History does not repeat itself but it sometimes rhymes. The fact that Barack Obama’s first real presidential trip to Africa coincides with the closing moments of Nelson Mandela’s life could never have been scripted. It is an eerily moving moment. America’s first black president enters the stage just as South Africa’s first black president is taking a bow. No one should doubt Mr Obama when he describes the great freedom fighter as his “personal hero”.
歷史不會重複,但有時候會發生巧合。巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)以總統身份對非洲所做的第一次正式訪問正趕上納爾遜•曼德拉(Nelson Mandela)生命中的最後時刻,這種事不可能是事先編排好的。這是一個奇異而又感人的時刻:美國第一位黑人總統訪問非洲之際,正好是南非第一位黑人總統即將「謝幕」的時候。當歐巴馬將這位偉大的自由戰士描述爲他「個人心目中的英雄」時,沒有人會懷疑他這句話的真實性。