Mandela and Le Metro
The Paris Metro is a place where everyone knows each other while no one knows each other. Racially and ethnically diverse, young and old, small and large, Metro riders stare ahead with earbuds intact. They seem oblivious to their surroundings, yet they see everything.
From my seat on the Metro, which I was riding one afternoon during the Fall of 2023, I could hear national rugby spirit songs rocketing from car to car as if carefully choreographed. The voices were strong and the songs seemed to lift the spirits of everyone.
Near me, I could see a group of strapping young rugby players sporting South African uniform colors. They were singing joyfully, and I remembered seeing several “affiches” throughout Paris announcing the World Cup Rugby finals being held at Stade de France. Perhaps Paris was already preparing for the Summer Olympics scheduled for Summer 2024.
As the singing continued, the doors at the back of our car burst open and in walked two burly, full of life Black South African rugby players singing their hearts out. They embraced their teammates in the middle of the Metro car and exuded every bit of camaraderie and respect one would expect of great friends and teammates. They were all Springboks, the South Africa national rugby union team who, not surprisingly, went on to win the World Cup that year.
I could only think about the arduous, even tragic, journey from post-World War II South Africa dominated by the Afrikaaners to the day in 1990 when Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after 27 years, holding his wife Winnie’s hand. Mandela was the global symbol of the anti-apartheid crusade for racial integration and human rights.
More than 30 years later, on the Paris Metro, I felt incredibly blessed to witness the spirit of the integrated South African rugby team, cheered on by fellow passengers from around the world. What would Mandela think of this development? Surely, he would have been thrilled to witness the harmony and joy on everyone’s face, instilled by the young athletes from South Africa competing, free of the yoke of apartheid.
As Mandela proclaimed, “Winners are dreamers who never give up.” In 1789, the French put it another way: “Liberte’, Egalite’ et Fraternite.”