PRESS STATEMENT BY
THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE BAHAMAS
THE RT. HON. PERRY G. CHRISTIE
With the passing today of Nelson Mandela, the world has lost
one of its greatest heroes and an inspirational model for the ages. Mr. Mandela was, to be sure, the Supreme
Liberator of South Africa in its struggle to end Apartheid. But of infinitely greater consequence, he was
the personification of the timeless virtues of personal sacrifice and perseverance
in the pursuit of freedom, racial equality, human dignity and moral truth for
all the peoples of this planet. He was
also a shining exemplar of the redemptive power of forgiveness and
reconciliation.
That is why the news of Mr. Mandela’s death resonates so
profoundly all around the world.
Wherever we may be, whether it be in the First World or the Third World,
and whatever our race or creed may be, we all feel poorer for the passing of
this remarkable human being. He was
truly one of humanity’s richest blessings and one of its brightest and most
enduring lights.
Here in The Bahamas we share in this universal outpouring of
grief, all the more so because of the warm memories so many of us have of Mr.
Mandela from his visit to The Bahamas in the early 1990’s. But even as we grieve, we give thanks for
the example and personal witness that Nelson Mandela’s life holds for all of us
and for generations yet unborn.
On behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas and on
my own behalf I extend heartfelt condolences to the President and people of
South Africa and to the widow, children and wider family of the late Nelson
Mandela.
May he rest in peace.
