"I think that all of us have an innate potential to develop our humanity," Mac Maharaj said in his talk last night, sponsored by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL).
Maharaj was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island in South Africa for 12 years. After his release he helped to relay messages from the still-imprisoned Mandela to the rest of the anti-apartheid movement and to organize that movement in Mandela's absence. He also co-chaired the negotiations for South Africa's new democratic constitution.
In a heartfelt speech, Maharaj delivered to his audience lessons he learned from his mentorship by Nobel Laureate Mandela in prison and during South Africa's turbulent democratization process.
"One of the things that enabled us in prison to survive was the communication we had with Mandela and [fellow anti-apartheid activist Walter] Sisulu," he said. The prisoners often engaged in debate about appropriate tactics to overcome the oppressive minority rule and about elements of the new South Africa that they envisioned.
On one occasion, the two prisoners argued about the usefulness of learning Afrikaans, the "language of the oppressor." Mandela explained to Maharaj that to attack an enemy, he needed to "understand his language, culture, poetry and music to anticipate what the other side is going to do."
Not only did this convince Maharaj to learn Afrikaans, but it gave him a new take on the importance of preserving cultures. When asked if it is important to recognize the cultural arts of the minority that oppressed 80 percent of South Africa's population for centuries, Maharaj said that every culture's value can be found in its promotion of its peoples' humanity.
In prison, furthermore, Maharaj said that "Mandela and Sisulu taught me to never ever think that I am a victim." Rather, he should "[face] the consequences of my actions."
Once out of prison, Mandela requested that Maharaj be part of several negotiation and mediation efforts with the white governments.
"I thought about this, and I realized that Mandela had trapped me," Maharaj said with a laugh. "He had trapped me into going against my blood."
"I had to find a way to liberate the oppressors," Maharaj said about learning that he was serving a greater entity, striving to renew a very diverse country.
Nevertheless, he recalls that during the negotiations, he "had the tendency to get angry and wanted to walk out." He even called himself the "instigator" of a walk out on the part of the African National Congress (ANC) in response to political killings.
His experience taught him that "often, we are taught that democracy is a formal set of rules, and I agree," he said. But, there needs to be "something more": a "constant process of mediating conflicting interests."
Mostly, democracy needs "informed debate, which precedes that exercise of voting," he said. "This is a crucial element of people taking charge of their lives."
"Even in democracy, we find people invested with a sense of powerlessness that the [democratic process] is removed and something else than us," he said.
Maharaj also discussed the ability to forgive as central to the rebuilding of South African society. He said that the reconciliation process in South Africa required "restorative and not retributive justice."
To students, he said, "don't allow anger to imprison you. It will be a worse prison than Robben Island."
Nevertheless, when asked about how he changed in prison, he said "I'd do it all again."
A book signing featuring a book called "Mandela: The Authorized Portrait," followed the lecture. The book, which Maharaj co-edited with Ahmed Kathrada, another former Mandela advisor, and others, includes Mandela's personal documents to his family and others' accounts of their experiences with the leader.
"In [Mandela], we see our own potential," he said.
