Dear Editor,
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu,was laid to rest in Cape Town, South Africa. I would like to express a short tribute to the Archbishop, a true hero and true leader. It was when I was studying theology, I was motivated to learn about this true hero. His ever-living legacy can help us to be true leaders. In his book, ‘No Future without Forgiveness’, Archbishop argues that we would not know how to be a human being at all, except we learn this from other human beings. We are bound together, in what the bible calls ‘the bundle of life’. Our humanity is caught up in that of all others. We are human because we belong. We are made for community, for togetherness, for family. To exist is a delicate network of interdependence, for no one can be human alone. Archbishop was a key instrument in an unprecedented attempt at healing a nation when he was named Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by President Nelson Mandela.
He succeeded to heal a wounded nation through forgiveness. For him, there is no humanity without forgiveness, and forgiveness is possible only through peaceful coexistence. He upheld social harmony, friendliness as the great goods of which social harmony is the summum bonum – the greatest good. The teaching of Jesus, ‘to love your enemies’ is personified in the Archbishop, for he expressed, ‘if you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends but talk to your enemies’. He walked the talk as a true humble leader, in other words, he was a true servant leader. As former President of USA, Obama said, Archbishop was a true ‘moral compass’ to everyone around the world, especially to leaders and those aspiring to be leaders. I leave with his quote, ‘God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.’
Sincerely,
Jerri Dias
