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I And Some Colleagues Came To The Conclusion That As Violence In This Country Was Inevitable, It Would Be Wrong And Unrealistic For African Leaders To Continue Preaching Peace And Non-violence At A Time When The Government Met Our Peaceful Demands With Force. It Was Only When All Else Had Failed, When All Channels Of Peaceful Protest Had Been Barred To Us, That The Decision Was Made To Embark On Violent Forms Of Political Struggle.

-Nelson Mandela

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I And Some Colleagues

Nelson Mandela

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I And Some Colleagues Came To The Conclusion That As Violence In This Country Was Inevitable, It Would Be Wrong And Unrealistic For African Leaders To Continue Preaching Peace And Non-violence At A Time When The Government Met Our Peaceful Demands With Force. It Was Only When All Else Had Failed, When All Channels Of Peaceful Protest Had Been Barred To Us, That The Decision Was Made To Embark On Violent Forms Of Political Struggle.

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When The Water Starts Boiling It Is Foolish To Turn Off The Heat.

I Watched, Along With All Of You, As The Tens Of Thousands Of Our People Stood Patiently In Long Queues For Many Hours. Some Sleeping On The Open Ground Overnight Waiting To Cast This Momentous Vote.

It Is Not The Kings And Generals That Make History, But The Masses Of The People.

The Private Sector Granted Bursaries [scholarships] For The Children Of Their Workers. Some Of Them Built Homes For Their Workers. They Had In-service Training, Which Improved The Skills Of Their Workers. So That Spirit Was There. All We Did Was Merely Exploit It.

My Dream Would Be A Multicultural Society, One That Is Diverse And Where Every Man, Woman And Child Are Treated Equally. I Dream Of A World Where All People Of All Races Work Together In Harmony.

We Cannot Proclaim This Century The African Century And Then Ignore The Aids Pandemic, As Some Political Leaders Are Apt To Do. To Claim This Century The African Century Is To Declare War On Aids.

There Is No Easy Walk To Freedom Anywhere.

Shadow Of Death

I Approach Every Problem With Optimism.

We Have Introduced A Democratic Constitution, Which Put Suvery South African On An Equal Basis.

I Enjoyed The Discipline And Solitariness Of Long-distance Running, Which Allowed Me To Escape From The Hurly-burly Of School Life.

Isimangaliso Must Be The Only Place On The Globe Where The Oldest Land Mammal (rhinoceros) And The World Biggest Terrestrial Mammal (elephant) Share An Ecosystem With The World's Oldest Fish (coelacanth) And The World's Biggest Marine Mammal (whale)

Any Man Or Institution That Tries To Rob Me Of My Dignity Will Lose.

No One Is Born Hating Another Person Because Of The Color Of His Skin, Or His Background, Or His Religion. People Must Learn To Hate, And If They Can Learn To Hate, They Can Be Taught To Love, For Love Comes More Naturally To The Human Heart Than Its Opposite.

Fools Multiply When Wise Men Are Silent.

Do Not Allow Your Anger To Control Your Reason, But Rather Your Reason To Control Your Anger.

History Will Judge Us By The Difference We Make In The Everyday Lives Of Children.

I Was Not Born With A Hunger To Be Free, I Was Born Free.

There Are Leaders Who Know That However Furious The Debate, There Are Good Men And Women In All Population Groups - Amongst Blacks, Amongst Whites, And Amongst Afrikaans And English Speaking People.

A Leader. . .is Like A Shepherd. He Stays Behind The Flock, Letting The Most Nimble Go Out Ahead, Whereupon The Others Follow, Not Realizing That All Along They Are Being Directed From Behind.

The Cause Of Communism Is The Greatest Cause In The History Of Mankind!

We Can Neither Heal Nor Build If, On The One Hand The Rich In Our Society See The Poor As Hordes Of Irritants Or If On The Other Hand The Poor Sit Back, Expecting Charity. All Of Us Must Take Responsibility For The Upliftment Of Our Conditions, Prepared To Give Our Best To The Benefit Of All

Peace Is The Greatest Weapon For Development That Any Person Can Have.

The Path Of Those Who Preach Love, And Not Hatred, Is Not Easy. They Often Have To Wear A Crown Of Thorns.

At The Southern Tip Of The Continent, A Rich Reward Is In The Making, An Invaluable Gift Is In The Preparation, For Those Who Suffered In The Name Of All Humanity When They Sacrificed Everything - For Liberty, Peace, Human Dignity And Human Fulfillment. The Value Of Our Shared Reward Will And Must Be Measured By The Joyful Peace Which Will Triumph, Because Of The Common Humanity That Bonds Both Black And White Into One Human Race, Will Have Said To Each One Of Us That We Shall All Live Like The Children Of Paradise.

Black And White

Common Humanity

Our Motto Should Be: Let Us Make Peace So That We Can Concentrate On The Really Important Work That Needs To Be Done. That Is, Alleviating The Plight Of The Poor And The Defenceless, For As Long As Most Of Humanity Feels The Pain Of Poverty We All Remain Prisoners.

Overcoming Poverty Is Not A Gesture Of Charity. It Is An Act Of Justice. It Is The Protection Of A Fundamental Human Right, The Right To Dignity And A Decent Life . . .

Our Daily Deeds As Ordinary South Africans Must Produce An Actual South African Reality That Will Reinforce Humanity's Belief In Justice, Strenthen Its Confidence In The Nobility Of The Human Soul, And Sustain All Our Hopes For A Glorious Life For All.

We Should Never Forget Those On Whose Shoulders We Stand And Those Who Paid The Supreme Price For Freedom.

No Single Person Can Liberate A Country. You Can Only Liberate A Country If You Act As A Collective.

No One Is Born Hating Another Person Because Of The Colour Of His Skin, Or His Background, Or His Religion.

Education And Freedom

I've Found That South Africa Has Produced Good Leaders. These Are People Who Realize That When There Is Danger, They Should Be In The Forefront And When There Is Victory To Be Celebrated, They Should Be In The Background, Allowing Their Colleagues And The Ordinary Civilians - The Man In The Street - To Rejoice And To Celebrate That Victory.

The Question Of Crime Is One Of Concern To Everybody. But The Position Is That The Security Forces In Our Country For The Last Four Decades Did Not Concentrate On Suppressing Crime. Their Main Objective Was To Suppress, To Crush Political Activity. And In The Process, Crime Grew To Unacceptable Proportions. And Criminals Were Able To Form Powerful Syndicates, And They Virtually Took Over The Control Of The Life Of The Community In Certain Areas.

Jinnah Is A Constant Source Of Inspiration For All Those Who Are Fighting Against Racial And Group Discrimination.

I Am Influenced More Than Ever Before By The Conviction That Social Equality Is The Only Basis Of Human Happiness.

We Should Take Heart From Our Own Experience And Performance. In A Cynical World We Have Become An Inspiration To Many.

Unlike Some Politicians, I Can Admit To A Mistake.

Democracy Is Based On The Majority Principle. This Is Especially True In A Country Such As Ours Where The Vast Majority Have Been Systematically Denied Their Rights. At The Same Time, Democracy Also Requires That The Rights Of Political And Other Minorities Be Safeguarded.

It Is Always Impossible Until It Is Done.

I Have Found Jews To Be More Broad-minded Than Most Whites On Issues Of Race And Politics, Perhaps Because They Themselves Have Historically Been Victims Of Prejudice.

Lead From The Back — And Let Others Believe They Are In Front.

Rhetoric Is Not Important. Actions Are.

One Of The Things I Learned When I Was Negotiating Was That Until I Changed Myself, I Could Not Change Others.

I Love Playing And Chatting With Children...feed Ing And Putting Them To Bed With A Little Story, And Being Away From The Family Has Troubled Me Throughout My...life.

The Importance Of A High Moral Code, Which Is At The Foundation Of The Scout Movement, Cannot Be Stressed Too Highly.

You Negotiate In Bad Faith If You Do Not Forgive Your Adversary.

I Really Wanted To Retire And Rest And Spend More Time With My Children, My Grandchildren And Of Course With My Wife. But The Problems Are Such That For Anybody With A Conscience Who Can Use Whatever Influence He May Have To Try To Bring About Peace, It's Difficult To Say No.

We Understand It Still That There Is No Easy Road To Freedom. We Know It Well That None Of Us Acting Alone Can Achieve Success. We Must Therefore Act Together As A United People, For National Reconciliation, For Nation Building, For The Birth Of A New World. Let There Be Justice For All. Let There Be Peace For All. Let There Be Work, Bread, Water And Salt For All. Never, Never And Never Again Shall It Be That This Beautiful Land Will Again Experience The Oppression Of One By Another And Suffer The Indignity Of Being The Skunk Of The World. Let Freedom Reign.

Justice For All

In Countries Where Innocent People Are Dying, The Leaders Are Following Their Blood Rather Than Their Brains.

A Freedom Fighter Learns The Hard Way That It Is The Oppressor Who Defines The Nature Of The Struggle,and The Oppressed Is Often Left No Recourse But To Use Methods That Mirror Those Of The Oppressor.at A Point, One Can Only Fight Fire With Fire

Our Continent Must Be Allowed To Do Its Own Things, Charting Its Course And Destiny.

I Will Use The Rest Of My Life To Help The Poor Overcome The Problems Confronting Them - Poverty Is The Greatest Challenge Facing Humanity. That Is Why I Build Schools; I Want To Free People From Poverty And Illiteracy.

Safety And Security Don't Just Happen, They Are The Result Of Collective Consensus And Public Investment. We Owe Our Children, The Most Vulnerable Citizens In Our Society, A Life Free Of Violence And Fear.

We Recall The Joy And Excitement Of A Nation That Had Found Itself, The Collective Relief That We Had Stepped Out Of Our Restrictive Past, And The Expectant Air Of Walking Into A Brighter Future.

When The History Of Our Times Is Written, Will We Be Remembered As The Generation That Turned Our Backs In A Moment Of Global Crisis Or Will It Be Recorded That We Did The Right Thing?

It Was During Those Long And Lonely Years That My Hunger For The Freedom Of My Own People Became A Hunger For The Freedom Of All People, White And Black. I Knew As Well As I Knew Anything That The Oppressor Must Be Liberated Just As Surely As The Oppressed. A Man Who Takes Away Another Man's Freedom Is A Prisoner Of Hatred, He Is Locked Behind The Bars Of Prejudice And Narrow-mindedness. I Am Not Truly Free If I Am Taking Away Someone Else's Freedom, Just As Surely As I Am Not Free When My Freedom Is Taken From Me. The Oppressed And The Oppressor Alike Are Robbed Of Their Humanity.

If You Want To Change The World, Help The Women.

I Have Taken A Moment Here To Rest, To Steal A View Of The Glorious Vista That Surrounds Me, To Look Back On The Distance I Have Come.

Forgiveness Liberates The Soul. It Removes Fear. That Is Why It Is Such A Powerful Weapon.

I Started To Make A Study Of The Art Of War And Revolution And, Whilst Abroad, Underwent A Course In Military Training. If There Was To Be Guerrilla Warfare, I Wanted To Be Able To Stand And Fight With My People And To Share The Hazards Of War With Them.

Today We Are A Nation At Peace With Itself, United In Our Diversity, Not Only Proclaiming But Living Out The Contention That South Africa Belongs To All Who Live In It. We Take Our Place Amongst The Nations Of The World, Confident And Proud In Being An African Country.

You Sharpen Your Ideas By Reducing Yourself To The Level Of The People You Are With And A Sense Of Humour And A Complete Relaxation, Even When You're Discussing Serious Things, Does Help To Mobilise Friends Around You. And I Love That.

Intervention Only Works When The People Concerned Seem To Be Keen For Peace.

From Its Earliest Days, The Cuban Revolution Has Also Been A Source Of Inspiration To All Freedom-loving People. We Admire The Sacrifices Of The Cuban People In Maintaining Their Independence And Sovereignty In The Face Of The Vicious Imperialist-orquestrated Campaign To Destroy The Impressive Gain Made In The Cuban Revolution. Long Live The Cuban Revolution. Long Live Comrade Fidel Castro.

I Came To Accept That I Have No Right Whatsoever To Judge Others In Terms Of My Own Customs, However Much I May Be Proud Of Such Customs.

Our Hope Is That The Elementary Reading Of Comics Will Lead To The Joy Of Reading Good Books.

Aids Is Our Number One Enemy. This Enemy Can Be Defeated. While The Research For A Cure Continues, Four Principles -- Love, Support, Acceptance And Care For Those Affected -- Can Make Us Winners.

The First Election In Which All South Africans Took Part Was In April, 1994. There Were Long Queues [lines] Of Employers And Employees, Black And White. In The Sense Of Africans, Coloreds And Indians - When I Talk About Blacks, I Mean Those Three. Blacks And Whites Mingled To Vote Without Any Hitches. Many People Would Have Expected A Great Deal Of Tension, Clashes And Violence, But It Did Not Occur.

Black And White

We Need To Exert Ourselves That Much More, And Break Out Of The Vicious Cycle Of Dependence Imposed On Us By The Financially Powerful: Those In Command Of Immense Market Power And Those Who Dare To Fashion The World In Their Own Image.

I Believe That In The End That It Is Kindness And Accommodation That Are All The Catalysts For Real Change.

We Must Also Know That Even Before Liberation In 1994 There [in South Africa] Were People With Resources Who Tried To Share With Those Who Were Deprived.

The Time Comes In The Life Of Any Nation When There Remains Only Two Choices - Submit Or Fight.

It Is Most Unusual To Return To A Place That Has Changed In Ways You Yourself Have Altered.

Whatever Position I Occupied, It Was The Result Of Colleagues - Of My Comrades In The Movement - Who Had Decided In Their Wisdom To Use Me For The Purpose Of Focusing The Attention Of The Country And The International Community On Me.

For Me, Nonviolence Was Not A Moral Principle But A Strategy; There Is No Moral Goodness In Using An Ineffective Weapon.

Our March To Freedom Is Irreversible. We Must Not Allow Fear To Stand In Our Way.

Sport Has The Power To Inspire And Unite People. In Africa, Soccer Enjoys Great Popularity And Has A Particular Place In The Hearts Of People.

[i] Read Anne Frank's Diary [while Imprisoned] On Robben Island And Derived Much Encouragement From It.

I've Never Had A Single Moment Of Depression, Because I Know My Cause Will Triumph.

We Have Triumphed In The Effort To Implant Hope In The Breasts Of The Millions Of Our People. We Enter Into A Covenant That We Shall Build The Society In Which All South Africans, Both Black And White, Will Be Able To Walk Tall, Without Any Fear In Their Hearts, Assured Of Their Inalienable Right To Human Dignity — A Rainbow Nation At Peace With Itself And The World.

Black And White

The Impression That You Are A Demigod Worried Me. I Wanted To Be Like An Ordinary Human Being With Virtues And Vices.

Even If You Have A Terminal Disease, You Don't Have To Sit Down And Mope. Enjoy Life And Challenge The Illness That You Have.

Apartheid Is A Crime Against Humanity. Israel Has Deprived Millions Of Palestinians Of Their Liberty And Property. It Has Perpetuated A System Of Gross Racial Discrimination And Inequality. It Has Systematically Incarcerated And Tortured Thousands Of Palestinians, Contrary To The Rules Of International Law. It Has, In Particular, Waged A War Against A Civilian Population, In Particular Children.

As Long As Many Of Our People Still Live In Utter Poverty, As Long As Children Still Live Under Plastic Covers, As Long As Many Of Our People Are Still Without Jobs, No South African Should Rest And Wallow In The Joy Of Freedom.

For A Revolution Is Not Just A Question Of Pulling A Trigger; Its Purpose Is To Create A Fair Just Society

Sport Has The Power To Overcome Old Divisions And Create The Bond Of Common Aspirations

I And Some Colleagues Came To The Conclusion That As Violence In This Country Was Inevitable, It Would Be Wrong And Unrealistic For African Leaders To Continue Preaching Peace And Non-violence At A Time When The Government Met Our Peaceful Demands With Force. It Was Only When All Else Had Failed, When All Channels Of Peaceful Protest Had Been Barred To Us, That The Decision Was Made To Embark On Violent Forms Of Political Struggle.

We Must Use Time Wisely And Forever Realize That The Time Is Always Ripe To Do Right.

Your Victory Has Demonstrated That No Person Anywhere In The World Should Not Dare To Dream Of Wanting To Change The World For A Better Place.

If You Look At Those Matters, You Will Come To The Conclusion That The Attitude Of The United States Of America Is A Threat To World Peace.

Our Single Most Important Challenge Is Therefore To Help Establish A Social Order In Which The Freedom Of The Individual Will Truly Mean The Freedom Of The Individual.

What Counts In Life Is Not The Mere Fact That We Have Lived. It Is What Difference We Have Made To The Lives Of Others That Will Determine The Significance Of The Life We Lead.

Only Armchair Politicians Are Immune From Committing Mistakes. Errors Are Inherent In Political Action.

Our Children Are The Rock On Which Our Future Will Be Built, Our Greatest Asset As A Nation. They Will Be The Leaders Of Our Country, The Creators Of Our National Wealth, Those Who Care For And Protect Our People.

A Critical, Independent And Investigative Press Is The Lifeblood Of Any Democracy. The Press Must Be Free From State Interference. It Must Have The Economic Strength To Stand Up To The Blandishments Of Government Officials. It Must Have Sufficient Independence From Vested Interests To Be Bold And Inquiring Without Fear Or Favour. It Must Enjoy The Protection Of The Constitution, So That It Can Protect Our Rights As Citizens.

The Death Sentence Is A Barbaric Act . . . It Is A Reflection Of The Animal Instinct Still In Human Beings.

If You Sit Down And Talk To A Person, It's Easy To Convince Him That Apartheid Can Never Save A Country And Will Lead To The Slaughtering Of Innocent People - Including His Own People.

Courageous People Do Not Fear Forgiving, For The Sake Of Peace.

As We Are Liberated From Our Own Fear, Our Presence Automatically Liberates Others.

Courage Is Not The Absence Of Fear — It S Inspiring Others To Move Beyond It.

You Can Never Have An Impact On Society If You Have Not Changed Yourself.

I Hate Racial Discrimination Most Intensely And All Its Manifestations. I Have Fought All My Life; I Fight Now, And Will Do So Until The End Of My Days. Even Although I Now Happen To Be Tried By One, Whose Opinion I Hold In High Esteem, I Detest Most Violently The Set-up That Surrounds Me Here. It Makes Me Feel That I Am A Black Man In A White Man's Court. This Should Not Be I Should Feel Perfectly At Ease And At Home With The Assurance That I Am Being Tried By A Fellow South African, Who Does Not Regard Me As An Inferior, Entitled To A Special Type Of Justice.

I Say To All Those Leaders, Do Not Look The Other Way. Do Not Hesitate... It Is Within Your Power To Avoid A Genocide Of Humanity.

I Do Not Think That I Was Brought Up In A Unique Society With Unique Features About Giving.

When A Man Is Denied The Right To Live The Life He Believes In, He Has No Choice But To Become An Outlaw.

[gandhi] Said, "i Want To Find God, And Because I Want To Find God, I Have To Find God Along With Other People. I Don't Believe I Can Find God Alone. If I Did, I Would Be Running To The Himalayas To Find God In Some Cave There. But Since I Believe That Nobody Can Find God Alone, I Have To Work With People. I Have To Take Them With Me. Alone I Can't Come To Him."

Ethiopia Always Has A Special Place In My Imagination And The Prospect Of Visiting Ethiopia Attracted Me More Strongly Than A Trip To France, England, And America Combined. I Felt I Would Be Visiting My Own Genesis, Unearthing The Roots Of What Made Me An African.

England And America

Greece Is The Mother Of Democracy And South Africa Is Its Youngest Daughter

Soccer Is One Of The Most Unifying Activities Amongst Us.

There Is No Future Without Forgiveness

Live Life As Though Nobody Is Watching, And Express Yourself As Though Everyone Is Listening.

Young People Are Capable, When Aroused, Of Bringing Down The Towers Of Oppression And Raising The Banners Of Freedom.

Out Of The Experience Of Extraordinary Human Disaster That Lasted Too Long, Must Be Born A Society Of Which All Humanity Will Be Proud.

There Is Nothing Like A Fixed, Steady Aim, With An Honorable Purpose. It Dignifies Your Nature, And Insures Your Success.

I Did Not Enjoy The Violence Of Boxing So Much As The Science Of It. I Was Intrigued By How One Moved One's Body To Protect Oneself, How One Used A Strategy Both To Attack And Retreat, How One Paced Oneself Over A Match.

The Brave Man Is Not The One Who Has No Fears, He Is The One Who Triumphs Over His Fears.

We Know It Well That None Of Us Acting Alone Can Achieve Success.

There Is Nothing I Fear More Than Waking Up Without A Program That Will Help Me Bring A Little Happiness To Those With No Resources, Those Who Are Poor, Illiterate, And Ridden With Terminal Disease.

Honesty,sincer Ity,simplicity, Humility, Pure Generosity,abse Nce Of Vanity,readines S To Serve Others -qualities Which Are Within Easy Reach Of Every Soul -are The Foundation Of One's Spiritual Life.

One Of The Things That Made Me Long To Be Back In Prison Was That I Had So Little Opportunity For Reading, Thinking And Quiet Reflection After My Release. I Intend, Amongst Other Things, To Give Myself Much More Opportunity For Such Reading And Reflection.

We Slaughter One Another In Our Words And Attitudes. We Slaughter One Another In The Stereotypes And Mistrust That Linger In Our Heads, And The Words Of Hate We Spew From Our Lips.

Communists Have Always Played An Active Role In The Fight By Colonial Countries For Their Freedom, Because The Short-term Objects Of Communism Would Always Correspond With The Long-term Objects Of Freedom Movements.

You Can Start Changing Our World For The Better Daily, No Matter How Small The Action.

From The Poorest Of Countries To The Richest Of Nations, Education Is The Key To Moving Forward In Any Society.

A Fundamental Concern For Others In Our Individual And Community Lives Would Go A Long Way In Making The World The Better Place We So Passionately Dreamt Of.

Concern For Others

Whose Life Testifies To The Truth That There Is No Shame In Being Oppressed: Those Who Should Be Ashamed Are They Who Oppress Others.

The Histories Of Our Two Peoples, Palestinian And South African, Correspond In Such Painful And Poignant Ways, That I Intensely Feel Myself Being At Home Amongst Compatriots

I Understand That The Legal Position Is Under Review In South Africa And That There Will Soon Be A Broader Set Of Organizations To Which Donors Can Give And Claim Tax Deductions.

We Forgive But Not Forgotten

During My Lifetime I Have Dedicated Myself To This Struggle Of The African People. I Have Fought Against White Domination, And I Have Fought Against Black Domination. I Have Cherished The Ideal Of A Democratic And Free Society In Which All Persons Live Together In Harmony And With Equal Opportunities. It Is An Ideal Which I Hope To Live For And To Achieve. But If Needs Be, It Is An Ideal For Which I Am Prepared To Die.

It Is Our Duty To Give Support To The Brother Leader ... Especially In Regards To The Sanctions Which Are Not Hitting Just Him, They Are Hitting The Ordinary Masses Of The People ... Our African Brothers And Sisters.

If The United States Of America Or Britain Is Having Elections, They Don't Ask For Observers From Africa Or From Asia. But When We Have Elections, They Want Observers.

The Church Was As Concerned With This World As The Next: I Saw That Virtually All Of The Achievements Of Africans Seemed To Have Come About Through The Missionary Work Of The Church.

You Encourage People By Seeing The Good In Them.

I Am Not An Optimist, But A Great Believer Of Hope.

There Are Many People Who Have Worked Just Because They Love The Community In Which They Are In, Without Expecting Any Financial Consideration.

Through Its Imperialist System Britain Brought About Untold Suffering Of Millions Of People. And This Is An Historical Fact. To Be Able To Admit This Would Increase The Respect, You Know, Which We Have For British Institutions.

That Day, Miss Mdingane Told Me That My New Name Was Nelson. Why She Bestowed This Particular Name Upon Me I Have No Idea. Perhaps It Had Something To Do With The Great British Sea Captain Lord Nelson, But That Would Be Only A Guess.

The Calm And Tolerant Atmosphere That Prevailed During The Elections Depicts The Type Of South Africa We Can Build. It Set The Tone For The Future. We Might Have Our Differences, But We Are One People With A Common Destiny In Our Rich Variety Of Culture, Race And Tradition.

South Africa Is The Most Beautiful Place On Earth. Admittedly, I Am Biased But When You Combine The Natural Beauty... And The Fact That The Region Is A Haven For Africa's Most Splendid Wildlife... Then I Think That We Have Been Blessed With A Truly Wonderful Land.

Love Comes More Naturally To The Human Heart Than Its Opposite.

To Deny People Of Their Human Rights Is To Challenge Their Very Humanity. To Impose On Them A Wretched Life Of Huger And Deprivation Is To Dehumanize Them. But Such Has Been The Terrible Fate Of All Black Persons In Our Country Under The System Of Apartheid.

The Real Meaning Of The Spoken Word Has To Be Demonstrated By Practical Deeds

No Form Of Violence Can Ever Be Excused In A Society That Wishes To Call Itself Decent

The United States Of America Is A Threat To World Peace. Because What [america] Is Saying Is That If You Are Afraid Of A Veto In The Security Council, You Can Go Outside And Take Action And Violate The Sovereignty Of Other Countries. That Is The Message They Are Sending To The World. That Must Be Condemned In The Strongest Terms.

To Be The Father Of A Nation Is A Great Honor, But To Be The Father Of A Family Is A Greater Joy.

There Is No Such Thing As Part Freedom.

In Order To Build Our Nation, We Must All Exceed Our Own Expectations.

There Are Many People Who Feel That It Is Useless And Futile To Continue Talking About Peace And Non-violence Against A Government Whose Only Reply Is Savage Attacks On An Unarmed And Defenceless People.

We Now Undertake That We Cannot Rest While Millions Of Our People Suffer The Pain And Indignity Of Poverty In All Its Forms.

An Organisation Can Only Carry Out Its Mandate If There Is Discipline, And Where There Is No Discipline There Can Be No Real Progress

No Child In Africa, And In Fact Anywhere In The World, Should Be Denied Education.

Music Is A Great Blessing. It Has The Power To Elevate And Liberate Us. It Sets People Free To Dream. It Can Unite Us To Sing With One Voice. Such Is The Value Of Music.

Let Us Not Be Tempted By Those Who Try To Find The Unique Qualities In A Particular Group. In This Case, Among South Africa Indigenous People, It Reflected What Has Been Evidenced Throughout The World.

If There Is A Country That Has Committed Unspeakable Atrocities In The World, It Is The United States Of America.

Atrocities Committed

The Curious Beauty About African Music Is That It Uplifts Even As It Tells A Sad Story.

How Can I Be Expected To Believe That This Same Racial Discrimination Which Has Been The Cause Of So Much Injustice And Suffering Right Through The Years, Should Now Operate Here To Give Me A Fair And Open Trial?....consider Myself Neither Morally Nor Legally Obliged To Obey Laws Made By A Parliament In Which I Am Not Represented. That The Will Of The People Is The Basis Of The Authority Of Government, Is A Principle Universally Acknowledged As Sacred Throughout The Civilized World.

The United States Has Made Serious Mistakes In The Conduct Of Its Foreign Affairs, Which Have Had Unfortunate Repercussions Long After The Decisions Were Taken.

Once A Person Is Determined To Help Themselves, There Is Nothing That Can Stop Them.

The Question Of Education Has Nothing To Do With The Question Of The Vote. On Numerous Occasions It Has Been Proved In History That People Can Enjoy The Vote Even If They Have No Education.

As The Years Progress One Increasingly Realises The Importance Of Friendship And Human Solidarity. And If A 90-year-old May Offer Some Unsolicited Advice On This Occasion, It Would Be That You, Irrespective Of Your Age, Should Place Human Solidarity, The Concern For The Other, At The Centre Of The Values By Which You Live.

We Must Look Within Ourselves, Become Responsible And Provide Fresh Solutions If We Ever Want To Do More Than Complain,or Make Excuses.

I Dream Of The Realization Of The Unity Of Africa, Whereby Its Leaders Combine In Their Efforts To Solve The Problems Of This Continent. I Dream Of Our Vast Deserts, Of Our Forests, Of All Our Great Wildernesses.

It Never Hurts To Think Too Highly Of A Person; Often They Become Ennobled And Act Better Because Of It.

Our Rich And Varied Cultural Heritage Has A Profound Power To Help Build Our Nation

It Is In The Character Of Growth That We Should Learn From Both Pleasant And Unpleasant Experiences.

The Suffering Inflicted, And More Often Than Not On The Most Vulnerable Sectors Of Society, Demeans All Of Us As Humanity. That It Is Invariably Women, Children, The Aged And Disabled Who Suffer In These Conflicts Stands To The Added Shame Of Humankind.

Our Efforts To Counter Hatred, Intolerance, And Indifference Must Continue Simultaneously At Individual And Structural Levels. We Must Try To Influence For Good The Minds And Hearts Of Individual People Through Dialogue And Confidence Building. These Efforts Must Be Reinforced By Our Efforts To Create Just Structures In Society To Support The Ongoing Work Of Negotiations In The Human Community. Only Then Will We Have A Chance To Negate The Terrible Consequences Of The Tremendous Conflicts Facing Humankind Today.

No One Truly Knows A Nation Until One Has Been Inside Its Jails. A Nation Should Not Be Judged By How It Treats Its Highest Citizens But Its Lowest Ones.

There Is Little Favorable To Be Said About Poverty, But It Was Often An Incubator Of True Friendship. Many People Will Appear To Befriend You When You Are Wealthy, But Precious Few Will Do The Same When You Are Poor. If Wealth Is A Magnet, Poverty Is A Kind Of Repellent. Yet, Poverty Often Brings Out The True Generosity In Others.

Men Come And Men Go, I Have Come And I Will Go When My Time Comes

A Good Head And A Good Heart Are Always A Formidable Combination.

No Country Can Really Develop Unless Its Citizens Are Educated. Any Nation That Is Progressive Is Led By People Who Have Had The Privilege Of Studying.

There Is Nobody More Dangerous Than One Who Has Been Humiliated, Even When You Humiliate Him Rightly.

A Society That Does Not Value Its Older People Denies Its Roots And Endangers Its Future. Let Us Strive To Enhance Their Capacity To Support Themselves For As Long As Possible And, When They Cannot Do So Anymore, To Care For Them.

It Is So Easy To Break Down And Destroy. The Heroes Are Those Who Make Peace And Build.

There Is No Easy Walk To Freedom Anywhere, And Many Of Us Will Have To Pass Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death Again And Again Before We Reach The Mountaintop Of Our Desires.

Money Won't Create Success, The Freedom To Make It Will.

Congratulations

Prison Life, Fortunately, I Spent A Lot Of Years, About 18 Years With Other Prisoners, And, As I Say, They Enriched Your Soul.

Our Freedom Is Also Incomplete, Dear Compatriots, As Long As We Are Denied Our Security By Criminals Who Prey On Our Communities, Who Rob Our Businesses And Undermine Our Economy, Who Ply Their Destructive Trade In Drugs In Our Schools, And Who Do Violence Against Our Women And Children.

There Is A Universal Respect And Even Admiration For Those Who Are Humble And Simple By Nature, And Who Have Absolute Confidence In All Human Beings Irrespective Of Their Social Status.

Let Us Join Hands And Build A Truly South African Nation.

A New World Will Be Won Not By Those Who Stand At A Distance With Their Arms Folded, But By Those Who Are In The Arena, Whose Garments Are Torn By Storms And Whose Bodies Are Maimed In The Course Of The Contest.

He Knew When To Compromise. Yet He Never Compromised His Principles. He Was A Militant. Yet A Militant Who Knew How To Plan, Assess Concrete Situations And Emerge With Rational Solutions To Problems.

One Of The Sad Realities Today Is That Very Few People, Especially Young People, Read Books. Unless We Can Find Imaginative Ways Of Addressing This Reality, Future Generations Are In Danger Of Losing Their History.

I Regard It As A Duty Which I Owed, Not Just To My People, But Also To My Profession, To The Practice Of Law, And To The Justice For All Mankind, To Cry Out Against This Discrimination Which Is Essentially Unjust And Opposed To The Whole Basis Of The Attitude Towards Justice Which Is Part Of The Tradition Of Legal Training In This Country. I Believed That In Taking Up A Stand Against This Injustice I Was Upholding The Dignity Of What Should Be An Honorable Profession.

Justice For All

On The The Aids Epidemic: This Is A War. It Has Killed More People Than Has Been The Case In All Previous Wars And In All Previous Natural Disasters ... We Must Not Continue To Be Debating, To Be Arguing, When People Are Dying.

I Dust [your Photo] Carefully Every Morning, For To Do So Gives Me The Pleasant Feeling That I'm Caressing You As In The Old Days. I Even Touch Your Nose With Mine To Recapture The Electric Current That Used To Flush Through My Blood Whenever I Did So.

If You Want To Make Peace With Your Enemy, You Have To Work With Your Enemy. Then He Becomes Your Partner.

Part Of Building A New Nation Means Building A Spirit Of Tolerance, Love And Respect Amongst The People Of This Country.

Other People Have Qualities That May Be Better Than Your Own. Let Them Express Them.

A Man Who Takes Away Another Man's Freedom Is A Prisoner Of Hatred, He Is Locked Behind The Bars Of Prejudice And Narrow Mindedness.

There Is Nothing More Dangerous Than A Humiliated Man.

The More Informed You Are, The Less Arrogant And Aggressive You Are.

There Is Little Favorable To Be Said About Poverty, But It Was Often An Incubator Of True Friendship.

I Have Fought Against White Domination, And I Have Fought Against Black Domination.

We Succeeded To Take Our Last Steps To Freedom In Conditions Of Relative Peace. We Commit Ourselves To The Construction Of A Complete, Just And Lasting Peace. We Have Triumphed In The Effort To Implant Hope In The Breasts Of The Millions Of Our People.

One Of The Most Difficult Things Is Not To Change Society - But To Change Yourself.

The Commonwealth Makes The World Safe For Diversity

Never, Never And Never Again Shall It Be That This Beautiful Land Will Again Experience The Oppression Of One By Another.

As A Leader... I Have Always Endeavored To Listen To What Each And Every Person In A Discussion Had To Say Before Venturing My Own Opinion. Oftentimes, My Own Opinion Will Simply Represent A Consensus Of What I Heard In The Discussion. I Always Remember The Axiom; A Leader Is Like A Shepherd. He Stays Behind The Flock, Letting The Most Nimble Go Out Ahead, Whereupon The Others Follow, Not Realizing That All Along They Are Being Directed From Behind.

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Arthur Rubinstein

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