South Africa commemorates Mandela with day of prayers_美文

South Africa commemorates Mandela with day of prayers

US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be among those at Tuesday's memorial.

Mandela's death, though long expected as he succumbed slowly to a lung ailment dating back to his days in the notorious Robben Island penal colony, has plunged South Africans into soul-searching, six months before presidential and legislative elections.

President Jacob Zuma's ruling African National Congress faces a clamor of calls for better leadership after several years in which South Africa has experienced violent labor unrest, growing protests against poverty, crime and unemployment, and corruption scandals tainting Zuma's rule.

It remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, still some way from the "Rainbow Nation" ideal of shared prosperity and social harmony that Mandela proclaimed when he won the country's first multiracial elections in 1994.

About the broadcaster:

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.