COMRADE NJ'S ADDRESS
Comrades,
I am immensely honoured to speak at the memorial service of my friend and leader comrade Alfred Nzo.
Comrades , I ask you all to rise for a moment's silence in tribute to his memory. Even as we do so, let us also remember comrade Gladys Marks.
Thank You.
Comrades we are assembled to mourn the passing of a leader, a patriot, a
father, a fighter, a negotiator, gentle giant and an organiser.
We are also gathered here today to mourn the passing of a mother and a spouse who sacrificed much for the liberation of our people. Like many spouses, Mrs. Marks had to endure living without a husband for more than a decade.
Like many African women, Mrs. Gladys Marks had to take the
sole responsibility of bringing up the family without the support of a spouse.
Perhaps more painful to Mrs. Marks was the death of comrade JB Marks or Uncle
JB as he was commonly known in Moscow on August 1, 1972.
We shared and continue to share the pain of Mrs. Gladys Marks and the family
of having a loved one's remains lying thousands of kilometers away.
Comrades, how ironic that it was comrade Nzo who told those who gathered at the graveside of Uncle JB at the Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow that
"When the inevitable victory against apartheid tyranny comes it will bear the stamp of this great figure and his name will be honoured by our people forever".
It was through the sacrifices and contributions of Mrs. Gladys Marks at the side of Uncle JB that he became the courageous leader and the dauntless champion of the aspirations of the working people.
As Chairman of the South African Communist Party and a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, uncle JB played an indispensable role in helping to guide our whole liberation movement through one of its most difficult periods. And all that was possible partly through the unflinching commitment of Mrs. Marks to the cause of the exploited and wretched of the earth.
Her husband's body may be lying in foreign soil, but we are comforted by the fact that at the 1995 SACP Congress Mrs. Marks was amongst the stalwarts who were officially honoured for their contribution and sacrifices to the liberation of our country and people.
Hamba Kahle Mama Gladys Marks.
Comrades, I said earlier we are assembled to mourn the passing of a leader, a patriot, a father, a fighter, a negotiator, gentle giant and an organiser.
Indeed, it is the combination of all these qualities so splendidly in one individual, which made Comrade Alfred Nzo one of the greatest leaders of the African National Congress. Over the past few days since his death I have heard and read a number of tributes paid to Comrade Nzo.
In all the tributes not once did all those who knew him fail to mention that he was one of the humblest leaders of our movement. He was not given to being vain or boastful.
He was a leader who was free of the evils of pride, ego, greed, selfishness, envy, jealousy, anger, fear and hatred.
Comrade Alfred Nzo's work in the ANC has always been based on his understanding of the needs of ordinary working class people in South Africa. He has dedicated almost his entire life to the struggle for basic human rights in South Africa.
Men and women of rare qualities are few and hard to come by. And when they depart, the sense of loss is made the more profound and the more difficult to manage. We say Comrade Nzo has departed. But can we allow him to depart while we live!
Can we say Comrade Nzo is no more, while we walk this solid earth!
Comrade Nzo lived not because he could breathe. He lived not because blood flowed through his veins. Comrade Nzo lived not because he did all the things that all of us as ordinary men and women do. He lived because he had surrendered his very being to the people. He lived because his very being embodied love, an idea, a hope, an aspiration, a vision. While he lived, our minds would never quite formulate the thought that this man is other than what the naked eye could see.
I say that Comrade Nzo has not died, because the ideals for which he sacrificed his life can never die. I say that Comrade Nzo has not died because the ideals of freedom and human dignity and respect for every individual cannot perish. I say he has not died because there are many of us who became part of his soul and therefore willingly entered into a conspiracy with him, for the victory of his cause. While the ANC lives, Comrade Nzo cannot die!
Comrade Nzo cannot die while his allies in the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions remain loyal to the common purpose.
Comrade Nzo cannot cease to be, while the millions of our people gather themselves into the democratic organisations that make up our own rainbow coalition.
Yet we do draw comfort, Comrade Nzo: - from the knowledge that you left a legacy which we shall all strive to emulate. We draw strength, Comrade Nzo - from the knowledge that you continue to live in each one of us through your force of example, vitality of spirit and passion for justice.
When future generations look back on the 1994 breakthrough, they will be justified in saying: Comrade Nzo was central in making it happen.
When the working people start enjoying, as a right, a roof over their heads, affordable medical care, quality education and a rising standard of living, they will be right to say, Comrade Nzo was a chief architect who helped lay the foundation for a better life.
When those yet to be born marvel at how South Africans of our times managed a delicate transition, they will be within their right to sing, as we did during the years of armed struggle: uNzo inkokheli , a leader for a better life for all our people. A warrior of peace and reconciliation, a builder par excellence.
Comrade Nzo was one of those who taught us that individuals do not make history.
Yet, in each generation there are a few individuals who are endowed with the acumen and personal bearing which enable them to direct the course of events.
We in the African National Congress know intimately what vacuum Comrade Nzo's departure has left in our midst. We shall miss not only his incisiveness, experience and verve.
Comrades,
We know too well how much Comrade Nzo sacrificed. There are times when our
demands on him - indeed the demands of struggle - made it difficult for him to
play fully the role of father and husband. But we need to make this solemn
pledge to you.
As long as the people of our country continue to be immersed in poverty. As long as millions of our people continue to lose their lives as a result of preventable diseases, including AIDS, we shall not rest.
As a health worker yourself we believe that nothing would please you more than to see us mobilise our people properly to respond to the health threats that confront us as a people.
These include the AIDS epidemic which, among other things, requires that we change the habits of our people with regard to issues that relate to sexual behaviour and life style
We pledge that by our own actions and the results we produce in our own country, we will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the African Century.
Comrades, one of the tributes we can pay to Comrade Nzo is to deny space to those who do not care for the fundamental aspirations of the people.
We must pay tribute to Comrade Nzo by identifying and isolating those whose aim has been and still is to divide the people and divert them from their real and common interests, by driving them to racism, narrow nationalism, tribalism, ethnicity, regionalism and religious fanaticism.
We must pay tribute to Comrade Nzo by ensuring that we work tirelessly for the total emancipation of the women of Africa. The movement as a whole must also focus on the issue of the struggle for the emancipation of women.
Comrades, as a movement we must pay tribute to Comrade Nzo by ensuring that we rid the province of elements that weaken our capacity to carry out our mission to continue the struggle for the total emancipation of our people.
Criminals continue to prey on our people and society, among other things raping women and abusing children. We have to wage an all-out struggle against these elements.
Comrade Nzo, in our grief, we do remember that you enjoined us not to mourn but to celebrate the achievements you humbly helped realise.
If you see tears welling in our eyes, it is because we cannot bear saying: Farewell dear comrade, dear brother, dear friend!
You set yourself a task which only the brave would dare. Somewhere in the mystery of your essence, you heard the call that you must devote your life to the creation of a new South African nation. And having heard that call, you did not hesitate to act.
All humanity knows what you had to do to create the conditions for all of us to reach this glorious end. Because we value peace you will live forever! Because we all love freedom we say long live Comrade Nzo! Because we all uphold the dignity of all human beings say together - long live Comrade Nzo!
Let all of us who live say that while we live, the ideals for which Comrade Nzo lived, sacrificed and died will not die! Let all of us who live, say that while we live, Comrade Nzo will not die! May he, for his part, rest in peace.
Go well and farewell, dear friend.
In all this, we will not fail you.
Thank You