South Africa worried as Mandela remains in hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela underwent more medical tests Monday in a military hospital as the public and journalists outside asked: What, if anything, is wrong with the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon?

Government officials in charge of releasing information about Mandela have repeatedly declined to provide specifics about Mandela's now three-day hospitalization, calling on citizens to respect the beloved politician's privacy. Yet Mandela represents something more than a man to many in this nation of 50 million people and to the world at large, and the longer he remains in hospital care, the louder the demand for the private details about his health will grow.

"He symbolizes what our country can achieve with a statesman of his stature. He's our inspiration and personifies our aspirations," an editorial in Monday's edition of the Sowetan newspaper reads. "And that's why we dread his hospital visits, routine or not. That's why even now when we are told not to panic, we do."

Story Archived

Only the most recent 7 days of articles are available for free. For articles older than 7 days there is a small fee for retrieval from our archive. If you are a registered member of the site, the content is free just by signing in below.

Please sign in with your Comment Member ID and password.

Did you purchase access?

Member ID:
Password:
Forgot Your Password?
Register to comment.

Purchase Access
To allow for flexibility, we offer a variety of options for purchasing articles:
Purchase options


Having trouble?

If you have any technical difficulties, either with your username and password or with the payment options, please contact us by e-mail at archivedesk@shawmedia.com

Blogs

» Extra! Extra! - A blog by Chris Heimerman
Extra! Extra! - A blog by Chris Heimerman

Knowledge is power, right?

Bryan Frederick is a Lifestyle Medicine Instructor at CGH Medical Center, and he's got me thinking and re-thinking my approach to weight loss.
» Out Here
Out Here

Why the need for middleman?

The other day, we ran a story about the Dixon Tourism Board's website, which is hard to navigate and missing key information, particularly about the Petunia Festival. Are we wasting our time examining local tourism websites?

Reader Poll

Have you ever gone boating on the Rock River?

Yes
No