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| The Long Memories Shared by Britain and South Africa | The Long Memories Shared by Britain and South Africa |
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| LONDON — Despite — or perhaps because of — their long, shared and often tortured history, there is a curious fondness between some Britons and some South Africans. Two events this week, far-flung and disparate, illustrated some of the ambiguities, too. | |
| Indeed, it almost seemed as if South Africa’s Jekyll-and-Hyde soul was weaving itself anew into the relationship, offering the conflicting visages that make any definition of Africa’s 20-year-old “rainbow nation” so elusive, particularly in a land that has, in turn, been its invader, its overlord and its champion. | Indeed, it almost seemed as if South Africa’s Jekyll-and-Hyde soul was weaving itself anew into the relationship, offering the conflicting visages that make any definition of Africa’s 20-year-old “rainbow nation” so elusive, particularly in a land that has, in turn, been its invader, its overlord and its champion. |
| Here, in the soaring, august confines of Westminster Abbey, 2,000 congregants, including Prince Harry and Prime Minster David Cameron, assembled Tuesday for a memorial service to Nelson Mandela, who died in December. It fused liturgical solemnity and Anglican pomp with the light and sound of a Soweto gospel choir, feting the inclusive Mandela legacy in rousing renditions of both nations’ anthems, “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” and “God Save the Queen.” | Here, in the soaring, august confines of Westminster Abbey, 2,000 congregants, including Prince Harry and Prime Minster David Cameron, assembled Tuesday for a memorial service to Nelson Mandela, who died in December. It fused liturgical solemnity and Anglican pomp with the light and sound of a Soweto gospel choir, feting the inclusive Mandela legacy in rousing renditions of both nations’ anthems, “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” and “God Save the Queen.” |
| But, 5,500 miles to the south, in Pretoria, the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star, opening on the same day, prised open a much darker vision of violence that showed the limits of Mr. Mandela’s bequest. | But, 5,500 miles to the south, in Pretoria, the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star, opening on the same day, prised open a much darker vision of violence that showed the limits of Mr. Mandela’s bequest. |
| Denying that he murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, Mr. Pistorius repeated his argument that he had mistaken her for a burglar when he shot through a locked bathroom door on Feb. 14, 2013. A simple story of celebrity shooting? Not in South Africa. | Denying that he murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, Mr. Pistorius repeated his argument that he had mistaken her for a burglar when he shot through a locked bathroom door on Feb. 14, 2013. A simple story of celebrity shooting? Not in South Africa. |
| Was this alleged intruder, the crime writer Margie Orford asked, a reference to “the figure of the threatening black stranger,” which she termed “perhaps the most atavistic of white South African fears” — the same specter of “swart gevaar,” or “black peril,” as drove the warped logic of apartheid? Had that reflex been carried over into the present? | Was this alleged intruder, the crime writer Margie Orford asked, a reference to “the figure of the threatening black stranger,” which she termed “perhaps the most atavistic of white South African fears” — the same specter of “swart gevaar,” or “black peril,” as drove the warped logic of apartheid? Had that reflex been carried over into the present? |
| “So many men in South Africa,” she added in a newspaper article, “exist in this state of macho hair-trigger tension in which action comes, all too often, before thought.” Even a crime story fell under a long shadow of memory. | “So many men in South Africa,” she added in a newspaper article, “exist in this state of macho hair-trigger tension in which action comes, all too often, before thought.” Even a crime story fell under a long shadow of memory. |
| At Westminster Abbey there were other, easier echoes, celebrating those who had supported South Africa’s struggle from afar in what sometimes seemed a vain tilt against a mighty regime. | At Westminster Abbey there were other, easier echoes, celebrating those who had supported South Africa’s struggle from afar in what sometimes seemed a vain tilt against a mighty regime. |
| Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu spoke of “those who regularly picketed South Africa House” — the country’s diplomatic representation here — and “elegant ladies who boycotted South African goods” and demonstrators who protested South African sports teams. | Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu spoke of “those who regularly picketed South Africa House” — the country’s diplomatic representation here — and “elegant ladies who boycotted South African goods” and demonstrators who protested South African sports teams. |
| “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said from the pulpit, his orator’s voice falling to a whisper. | “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said from the pulpit, his orator’s voice falling to a whisper. |
| His reference to the antiapartheid movement showed once again the complexity and reach of the challenges faced by South Africa’s white rulers as they sought to preserve the architecture of racial separation against an array of protests at home and abroad. | His reference to the antiapartheid movement showed once again the complexity and reach of the challenges faced by South Africa’s white rulers as they sought to preserve the architecture of racial separation against an array of protests at home and abroad. |
| But here, too, there were nuances. Despite Mr. Mandela’s “legendary” generosity toward onetime adversaries, said Peter Hain, a former antiapartheid activist and Labour Party cabinet minister here, “he never forgot who was on his side and who wasn’t.” | But here, too, there were nuances. Despite Mr. Mandela’s “legendary” generosity toward onetime adversaries, said Peter Hain, a former antiapartheid activist and Labour Party cabinet minister here, “he never forgot who was on his side and who wasn’t.” |
| The “wasn’ts” may have included Margaret Thatcher, who once labeled Mr. Mandela a terrorist. | The “wasn’ts” may have included Margaret Thatcher, who once labeled Mr. Mandela a terrorist. |
| In the congregation, several Thatcher-era government ministers seemed to prefer to cast themselves as stalwart fellow-warriors in the struggle: If necessity is the mother of invention, political expediency is the father of re-invention. | In the congregation, several Thatcher-era government ministers seemed to prefer to cast themselves as stalwart fellow-warriors in the struggle: If necessity is the mother of invention, political expediency is the father of re-invention. |
| Archbishop Tutu broadened the catalog of remembered slights to include the Reagan administration, particularly on the question of economic sanctions against South Africa that hastened the demise of apartheid. “I visited 10 Downing Street and the Oval Office in Washington,” he said, but “my pleas for sanctions fell on deaf ears.” | Archbishop Tutu broadened the catalog of remembered slights to include the Reagan administration, particularly on the question of economic sanctions against South Africa that hastened the demise of apartheid. “I visited 10 Downing Street and the Oval Office in Washington,” he said, but “my pleas for sanctions fell on deaf ears.” |
| Yet, one strand seemed to bond South Africa’s myriad visions — a notion of forgiveness more familiar to students of political reconciliation than to observers of violent crime. “I have lost everything that is important to me,” June Steenkamp, the mother of the victim, said on NBC’s “Today.” “But still I can forgive. I can forgive.” | Yet, one strand seemed to bond South Africa’s myriad visions — a notion of forgiveness more familiar to students of political reconciliation than to observers of violent crime. “I have lost everything that is important to me,” June Steenkamp, the mother of the victim, said on NBC’s “Today.” “But still I can forgive. I can forgive.” |