Commencement remarks by Mac Maharaj, June 1, 2007

It seems part of the human condition that we all want change; that we almost live for change, so to speak. But when change happens, we tend to become hesitant; often inertia grips us. We easily become fearful of change because change means uncertainty....

"Under torture, in prison, in exile and the underground, I had to live with fear all the time."

In detention, particularly under torture, in prison, in exile and the underground, I had to live with fear all the time. There was a time on Robben Island when the authorities began to take us outside of the prison walls to work at the lime quarry, digging lime with picks and shovels. We were required to walk in rows of four prisoners. The warders were armed with batons and firearms.

Some warders walked ahead of our column, some brought up the rear and others marched alongside us. They began to harangue and shower abuse on us. They demanded that we walk faster and faster. The threat of violence was everywhere. How was I to respond? I was afraid and every muscle and sinew wanted to break into a trot. Why should we not do so, I silently argued with myself, if that would save us from a mass assault? Almost as a reflex we had begun to walk at a faster pace. The warders kept shouting, threatening and wanting us to walk faster, and faster. A whisper spread among us. Mandela was asking us to slow down and walk at a deliberate and dignified pace. He was at the time walking somewhere in the middle of the column. He wormed his way to the front row and slowed down the pace of the entire column.

"A sense of exhilaration grew within each of us; a sense of power mightier than the batons and guns..."

My bowels were threatening to develop a life of their own. My legs sought to move faster, but I was deep in the column held back by the pace set by Mandela and the front row. We began to ignore the warders, we closed our ears to their shouts, abuse and threats; we began to take control of our fears. We simply walked at a slow steady pace. The fear in me lost its power over my bowels, muscles and mind. The guards had over-used their power. A sense of exhilaration grew within each of us; a sense of power mightier than the batons and guns wielded by the warders. We began to walk tall. Fear—with all its potential to paralyze, to immobilize or propel you to flight—had become our ally....

Fear, as an ally, has helped me swiftly take stock of a situation, recognize the odds and find ways to move forward with deliberation. Fear is an indispensable tool enabling us to live with change. And change is a permanent condition. That is the future.

"He could have traded on the inflamed passions of our youth and called for insurrection. South Africa was ready to burn. No, it was already burning...."

I look at you. I revel in the quiet swagger of your walk and I know you can’t wait to step into the wider world. That is as it should be....

Wherever you go and whatever you do after Bennington, I have to caution you that the true test of leadership, of your ability to make a difference, will always revolve around the need to make a moral choice. It arises in the most unexpected moments and the most unsuspecting circumstances. Such a moment arose when an icon of the South African struggle, Chris Hani, was assassinated in 1993. Mandela could have capitalized on that murder; he could have traded on the inflamed passions of our youth and called for insurrection. South Africa was ready to burn. No, it was already burning. But Mandela went on TV and told the nation “not to be vengeful and remember that the prize was a peaceful non-racial democracy.” Mandela had made a moral choice. I went along with that choice, but to this day, I am not sure that if I had any say in it I would have made that same choice.

"Whatever niche in life you make your own, excel in it and remember also that you are part of a larger community."

I share these fragments with you because in many ways we who sought to give you a better world have also handed over quote a mess; a world that seems to have no moral compass in both the little and large issues.

For you there are no longer the simple choices we had to make; for you there are no singular and direct relationships between choices you make and the consequences of those choices. Yet, you have to accept responsibility for the consequences. In place of moral choices those who have the power today capitalize on our fears and our basest instincts.

Yes, it is a tough and trying world out there beyond these gates. But we hand you such a mess that almost anything you do is likely to make the world a better place than the one we have made for you. I know you will succeed in this. Then maybe we will be able to look back at the mess you inherited and see some of the good in what we have done. But for now whatever niche in life you make your own, excel in it and remember also that you are part of a larger community. You are part of nature and your humanity is realized by the way in which you interact with your fellow humans and with nature as a whole. Go for it. Go make a difference.

Mac Maharaj's life has been chronicled in a new biography, Shades of Difference: Mac Maharaj and the Struggle for South Africa by Padraig O'Malley.