Mandela's B-Day message: Rich should help poor
In an interview at his home in rural southeastern South Africa, the anti-apartheid icon was asked if he had a message for the world.
"There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty," Mandela said.
Accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel, a smiling Mandela walked into his private lounge in the large home he built in Qunu, before sitting in his favorite yellow armchair and addressing a small gathering of reporters from The Associated Press and other outlets for about 15 minutes. It was his first such exchange with journalists in years.
Mandela, sounding and looking vigorous, said he was fortunate to have reached 90, but in the countryside and in the towns "poverty has gripped our people.
"If you are poor, you are not likely to live long," he said. He credited his "behavior" for his own longevity.
"I am sure for many people that is their wish," he said. "I also have that wish that I spent more time (with my family). But I don't regret it."
Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid.
He was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule. He was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. After serving one five-year term, he devoted himself to campaigning against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. But he has been slowed by age in recent years, cutting back on public appearances and spending more time with his family. He often spends holidays and his birthdays in Qunu.
Wearing one of his signature patterned shirts, this one in shades of green, gold and black, he glanced pensively out a window at the start of the interview.
"This is my property. When I am here, I feel I own something," he said of the rural area 600 miles south of Johannesburg where he spent his youth. In his autobiography, he describes herding cattle in the hills around Qunu as a boy.
Soon after the interview, a group of seven or eight grandchildren crowded around Mandela's chair, sang "Happy Birthday" and kissed him. His legs were propped up on a large stool and covered with a pale yellow blanket. A pile of newspapers sat next to his chair.
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