Parliament Square London
Parliament Square is a large square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. It faces onto the Thames and features a large open grassed area in the centre with trees to its west.
A number of impressive building looking upon the square include Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s, Westminster, the Middlesex Guildhall which is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Government Offices Great George Street serving HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, and Portcullis House.
It contains twelve statues of mainly British statesmen and other notable individuals, including Sir Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Sir Robert Peel, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Disraeli, but what is significant from a South African point of view, is that 3 of the statues have a strong South African connection.
Field Marshall Jan Smuts
Although Smuts fought against the British during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1901), he fought on the side of the British in both World Wars, becoming one of Winston Churchill staunchest supporters during the Second World War.
He was instrumental in the of the Royal Air Force and the only person to have signed the peace treaties that ended World War 1 and World War 2.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in the Madiba clan, and was educated at Fort Hare University and the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1952, he and Oliver Tambo founded South Africa’s first black law firm Mandela & Tambo.
As a life-long opponent of the Apartheid system, he was involved with both the adoption Freedom Charter and the armed struggle that eventually ensued, for which was arrested and, in June 1964, sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage. He spent 27 years before finally being released in February, 1990.
Before his release, he and other leaders had been involved in efforts to break the stalemate that existed, and following long negotiations, both the ANC and PAC were unbanned, and all political prisoners released.
After the historic General Elections in 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected President. He served one term as President, before stepping down.
Mahatma Gandhi
Born in Porbandar, Gujarat, India on October 2nd, 1869. In 1888 he travelled to London to pursue a law degree, staying for 3 years until he completed his law degree at the Inner Temple and was called to the bar on June 10th, 1891.
Despite this he returned to his family in India, but on being offered employment in South Africa, he made the decision to travel to Natal arriving in Durban in 1893.
Gandhi enrolled at the Supreme Court of Natal to enable him to practice law and earn a living, but he became increasingly aware that of the deep inequalities of South African society, and he began to actively fight against them. By now Gandhi was already developing his non-violent philosophy of Satyagraha.
Once back in India, Gandhi said in a meeting in New Delhi, that he was born in India but was made in South Africa. When he eventually left South Africa to return to India, the philosophy was fully formed, and he continued to fight against the British Authorities in India.
Gandhi founded the Indian Independence Movement, and on August 15th, 1947, the State of India was formed.
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu nationalist.
His non-violent resistance helped end British rule in India and influenced modern civil disobedience movements across the world. Fittingly, his birthday, October 2nd is celebrated as the International Day of Non-violence.
If you’re ever fortunate enough to visit London, make your way down to Parliament Square and spend a moment thinking about the fact other that America’s President Abraham Lincoln, no other country except South Africa has a representative on the square.
South Africa has three!
