Invictus

I finished reading this awesome book by John Carlin named Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that made a Nation. It is about democratic South Africa's birth and how Nelson Mandela emerged as president of a nation that was divided and almost on the brink of civil war after his election. To sum up this interesting historical novel that is now being made into a movie named Invictus, Mandela cleverly uses the power of sport to unite a nation where there are 11 official tongues and a myriad of races that have clashed throughout the RSA's tumultuous history. A rough man's game of rugby and the nation's victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa brings delirium and a sense of identity to its conflict ridden people.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison as leader of the African National Congress, then a banned-political group which was deemed "Communist and terrorist" during the Apartheid-era. Apartheid was a political and social policy constructed by the all-white Afrikaner government of South Africa, a policy that means "separateness" in the language of Afrikaans. It was designed to protect white power while keeping the majority blacks and other minorities at bay with clear social policies and boundaries where no interaction would occur between the races. It was a humiliating time for black South Africans who had no ability to climb out of their poverty and were constantly being put down by their white overlords.

In this book, Carlin cleverly paints a portrait of how Mandela, from his time of being released from prison to his rise to power in 1994, uses his charm and innocent trust to gain the respect of Afrikaner officials to start building a new concensus for his eventual new government. The Afrikaners realize that with the riots, violence, and constant pressure from the outside world concerning their Apartheid policies, they will soon become more vilified and not be able to govern if social chaos continues. They knew that time was not on their side and that this Apartheid was digging their own graves.

Enter rugby. I particulary never cared for this game until I came to South Korea. When I met a few compadres from Australia and New Zealand in my teaching program in 2007, I started to learn about this game from them. They were absolutely big fans of this game, as we Americans are about football. In fact, both games are very similar but have an entirely different approach on how to play. It was not until the Rugby World 2007 in France that I started to learn and follow the game a little bit more and more. I learned about Rugby culture and history, a game that focues on brute power and quick ball movement, combining the elements of American football and soccer. Its actually a pretty neat game (the South Africans won that World Cup too).

For the Afrikaners, a race of peoples descended from Europeans during the migrations to South Africa in earlier centuries, this was their game. The Afrikaners enjoyed rugby as these young white boys grew up with the rough hussle and tussle of knocking each other and trying to score points through field goals or "tries," the equivalent of a touchdown. Meanwhile, soccer was the sport for blacks, who were mostly poor and all you need to play is a small ball to kick on your feet. Both races were worlds apart. In fact, the book mentions that blacks in South Africa would cheer for any opposing team that scored against the all-white "Springbok" teams (an African deer which is the iconic mascot of the national rugby team).

Yet Mandela had a plan. He had many choices at his disposal to gain power in the new government of 1994: why not take revenge and oust every Afrikaner politician who has brought hurt and pain to the African majority? Or perhaps violently oust the white minority like Robert Mugabe did in Zimbabwe (and look what happened there)? Or being a man of pragmatic nature and a forgiving spirit, why not reconcile and build all things new?

Mandela, instead of using the usual, sometimes backfiring policy of political reconcilation (because you can't please everybody), tried his hand at using a game that the South Africans were good at and uniting his people through sport: rugby. However, there was a problem: they were banned playing internationally due to the sanctions against them from the outside world. So Mandela gave the sport back to the Afrikaners and allowed them to take it on again, much to the chagrin of the blacks and other minorities who thought it was risky to give the Afrikaner minority a sense of legitimacy again.

Through meeting the players as they prepared for the 1995 World Cup, and with team manager Morne du Plessis creating a nation unifying team motto of "one team, one nation," Mandela constructs a plan to bring a new way of thought to bring both sides down on one issue: towards victory through sport. With their pragmatic captain, Francois Pienaar, a giant of a man who grew up in a more humble environment than other priveleged Afrikaners, the players and staff started to change their attitudes that by only through getting the support of the entire nation they could not only achieve victory, but also bring a violence-battered, politically-failing apart nation together. Meanwhile, Mandela throughout the book is meeting with political enemies left and right and simply appeals to their heart that violence is not the answer.

The upcoming film is set for a December 11, 2009 release date and directed by Clint Eastwood, a renowned film director and starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as SA's rugby captain Francois Pienaar. It is something I look forward to seeing in the near future. The story I read in this book by Carlin was inspiring because a man used not further violence to make things right, but reconciliation to put a ripped-nation almost on the brink of civil war to become a new democracy where Africans of all colors could me made.

On a spiritual note, how much more does Christ reconcile us with God, when "all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3) We could have been dead...forever. But Christ reconciles with God through His death and resurrection.