Mandla Mandela, 51, said on Wednesday evening at Johannesburg Airport, where he was boarding a flight to Tunisia to join the flotilla, that Palestinians' lives under Israeli occupation are worse than anything Black South Africans experienced under apartheid, and urged the global community to come to their aid. “Many of us that have visited the occupied territories in Palestine have only come back with one conclusion: that the Palestinians are experiencing a far worse form of apartheid than we ever experienced," Mandela said. "We believe that the global community has to continue supporting the Palestinians, just as they stood side-by-side with us." Mandela is joining a group of 10 South African activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes dozens of boats and hundreds of people from 44 countries including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. South Africa's African National Congress said their mission "echoes our own struggle for liberation". Mandela emphasised that, when apartheid ended in 1994, it was after intense pressure and sanctions from other nations. "They isolated apartheid South Africa and finally collapsed it. We believe that the time has come for that to be done for the Palestinians," he said.Nkosi Zwelivelile :
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@GlobalSumudF) September 4, 2025
As I leave my wife, kids and loved ones I carry our family legacy and the fight our beloved country has taken to be the voice of the oppressed. Our struggle as South Africa is intertwined with that of the Palestinian people. As long as the is one single… pic.twitter.com/bd0Js3iCut
Mandela’s Grandson Says Palestinians’ Plight Is Worse Than Apartheid, Departs to Join Global Sumud Flotilla
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