London 3 March 2014: The Government of Anguilla was represented by the UK/EU Representative, Dorothea Hodge, at the memorial for Nelson Mandela held at Westminster Abbey.
The memorial service took place today to celebrate the life of former South African President and anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela. Nearly 2,000 people attended the service including Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Harry and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Revered Dr John Hall revealed that Mr Mandela would be honoured with a memorial stone in Westminster Abbey.
Nelson Mandela is the first non-Briton to have such a large-scale thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey. Regarded as one of the most remarkable campaigners for human rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “He made us believe that all, each one of us, we are made of goodness,” he said. “We are made for caring, we are made for loving, we are made for compassion, we are made for laughter, for peace.”
Dorothea Hodge, the UK/EU Representative for the Government of Anguilla, was honoured to be at the event on behalf of Anguilla and said, “Nelson Mandela remains the greatest inspiration to everyone of us. He had the single largest influence in my life. As a child we all campaigned against the apartheid movement. We boycotted South African goods, we stood in solidarity with our brothers and sisters against the atrocities of apartheid. My first campaign as a child was in the playground where I stopped other children eating South African oranges and explained why. I later had the privilege to meet Madiba in 1998 when he visited us at the Welsh Labour Party, often felt to be the heart of the anti-apartheid campaign in the UK. At that stage I was 27, and I profoundly realised that Nelson Mandela had spent my lifetime incarcerated, fighting for the freedom of his people. I was determined that from that day I would commit my life to making the lives of others better however I could, and the private moment I spent with the greatest man of our generation has influenced every element of my daily walk through life. Today I am honoured to be at Westminster, on behalf of Anguilla and all Anguillians to pay the respects of our small nation to one of the greatest political figures of our lifetime.”
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
