When one pauses to look at the greatness which has every once in a while been forged behind jail walls in the course of history, one is tempted to wonder if it is not indeed possible to be within the confines of tall walls with guards and be more free than those without the same. It is even more tempting to flirt with that question when one looks at the iconic Nelson Mandela who had the effrontery to turn down release from prison until certain conditions were met. He was keen to ensure that his core principles and the heart of the things he stood for, the very things which brought him to prison where not compromised. He was released on his own terms not just from a prison of physical walls but also from that jail of a heart which harbors hatred and bitterness. He himself captured it beautifully when he said: "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind I'd still be in prison."
Today as the scales of justice swing like a pendulum and the sword of punishment swings teasingly over the head of Oscar Pistorius, I am left wondering what kind of tumultuous emotional storms he has to weather, whether he harbors any hatred and bitterness towards himself, whether he has or is capable of forgiving himself for his planned or unplanned(we may never know) atrocity even if the justice system acquitted him of every charge. If Oscar Pistorius ended up in a jail of physical walls, will the family of Reeva Steenkamp ever be able to purge themselves of the bitterness and hatred which naturally should ensue from circumstances so inexplicably painful? Is it possible that irrespective of Judge Thokozile Masipa's ruling, in end some will remain trapped in the jail of a heart which harbors bitterness and hatred? What does it mean to be free? Is it a physical or mental thing or is it both? Is it possible to be physically bound and yet be free? Is it not possible to walk freely yet with every step walk with or towards an imprisoning entrapment of bitterness and hatred for self or others, rocked by mental and emotional agony of proportions so epic one would prefer to be trapped within the tall walls of a prison cell? What does it really mean to be Free?
Brussels © September 2014 afesehngwaHilary
