheid

Desmond Tutu he was one of the faces of the struggle against apartheid. Of all the most smiling. “I am a prisoner of optimism” said theAnglican Archbishop of Cape Town died today, December 26th. He was 90 years old. He was the last of the great men capable of changing the history of South Africa, together, above all, a Nelson Mandela.

His word came from the Church and, precisely because of its position, in the years of segregation, had been freer to speak out than the leader of the anti-apartheid movement who was in prison at the time.

Tutu was of Xhosa ethnicity like Mandela. He came from a modest family. He had studied in England and had experiences in other parts of the world. He would have liked to be a doctor before taking the path of faith. In his thinking, racial segregation had to be fought without violence, because violence and terrorism, ways that were part of politics, justified the response of the oppressors. Dialogue was his weapon: “If you want peace you do not speak with friends, but with enemies”. never neutral: “I’d like to be able to keep quiet, but I’m not capable of it and I won’t do it”.

In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first tangible sign that the world was ready to side with those who no longer wanted apartheid. “Do your little bit of good where you are,” he said, “it is these little pieces of good put together that fill the world“. He was always aware of the position of the oppressed, of those who had known nothing but exploitation and did not fail to remind Europe of its faults in colonialism. Over the years he had also supported the rights of the LGBTQI + community. Homophobia is a form of apartheid. How is it possible to fight against racism and not against homophobia? ».

The South African president announced his death to the world. “President Cyril Ramaphosa expresses, on behalf of all South Africans, his deep sadness at the death of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu. His disappearance is another chapter in our nation’s mourning: we bid farewell to a generation of formidable fellow citizens who have contributed to bequeathing a free South Africa to us ».

“An individual is such because he recognizes others as individuals.” His thinking was based on this. He had driven there with this warning in mind Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the country. “Forgiveness”, he said, “gives you the possibility of starting over”.