Touching the Rainbow: Tribute to Nelson Mandela's Leadership

By Reginald Kasaval

This book by Reggie Kasaval is racy, witty, and exciting. It is a tale of triumph for it conveys values, builds morale, shows the development of a role model, and reveals the inner mechanisms of community and that of a champion comrade viz. Nelson Mandela.

Dr. Brian Naidoo

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477230084

Reginald Kasaval

This book by Reggie Kasaval is racy, witty, and exciting. It is a tale of triumph for it conveys values, builds morale, shows the development of a role model, and reveals the inner mechanisms of community and that of a champion comrade viz. Nelson Mandela. Dr. Brian Naidoo

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© 2012 Reginald Kasaval. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/05/2012

ISBN:   978-1-4772-3008-4 (e)

This book may be used for lectures, seminars and speeches. Quotations are encouraged to foster an amicable, a stable and a desirable Rainbow Nation and hopefully a Rainbow World!

All the poems and song lyrics are the author’s original work, unless otherwise credited.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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DEDICATIONS

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I dedicate this book to all the fallen heroes who paid the ultimate blood price to engineer the freedom that we have today in South Africa. I also dedicate this book to my late daughter Joanna Lee Kasaval, who left this earth in 2001.

In particular, I dedicate this book to a statesman, a struggle hero, a negotiator, a president, a father, a husband, a brother and above all to a leader who is an icon to the global fraternity—Nelson Mandela! Ultimately, all glory goes to God, the Creator and Sustainer of life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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First and foremost I place on record my sincerest gratitude to God, my heavenly Father. Without Divine intervention, this project would have been destined to be shelved.

I have quoted extensively from Jennifer Crwys Williams who compiled and edited the profound book of Nelson Mandela’s quotes aptly entitled: In The Words of Nelson Mandela. It is published by the Penguin Group – Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa. Published in 2010. Copyright © Jennifer Crwys Williams, 2009

FOREWORDS

Life might start off with rough beginnings yet life can catapult towards a remarkable end. As we manoeuvre towards death and the grave we must plan on being remembered for the role we played and the risks we took to be a player in the game of life. Our background has a way of defining our playing fields. Reginald Kasaval is a man who has been a ghost writer for many years and in this book the spirit of this man is now in the flesh. He is a multi-talented musician, writer, song writer and this DVD/CD and book combo on the life of a legend is a gem in its own right. Many have written about Nelson Mandela and his life from the struggle to the standing ovations he received as he went from prisoner to President. This icon of South African history and world star will not be forgotten in many life times to come. Reggie Kasaval took more than pride as he wrote this story and the songs that will be sung by those who were oppressed and by those who felt the pain of such persecution. This book celebrates both a life and a legend. This is a tale of triumph for it conveys values, builds morale, shows the development of a role model and reveals the inner mechanisms of community and that of a champion comrade.

Nelson Mandela serves as a carrier of distinctiveness, morals and memories. You can take a leaf from this book, teach a lesson but more than anything else you can transform your life and tailor your legacy. In life some people remember whilst many forget; Reggie Kasaval has chosen to remember a man who for sure very few will forget in this century. This book will go down as a best seller once it hits the shelves of a book store and the world’s stands and in this electronic age every book reading mechanism. As a writer myself I can confidently say that Reggie is a wonderful man who writes with a deep passion and also displays an engraved gratitude for him who made this book the best seller it will become. Be yourself today regardless of what happened yesterday, be all that you are or can be today and you will live in a fairer world tomorrow.

Dr. Brian Naidoo – Leadership Guru and CEO of WordWorks Emerging Leadership Corporation / Southern African Public Speakers Academy / Teentycoons Entrepreneurship and Founder of the DAM MAD Institute. (A Coaching and Mentorship Development Agency).

Contents

SPECTRUM ONE The Red Factor

SPECTRUM TWO The Orange Flavour

SPECTRUM THREE The Yellow Focus

SPECTRUM FOUR The Green Finger

SPECTRUM FIVE The Blue Feeling

SPECTRUM SIX The Indigo Force

SPECTRUM SEVEN The Violet Feature

SPECTRUM EIGHT The Rainbow Future

N.B. This book is written in colour order and not necessarily in chronological order!

PREFACE

It was revealed at the dawn of a nation’s turning point, but concealed with hushed undertones; it was exercised in sheltered locations but victimised on the open streets; it was secretly applauded by the famous—who wished to remain anonymous. But the whispered secrets became timidly audible, gradually reaching a crescendo and then suddenly exploding with a thunderous roar!

Madiba . . . . fugitive of an old nation, became the Father of a New Nation beyond colour and creed . . . . Nelson Mandela the world icon, yet with a committed team spirit that changed the face and fate of South Africa. He resided amongst the profoundest of ideas. Everybody understood him. Everybody loved him. Everybody respected him. His power was not merely in what he said, but lay in what he did, coupled with the impact of massive reserves and settings which he crafted and created. Homely in appearance, colourful in character, solid and sharp in thinking, he was the most careful man in dialogue and decision making. Robust, yet he remained respectful in the company of both the elite and the commoner. With his sacrificial deeds, this down-to-earth humanitarian lifted life to loftier levels.

After nine decades, he still retains nobility mixed with endearing humbleness, boldness seasoned with wise carefulness and firm resolve garnished with impact—we dare not relegate this impeccable life to the dusty shelves of ‘forgotten and unsung heroes!’

For centuries, colours have been effectively used for representing meanings in religious symbolism, heraldry, months of the year, and the seasons—in fact, for basically everything involving birth, life and death. Emotions as well are characterised by colours – ‘green with envy,’ ‘burning red with anger’, ‘feeling blue,’ ‘yellow bellied coward,’ ‘turned white with fear,’ black pride . . . and so forth. In religious connotations, Blue preaches heavenly aspects and Green echoes nature. Yellow decorates honour in heraldry, Black mourns sorrow, Indigo touches prosperity, Purple dresses royalty, Orange oozes with vitality and Red bleeds sacrifice.

In the colour spectrum of seasons—Spring is pink and green, Summer is yellow and blue, Autumn is orange and brown, Winter is red and black. All in all, colours create ‘good’ or ‘bad’ feelings, generate gloom or happiness, cultivate love or hate, illustrate fear or courage and motivate peace or war. So long as life exists, humans will always attach a specific significance to a certain colour.

The folklore of colours has also inspired this book. This is coupled with the fact that Nelson Mandela has been the doyen of the Rainbow Nation besides wearing a ‘coat of many colours.’ Therefore, it seems perfectly appropriate to have a colour spectrum insight into some of the life and times of this ‘Rainbow coloured’ and noble character, fondly known as ‘Madiba.’

This book is not intended to be a research manual nor an exhaustive study on the life of Nelson Mandela but rather an unusual way of highlighting the defining moments and recalling poignant episodes whilst embarking on a kaleidoscope venture into his triumphant life. The intention is that people from all walks of life would forge faithful friendships and that our nation would truly be as the Rainbow suggests ‘full with peace and hope.’ The pickle-mongers are those who argue that all knowledge and history worth recording are to be preserved in the pickle-bottles of yesterday. Innovators are those who understand their legacy as a continuous, vibrant and multi-sided experience. The tragedy of shelving our history as a ‘closed book’ is well or rather unintentionally pictured as: Well, we do have the vote! That’s how far it goes, the be all and end all of a cataclysmic struggle whilst its many brilliant activities and history making events are relegated prematurely to the pickle-bottles.

After scanning through the meaningful lives of great men and women for years, we cannot distance nor divorce ourselves from the storyline. We cannot help but know that we are the last chapter and are naturally permanently linked . . . and that the next chapter is for us to create. Profuse speaking of words alone is meaningless. The message must be made real in daily living and become a part of the minds and lives of people, or else it becomes a futile exercise, mere scattering of words into the atmosphere. A proper mix of words coupled with spontaneous action and executed with focussed power may furnish a bridge by which the human traffic of today may cross to meet tomorrow’s need and opportunity. In this book we will observe from a vantage point the man, whose life is inextricably linked with every living soul in our nation and whose every move and every moment is constantly being monitored on the global screen.

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A blend of love and dread!

Is the spectrum of Red.

A flash, a flicker, a flame,

Or flushing the face with shame.

It’s the colour of blood.

That flows as a flood,

In outbreaks of violence and revolution,

Yet, the Red Cross is a humanitarian solution.

Popular expressions denote Red’s objective

Positive or negative.

‘Red Herring’ – an irrelevant distraction.

‘Red for you’ – an angry expression

‘In the Red’ – being in debt.

‘Red Card – dismissal and regret.

‘Red Handed’ – caught in illegal activity.

‘Red Tape’ – sticking strictly to formality,

‘Red Letter Day’ – a memorable day.

‘Red Light’ – compulsory stop along the way.

‘Red Carpet Treatment’ – treated as celebrity.

‘Paint the Town Red’—rejoice with great festivity.

Reginald Kasaval

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Red has always been an attention getter! Warning signs, the marking of danger zones and flashing emergency lights, are all red! It commands respect and induces response! This colour symbolizes passion, shows energy, suggests vibrancy, spreads enthusiasm and signifies success – it is analytical, critical and logical, basing decisions on evidence of facts and research data . . . and loves a challenge! What a colourful insight into some of