Madiba

Flags are at half mast here, as in so many other places around the world, after the passing of Nelson Mandela. There are connections for the great man here, as particularly the Mulroney government spoke out against the apartheid regime in general and Mandela's imprisonment in particular, even causing friction with allies at the time. And upon his release from prison, the first foreign legislature he addressed was here, in our House of Commons. He was also made an honourary citizen of Canada.

The Human Rights Monument is downtown here, outside City Hall. Mandela, or Madiba, as he was also called, visited this place on one of his trips to Canada. Yesterday I took shots of the monument. It seemed entirely appropriate.

He was- and is- the most extraordinary person of our time. I admire him greatly. A man who could walk out of prison after years, willing to forgive those who kept him locked up, eager to move forward. That capacity for forgiveness astonishes me. He was a man of wisdom, grace, dignity, courage, strength, and inherent decency. Nelson Mandela is that rare combination of a great and a good man, an example for us to strive to be like. The world is a darker one now that he's gone.

I enjoy the work of editorial cartoonists, who meet such occasions with great poignancy, so I'll leave you with their work. What follows are the works of several cartoonists from various places around the world, responding to the passing of the great man. Rest in peace, Mr. Mandela. 

Paresh Nath, Khaleej Times

Martin Sutovec, Cagle Cartoons

Aislin, Montreal Gazette

Theo Moudakis, Toronto Star

Patrick Chapatte, Le Temps

John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune

Brian Gable, The Globe And Mail

Bill Day, Cagle Cartoons

Patrick LaMontagne, Cartoon Ink

Tim Dolighan, Dolighan Cartoons