'All we can do is hope for the best'
As the world looked on, South Africans resigned themselves to the inevitability of Nelson Mandela's decline.
Flowers, cards, balloons and messages of support were left outside the gate of his Pretoria hospital, where family members were gathered.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do but to pray for him and the doctors that are helping him," said Phathani Mbath outside the hospital.
In Mthatha, a rural town in the region where Mandela grew up, there was also a sense of anxious resignation.
"It is not up to us to decide what happens now. There is nothing we can do," said Aphiwe Ngesi, a teacher in Mthatha. "All we can do is hope for the best."
In Washington, the White House said its thoughts and prayers were with Mandela, as US President Barack Obama prepares to visit South Africa.
"We have seen the latest reports from the South African government that former president Mandela is in critical condition," US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of South Africa."
Obama leaves on Wednesday on a tour of Africa that will take him to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
Zuma said the visit would go ahead.
AFP
(China Daily 06/25/2013 page10)
