曼德拉逝世凝聚了南非社會，全國民眾6日舉國哀悼。不過當人們以歌舞頌揚他不凡的一生時，有些人則擔心，這位反種族隔離英雄的辭世，將讓南非再次受到種族及社會緊張情勢的威脅。
南非總統朱瑪宣布，曼德拉將於12月15日下葬於故鄉東開普省。
南非民眾5日深夜從朱瑪口中得知，他們曾獲得諾貝爾和平獎的首位黑人總統，在長年受疾病之苦後，在家人的陪伴下於約翰尼斯堡的家中安祥逝世。
曼德拉將下葬於他的故鄉，也就是約翰尼斯堡以南7百公里的庫努村，他其中3名子女及其他親戚安葬之處長眠。
脫離種族隔離的腳步不會停歇
儘管公眾人物再三保證，曼德拉過世在令世界無比悲慟之時，絕不會讓南非脫離其種族隔離過往的腳步停止；但，仍有些人因這位和平使者的消逝而感到不安。
南非所有國旗降半旗哀悼曼德拉逝世，約翰尼斯堡的證券交易所也暫停5分鐘。
不過，也並非所有情緒都是悲戚的。數百位民眾湧上曼德拉住家附近前的街道，許多人唱著讚頌歌曲並隨樂聲起舞。
群眾中，有剛學步並拿著鮮花的孩子、仍穿著制服的家務工以及穿著西裝的商人。
另一位資深的反種族隔離社運者，同時也是南非開普敦前任聖公會主教的屠圖表示，全南非民眾對於曼德拉逝世都感到「傷心欲絕」。
屠圖也試著安撫群眾，這位讓南非步入民主的人物辭世，不會讓種族隔離的殘存之影復興。
整塊非洲大陸都被失落感深深籠罩著。「非洲，我們現在有麻煩了，因為沒有人能繼承曼德拉的衣缽。」32歲的肯亞教師歐奇說。
與曼德拉一起對抗種族隔離的老戰友，尚比亞前總統孔達，讚頌曼德拉是「偉大的自由鬥士」。
獨一無二的政治人物
對南非來說，這位最受民眾敬愛的領導者逝世之時，這個國家正處於狀況不佳之際。在種族隔離政策結束之後，曾沉浸在世界一片祝福中的南非除了經歷了勞工抗爭，民眾對於簡陋的公共服務、貧窮、犯罪、失業，以及讓朱瑪於任內染上污點的貪腐醜聞，抗議聲浪也越來越高。
許多人視現在的南非為非洲大陸最大的經濟體，但同時也是世上最不平等的國度；現在的南非，距離曼德拉1990年成功獲釋後所稱頌的「彩虹國度」理想，以及其社會和諧、財富共享的願景，仍相當遙遠。
「現在曼德拉過世了，我覺得自己一點機會有沒有了。富人只會更有錢，然後直接遺忘我們。他們對窮人不屑一顧。看看我們的政治人物，他們一點也不像曼德拉。」36歲的警衛恩科西說。
明年，朱瑪及執政的非洲民族議會將面臨總統及國會選舉，預料將會讓民眾對貧窮及失業景況的不滿搬上檯面。
然而，南非過去的民族解放運動，仍將持續在南非政治圈發揮深厚的影響力。
歐亞集團的資深非洲分析家羅森柏格表示，曼德拉逝世一事，或許會在下次選舉中激起民眾的同情，進而助非洲民族議會一臂之力；但長遠來看，曼德拉逝世將會傷害這個政黨。
恐傷害非洲民族議會
他認為，曼德拉逝世「大傷這個政黨的歷史正統性，那些認為這個政黨未履行其經濟承諾且陷入腐敗的反對民眾，將更加反對非洲民族議會。」
出身自不起眼鄉村的曼德拉，當年挑戰了由少數白人統治的社會。這場奮鬥使他成為20世紀最受人敬重並愛戴的人物之一。
1960年時，曼德拉是首批提倡以武力抵抗壓迫者的人之一；但經過約30年，當白人開始放鬆對當地控制之時，他很快的轉為提倡和解及原諒。
在幫助這個分裂的國度走向和解、遠離內戰後，曼德拉於1994年一場包含所有種族的選舉中勝出、成為總統。
1999年時，曼德拉將政權交給更適任於現代經濟體制的年輕領導者；這樣自願退位的行為相當少見，也為往後的非洲領導者樹立了典範。
在長期受到獨裁者統治及暴力政變而染滿血腥的非洲歷史上，曼德拉自願退位的作法顯得格外不同。（路透）
South Africans united in mourning for Nelson Mandela on Friday, but while some celebrated his remarkable life with dance and song, others fretted that the anti-apartheid （1） hero's death would leave the nation vulnerable again to racial and social tensions.
President Jacob Zuma said Mandela would be buried on Dec. 15 at his ancestral home in the Eastern Cape.
South Africans heard from Zuma late on Thursday that their first black president, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, had died peacefully at his Johannesburg home in the company of his family after a long illness.
Mandela would be laid to rest at his ancestral village of Qunu, 700 km south of Johannesburg, in a plot where three of his children and other close family members are buried.
Despite reassurances from public figures that Mandela's death, while sorrowful, would not halt South Africa's advance from its apartheid past, there were those who expressed unease about the absence of a man famed as a peacemaker.
Flags flew at half mast across the country, and trade was halted for five minutes on the Johannesburg stock exchange.But the mood was not all sombre. Hundreds filled the streets around Mandela's home, many singing songs of tribute （2） and dancing.
The crowd included toddlers carrying flowers, domestic workers still in uniform and businessmen in suits.
Another veteran anti-apartheid campaigner, former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, said that like all South Africans he was "devastated" by Mandela's death.
Tutu tried to calm fears that the absence of the man who steered South Africa to democracy might revive some of the ghosts of apartheid.
The loss was also keenly felt across the African continent. "We are in trouble now, Africa. No one will fit Mandela's shoes," said Kenyan teacher Catherine Ochieng, 32.
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, an old ally of Mandela's in the struggle against apartheid, hailed him as "a great freedom fighter".
For South Africa, the death of its most loved leader comes at a time when the nation, which basked in global goodwill after apartheid ended, has been experiencing labour unrest, growing protests against poor services, poverty, crime and unemployment and corruption scandals tainting Zuma's rule.
Many saw today's South Africa - the continent's biggest economy but also one of the world's most unequal - as still distant from the "Rainbow Nation" ideal of social peace and shared prosperity that Mandela had proclaimed on his triumphant release from prison in 1990.
"Now without Madiba I feel like I don't have a chance. The rich will get richer and simply forget about us. The poor don't matter to them. Look at our politicians, they are nothing like Madiba." said Joseph Nkosi, 36, a security guard.
Zuma and his ruling African National Congress face presidential and legislative elections next year which are expected to reveal discontent among voters about poverty and unemployment.
But the former liberation movement is expected to maintain its dominance in South African politics.
Mark Rosenberg, Senior Africa Analyst at the Eurasia Group, said that while Mandela's death might give the ANC a sympathy-driven boost for the next elections, it would hurt the party in the long term.
He saw Mandela's absence "sapping （3） the party's historical legitimacy and encouraging rejection by voters who believe the ANC has failed to deliver on its economic promises and become mired in corruption".
Mandela rose from rural obscurity （4） to challenge white minority rule - a struggle that gave the 20th century one of its most respected and loved figures.
He was among the first to advocate armed resistance to apartheid in 1960, but was quick to preach reconciliation （5） and forgiveness when the white minority began easing its grip on power 30 years later.
He was elected president in all-race elections in 1994 after helping to steer the divided country towards reconciliation and away from civil war.
In 1999, Mandela handed over power to younger leaders better equipped to manage a modern economy, a rare voluntary departure from power cited as an example to African leaders. This made him an exception on a continent with a bloody history of long-serving autocrats and violent coups.（Reuters）
關鍵字詞
1.apartheid（n.）南非的種族隔離政策
2.tribute（n.）尊崇
3.sap（v.）大傷元氣
4.obscurity（n.）隱匿
5.reconciliation（n.）和解
（圖說）倫敦市中心南岸一座曼德拉的雕像，圖攝於2013年12月9日。（圖文／路透）