Last Tuesday afternoon Tarek Bayoumy from Mierlo was out of luck. He had been invited to be present at the Mandela commemoration at the Soccer City Stadium, but as a result of heavy rainfall and crowded access routes he never arrived there.
Tarek is on business in South Africa, but he was also looking forward to being part of this major event. "Of course it is unfortunate to miss something like this, but I am quite content to just sample the atmosphere in Johannesburg. Everyone here is preoccupied with Mandela’s death and he is being commemorated everywhere." Eventually, Tarek was obliged to watch the memorial service on TV. However, Tarek did visit Mandela’s home in Soweto. "The atmosphere there was quite exuberant. In front of the house people were also commemorating Mandela, singing and dancing excitedly. Some mourners shed a tear, but not many of them did so." Thus ‘Omroep Brabant’ (the Brabant broadcasting corporation) reported.
