A Nonstop Tribute To Nelson Mandela
Mandela, who turns 95 on July 18, was hospitalized in early June with a lingering lung ailment he first developed during the 27 years he spent in prison during the country's apartheid era. The office of South Africa's president describes Mandela's condition as critical but stable, and says that he is responding to treatment.
At the hospital entrance, people have left mementos for Mandela, many of them handwritten notes addressed to "Madiba," Mandela's clan name, or "tata," which means "father" in his native tongue, Xhosa.
Hundreds of these notes plastered the walls — so many that a janitor would occasionally squeeze through the crowd to sweep up any that had been blown away into the street.
Directly in front of the wall, next to a Bible and a small portrait of Mandela, visitors left candles that have melted down in various stages. A row of floral bouquets, some fresh, some wilted, occupied much of the ground below the wall. The area smelled of spent wax and protea flowers.
At times, the crowd seemed festive, singing songs, telling jokes, hugging each other. Some outwardly prayed for Mandela's recovery; others stood in silence, forming circles and holding hands with whatever strangers happened to be standing next to them.
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