Hero, role model, friend - at the Nelson Mandela square

Among all the new sights, sounds and experiences of Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburgh, Basetsana (15) and her friend Precious (14) are drawn to the huge bronze statue of their hero, role model and friend.

His face is on the news on television, in their schoolbooks and on the covers of books. Mr Mandela is the person their elders so often talk about.

They dance in and out of the huge legs of the statue, hug the legs and peer up at the face of the man they admire.

Poignant moment

The moment is made even more poignant because the man himself, now in his nineties, is in hospital at the time. The media are speculationg that he may never return to his home in the city suburbs. Fortunately, he does.

For a nation that still so needs their figurehead, there are tears and fears among those gathered in the square that day. South Africans want to feel closer to the man they call 'Tata Madiba' or 'Father of the Madiba' (the clan of which he is a member).

Basetsana and Precious know that his clan name is much more important than his surname, as it refers to the ancestor. Madiba was  the name of a Thembu chief who ruled in the Transkei in the 18th century. It is very polite to use someone’s clan name and the girls want to show their respect.