Background Image

...

In Many Respects, People On The Outside Suffered More Than Those Of Us In Jail. In Prison, We Ate Three Times A Day, We Had Clothing, We Had Free Medical Services, And We Could Sleep For 12 Hours.

-Nelson Mandela

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

In Many Respects, People

Nelson Mandela

...

In Many Respects, People On The Outside Suffered More Than Those Of Us In Jail. In Prison, We Ate Three Times A Day, We Had Clothing, We Had Free Medical Services, And We Could Sleep For 12 Hours.

Views: 6

Topic

More From Nelson Mandela

That Was One Of The Things That Worried Me – To Be Raised To The Position Of A Semi-god – Because Then You Are No Longer A Human Being. I Wanted To Be Known As Mandela, A Man With Weaknesses, Some Of Which Are Fundamental, And A Man Who Is Committed, But Never The Less, Sometimes He Fails To Live Up To Expectations.

A Free Press Is One Of The Pillars Of Democracy.

It Is My Deepest Conviction That The Children Should Be Seen And Heard As Our Most Treasured Assets.

It Is Music And Dancing That Make Me At Peace With The World.

Our Differences Are Our Strength As A Species And As A World Community.

Give A Child Love, Laughter And Peace, Not Aids.

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.

We Can Build A Society Grounded On Friendship And Our Common Humanity - A Society Founded On Tolerance. That Is The Only Road Open To Us.

Common Humanity

Soccer Is One Of The Most Unifying Activities Amongst Us.

It Is The Dictate Of History To Bring To The Fore The Kind Of Leaders Who Seize The Moment, Who Cohere The Wishes And Aspirations Of The Oppressed. Such Was Steve Biko, A Fitting Product Of His Time; A Proud Representative Of The Re-awakening Of A People.

Let Us Remind Ourselves That Our Work Is Far From Complete. Where There Is Poverty And Sickness, Including Aids, Where Human Beings Are Being Oppressed, There Is More Work To Be Done. Our Work Is For Freedom For All.

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

I Was Called A Terrorist Yesterday, But When I Came Out Of Jail, Many People Embraced Me, Including My Enemies, And That Is What I Normally Tell Other People Who Say Those Who Are Struggling For Liberation In Their Country Are Terrorists.

Therefore, We Must Not Look At The African People, Even Before They Met Whites, As If They Had Something Unique, Which Was Not To Be Found In Other Societies.

When We Decided To Take Up Arms, It Was Because The Only Other Choice Was To Surrender And To Submit To Slavery.

During The Years I Lived Here, The People Of Alexandra Ignored Tribal And Ethnic Distinctions. Instead Of Being Xhosas, Or Sothos, Or Zulus, Or Shangaans, We Were Alexandrans. We Were One People, And We Undermined The Distinctions That The Apartheid Government Tried So Hard To Impose. It Saddens And Angers Me To See The Rising Hatred Of Foreigners.

In Its Proper Meaning Equality Before The Law Means The Right To Participate In The Making Of The Laws By Which One Is Governed, A Constitution Which Guarantees Democratic Rights To All Sections Of The Population, The Right To Approach The Court For Protection Or Relief In The Case Of The Violation Of Rights Guaranteed In The Constitution, And The Right To Take Part In The Administration Of Justice As Judges, Magistrates, Attorneys-general, Law Advisers And Similar Positions.

Artists Reach Areas Far Beyond The Reach Of Politicians. Art, Especially Entertainment And Music, Is Understood By Everybody, And It Lifts The Spirits And The Morale Of Those Who Hear It.

When I Walked Out Of Prison, That Was My Mission, To Liberate The Oppressed And The Oppressor Both.

Long Walk To Freedom

Remember To Celebrate Milestones As You Prepare For The Road Ahead.

It's In Your Hands To Make The World A Better Place.

In Judging Our Progress As Individuals We Tend To Concentrate On External Factors Such As One's Social Position, Influence And Popularity, Wealth And Standard Of Education... But Internal Factors May Be Even More Crucial In Assessing One's Development As A Human Being. Honesty, Sincerity, Simplicity, Humility, Pure Generosity, Absence Of Vanity, Readiness To Serve Others - Qualities Which Are Within Easy Reach Of Every Soul - Are The Foundation Of One's Spiritual Life.

I Can't Help It If The Ladies Take Note Of Me; I Am Not Going To Protest.

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

Millions Of People In The World's Poorest Countries Remain Enslaved By The Chains Of Poverty. It Is Time To Set Them Free.

For Me, Survival Is The Ability To Cope With Difficulties, With Circumstances, And To Overcome Them.

Our Economic Approach To Food And Its Distribution Reflects Our Basic Moral Values.

Our People Outside Of Prison Used My Name To Mobilize The Community Locally And Internationally. But For Me To Be Treated Separately From My Colleagues, Who Had Contributed As Much As And Even More Than I Had, Would Have Been A Betrayal Of Them.

To A Freedom Fighter Hope Is What A Lifebelt Is To A Swimmer - A Guarantee That One Will Keep Afloat And Free From Danger.

Guarantees That

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.

The World Is Truly Round And Seems To Start And End With Those We Love.

The Wounds That Cannot Be Seen Are More Painful Than Those That Can Be Treated By A Doctor.

Where Globalization Means, As It So Often Does, That The Rich And Powerful Now Have New Means To Further Enrich And Empower Themselves At The Cost Of The Poorer And Weaker, We Have A Responsibility To Protest In The Name Of Universal Freedom.

There Is Nothing More Important In Life Than Giving. Tolerance Is Forged When People Look Beyond Their Own Desires

There Will Be Life After Mandela. On My Last Day I Want To Know That Those Who Remain Behind Will Say: 'the Man Who Lies Here Has Done His Duty For His Country And His People.'

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.

Press Freedom Will Never Be Under Threat In South Africa For As Long As The Anc Is The Majority Party

Freedom Is Indivisible; The Chains On Any One Of My People Were The Chains On All Of Them, The Chains On All Of My People Were The Chains On Me.

Politics Can Be Strengthened By Music, But Music Has A Potency That Defies Politics.

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.

You See, When There Is Danger, A Good Leader Takes The Front Line. But When There Is Celebration, A Good Leader Stays In The Back Room. If You Want The Cooperation Of Human Beings Around You, Make Them Feel That They Are Important. And You Do That By Being Humble.

Even Behind Prison Walls I Can See The Heavy Clouds And The Blue Sky Over The Horizon

Tread Softly, Brathe Peacefully, Laugh Hysterically.

We Understand And Promote The Notion That While Children Need To Be Guided They Also Have An Entrenched Right To Be Whatever They Want To Be And That They Can Achieve This Only If They Are Given The Space To Dream And Live Out Their Dreams.

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 People Of Africa Have Learned The Lessons Of Patience And Endurance In Their Long Struggle For Freedom. In A Cynical World We Have Become An Inspiration To Many. We Signal That Good Can Be Achieved Amongst Human Beings Who Are Prepared To Trust, Prepared To Belief In The Goodness Of People.

I Always Knew That Someday I Would Once Again Feel The Grass Under My Feet And Walk In The Sunshine As A Free Man.

People Tend To Measure Themselves By External Accomplishments, But Jail Allows A Person To Focus On Internal Ones; Such As Honesty, Sincerity, Simplicity, Humility, Generosity And An Absence Of Variety. You Learn To Look Into Yourself.

Let Freedom Reign. The Sun Never Set On So Glorious A Human Achievement.

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

Those Who Conduct Themselves With Morality, Integrity And Consistency Need Not Fear The Forces Of Inhumanity And Cruelty.

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.

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

Strong Convictions Are The Secret Of Surviving Deprivation; Your Spirit Can Be Full Even When Your Stomach Is Empty.

Death Is Something Inevitable. When A Man Has Done What He Considers To Be His Duty To His People And His Country, He Can Rest In Peace. I Believe I Have Made That Effort And That Is, Therefore, Why I Will Sleep For The Eternity.

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 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 Always Impossible Until It Is Done.

You Know You Are Really Famous The Day You Discover You Have Become A Comic Character!

Without Language, One Cannot Talk To People And Understand Them; One Cannot Share Their Hopes And Aspirations, Grasp Their History, Appreciate Their Poetry, Or Savor Their Songs.

Prison Itself Is A Tremendous Education In The Need For Patience And Perseverance. It Is Above All A Test Of One's Commitment.

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

Let There Be Justice For All. Let There Be Peace For All. Let There Be Work, Bread, Water And Salt For All. Let Each Know That For Each The Body, The Mind And The Soul Have Been Freed To Fulfill Themselves.

Justice For All

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

If You Want To Preach A Revolutionary Message, Wear A Suit.

One Effect Of Sustained Conflict Is To Narrow Our Vision Of What Is Possible. Time And Time Again, Conflicts Are Resolved Through Shifts That Were Unimaginable At The Start.

The Laws That Stopped Blacks From Voting Were The Worst, Because They Prevented Blacks From Voting Someone Into Parliament Who Could Change The Other Laws. Even Though The Blacks Were The Majority Of The Population, They Were Still Not Getting A Say.

For To Be Free Is Not Merely To Cast Off One's Chains, But To Live In A Way That Respects And Enhances The Freedom Of Others.

History Will Surely Judge Us Harshly If We Do Not Respond With All The Energy And Resources That We Can Bring To Bear In The Fight Against Hiv/aids

If You Want The Cooperation Of Humans Around You, You Must Make Them Feel They Are Important - And You Do That By Being Genuine And Humble.

I Have Cherished The Ideal Of A Democratic And Free Society In Which All Persons Live Together In Harmony And With Equal Opportunities.

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

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.

Sometimes, I Feel Like One Who Is On The Sidelines, Who Has Missed Life Itself.

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.

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

The Titanic Effort That Has Brought Liberation To South Africa, And Ensured The Total Liberation Of Africa, Constitutes An Act Of Redemption For The Black People Of The World.

If We Are To Accomplish Anything In This World, It Will In Equal Measure Be Due To The Work And Achievements Of Others.

There Was Much In Such A Society That Was Primitive And Insecure And It Certainly Could Never Measure Up To The Demands Of The Present Epoch. But In Such A Society Are Contained The Seeds Of Revolutionary Democracy In Which None Will Be Held In Slavery.

Like Slavery And Apartheid, Poverty Is Not Natural. It Is Man-made And It Can Be Overcome And Eradicated By The Actions Of Human Beings. Overcoming Poverty Is Not A Gesture Of Charity. It Is An Act Of Justice... Sometimes It Falls Upon A Generation To Be Great. You Can Be That Great Generation. Let Your Greatness Blossom.

In My Younger Days, I Was Arrogant - Jail Helped Me To Get Rid Of It. I Did Nothing But Make Enemies Because Of My Arrogance.

Although I Am A Gregarious Person, I Love Solitude Even More.

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

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.

There Is A Constant Struggle Between Good An Evil In The World. It Is Up To Good People To Choose The Right Side

I Want To Sleep For Eternity With A Broad Smile On My Face. I Want Those Who Remain Behind To Say This Man Has Done His Duty.

I Shall Stick To Our Vow: Never, Never Under Any Circumstances, To Say Anything Unbecoming Of The Other...the Trouble, Of Course, Is That Most Successful Men Are Prone To Some Form Of Vanity. There Comes A Stage In Their Lives When They Consider It Permissible To Be Egotistic And To Brag To The Public At Large About Their Unique Achievements.

The Death Sentence Is A Barbaric Act.

The Names Of Dingane And Bambata, Hintsa And Makana, Squngthi And Dalasile, Moshoeshoe And Sekhukhuni, Were Praised As The Glory Of The Entire African Nation. I Hoped Then That Life Might Offer Me The Opportunity To Serve My People And Make My Own Humble Contribution To Their Freedom Struggle.

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

Honour Belongs To Those Who Never Forsake The Truth Even When Things Seem Dark And Grim, Who Try Over And Over Again, Who Are Never Discouraged By Insults, Humiliation And Even Defeat.

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

Great Peacemakers Are All People Of Integrity, Of Honesty, But Humility.

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.

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

I Went As An Observer, Not A Participant, For I Do Not Think That I Ever Spoke. I Wanted To Understand The Issues Under Discussion, Evaluate The Arguments, See The Calibre Of The Men Involved.

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

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

We Have Laid The Foundation For A Better Life. Things That Were Unimaginable A Few Years Ago Have Become Everyday Reality. I Belong To The Generation Of Leaders For Whom The Achievement Of Democracy Was The Defining Challenge.

Why Is It That In This Courtroom I Face A White Magistrate, Am Confronted By A White Prosecutor And Escorted Into The Dock By A White Orderly? Can Anyone Honestly And Seriously Suggest That In This Type Of Atmosphere The Scales Of Justice Are Evenly Balanced?

I Am Not The Only One Who Did Not Want Revenge. Almost All My Colleagues In Prison Did Not Want Revenge, Because There Is No Time To Do Anything Else Except To Try And Save Your People.

Only Free Men Can Negotiate; Prisoners Cannot Enter Into Contracts. Your Freedom And Mine Cannot Be Separated.

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.

Sport Can Create Hope, Where Once There Was Only Despair. It Is More Powerful Than Governments In Breaking Down Racial Barriers.

Leaders In All Spheres Who Are Living With Hiv Should Be Encouraged, Not Coerced, To Lead By Example And Disclose Their Hiv Status.

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.

Sometimes It Falls Upon A Generation To Be Great. You Can Be That Great Generation. Let Your Greatness Blossom. Of Course The Task Will Not Be Easy. But Not To Do This Would Be A Crime Against Humanity, Against Which I Ask All Humanity Now To Rise Up.

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.

There Is No Such Thing As Part Freedom.

The Day I Am Afraid To Do, That Is The Day I Am No Longer Fit To Lead.

Freedom Would Be Meaningless Without Security In The Home And In The Streets.

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

When You Are Behind Bars With No Hope Of Release, You Need To Find Strength Wherever You Can. Personally, I Found Strength In Michael Jackson.

Finding Strength

Regarding African Education In This Country, There Was A Time When The Government Took No Interest Whatsoever In African Education. It Was The Churches, That Part Of Civil Society, Which Bought Land, Built Schools, And Employed And Paid Teachers. People Like Myself, Right From Grade Eight Up To University, I Was In Missionary Schools.

It Always Gives Me Great Pleasure To Be Surrounded By The Beautiful Children Of Our Land. Whenever I Am With The Energetic Young People ... I Feel Like A Recharged Battery, Confident That Our Country Can Look Forward To Great Things.

In All Disputes, A Point Is Arrived At Where No Party, No Matter How Right Or Wrong It Might Have Been At The Start Of That Dispute, Will Any Longer Be Totally In The Right Or Totally In The Wrong. Such A Point I Believe, Has Been Reached In This Debate... Let Us Not Equivocate. A Tragedy Of Unprecedented Proportions Is Unfolding In Africa.

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.

There Are Times When A Leader Must Move Out Ahead Of The Flock, Go Off In A New Direction, Confident That He Is Leading His People The Right Way.

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

Israel Should Withdraw From All The Areas Which It Won From The Arabs In 1967, And In Particular Israel Should Withdraw Completely From The Golan Heights, From South Lebanon And From The West Bank.

Aids Is No Longer Just A Disease, It Is A Human Rights Issue.

The Time Has Come To Accept In Our Hearts And Minds That With Freedom Comes Responsibility.

You Encourage People By Seeing The Good In Them.

Resentment Is Like A Glass Of Poison That A Man Drinks; Then He Sits Down And Waits For His Enemy To Die.

We Must Work Together To Ensure The Equitable Distribution Of Wealth, Opportunity And Power In Our Society.

Working Together

Distribution Of Wealth

I Was Made, By The Law, A Criminal, Not Because Of What I Had Done, But Because Of What I Stood For, Because Of What I Thought, Because Of My Conscience... If I Had My Time Over I Would Do The Same Again. So Would Any Man Who Dares Call Himself A Man.

It Is My Greatest Wish That The Children’s Fund Should Continue To Be A Beacon Of Hope And Light.

A Good Leader Can Engage In A Debate Frankly And Thoroughly, Knowing That At The End He And The Other Side Must Be Closer, And Thus Emerge Stronger. You Don't Have That Idea When You Are Arrogant, Superficial, And Uninformed.

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

Since The Dawn Of History, Mankind Has Honoured And Respected Brave And Honest People.

Take It Upon Yourself Where You Live To Make People Around You Joyful And Full Of Hope.

If We Want Any Significant Development, We Must Co-opt Civil Society.

Where Choice Is Set Between Cowardice And Violence, I Would Advise Violence ... I Prefer To Use Arms In Defense Of Honor Rather Than Remain The Vile Witness Of Dishonor.

The World Remains Beset By So Much Human Suffering, Poverty And Deprivation. It Is In Your Hands To Make Of Our World A Better One For All, Especially The Poor, Vulnerable And Marginalised.

Lead From The Front - But Don T Leave Your Base Behind.

It Is Important To Not Be Hostile To What A Greater Part Of Society Has Embraced, Whether As Christians, Hindus Or Muslims. It Is Important To Respect That Because Whether You Believe Or Not In The Existence Of A Superior Being, Humanity Does Believe In That.

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

Our Human Compassion Binds Us The One To The Other - Not In Pity Or Patronizingly, But As Human Beings Who Have Learnt How To Turn Our Common Suffering Into Hope For The Future.

I Made A Mistake By Being Ejected From The Presidency. Next Time, I Will Choose A Cabinet Which Will Allow Me To Be Life President.

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

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.

Let Your Greatness Bloom.

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

My Greatest Regret In Life Is That I Never Became The Heavyweight Boxing Champion Ofthe World.

There Is Nothing To Popularize A Person. Only Humility, Which Is The Ability To Remain In The Background And To Put Others In The Front Light.

We Tried In Our Simple Way To Lead Our Life In A Manner That May Make A Difference To Those Of Others.

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

Aids Today In Africa Is Claiming More Lives Than The Sum Total Of All Wars, Famines And Floods And The Ravages Of Such Deadly Diseases As Malaria ... We Must Act Now For The Sake Of The World.

Those South Africans Who Berate Me For Being Loyal To Our Friends, Literally They Can Go And Throw Themselves Into A Pool. I Am Not Going To Betray The Trust Of Those Who Helped Us.

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

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.

The Authorities Liked To Say That We Received A Balanced Diet; It Was Indeed Balanced - Between The Unpalatable And The Inedible.

Long Walk To Freedom

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

Sport Can Create Hope, Where Once There Was Only Despair

If You Don’t Intend Having A Compromise, You Don’t Negotiate At All.

Together As A Nation, We Have The Obligation To Put Sunshine Into The Hearts Of Our Little Ones. They Are Our Precious Possessions. They Deserve What Happiness Life Can Offer.

The Most Difficult Matter Is Not So Much To Change The World As Yourself.

Changing The World

I Have Walked That Long Road To Freedom. I Have Tried Not To Falter; I Have Made Missteps Along The Way. But I Have Discovered The Secret That After Climbing A Great Hill, One Only Finds That There Are Many More Hills To Climb. 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. But I Can Only Rest For A Moment, For With Freedom Come Responsibilities, And I Dare Not Linger, For My Long Walk Is Not Ended.

It Is A Grave Error For Any Leader To Be Oversensitive In The Face Of Criticism

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

I Cannot And Will Not Give Any Undertaking At A Time When I, And You, The People, Are Not Free. Your Freedom And Mine Cannot Be Separated.

No Matter What The Past Has Dealt You, Don't Let It Destroy Your Future.

Positive Thinking

Fools Multiply When Wise Men Are Silent.

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

What Has Sustained Me Even In The Most Grim Moments Is The Knowledge That I Am A Member Of A Tried And Tested Family Which Has Triumphed Over Many Difficulties.

We Have Introduced A Rule Of Law Into Many Sections Of Our Public Life.

There Can Be No Keener Revelation Of A Society's Soul Than The Way In Which It Treats Its Children.

With Freedom Comes Responsibilities, And I Dare Not Linger, For My Long Walk Has Not Ended Yet.

There Is No Doubt That The United States Now Feels That They Are The Only Superpower In The World And They Can Do What They Like.

We Need A Fundamental Change Of Mindset With Regards To The Way We Speak And Behave About Sex And Sexuality. Boys And Men Have A Particularly Critical Role In This Regard, Changing The Chauvinist And Demeaning Ways Sexuality And Women Were Traditionally Dealt With In Both Our Actions And Speaking.

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

Freedom Is Meaningless If People Cannot Put Food In Their Stomachs, If They Can Have No Shelter, If Illiteracy And Disease Continue To Dog Them.

As We Judge Others So Are We Judged By Others. The Suspicious Will Always Be Tormented By Suspicion.

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.

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

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.

In Some Ways, I Saw The Garden As A Metaphor For Certain Aspects Of My Life. A Leader Must Also Tend His Garden; He, Too, Plants Seeds, And Then Watches, Cultivates, And Harvests The Results. Like The Gardener, A Leader Must Take Responsibility For What He Cultivates; He Must Mind His Work, Try To Repel Enemies, Preserve What Can Be Preserved, And Eliminate What Cannot Succeed.

Poetry Cannot Block A Bullet Or Still A Sjambok, But It Can Bear Witness To Brutality-thereby Cultivating A Flower In A Graveyard.

The Good News Borne By Our Risen Messiah Who Chose Not One Race, Who Chose Not One Country, Who Chose Not One Language, Who Chose Not One Tribe, Who Chose All Of Humankind!

Individuals Get Caught Up In The Policy Of Their Country. In Prison, For Instance, A Warden Or Officer Is Not Promoted If He Doesn't Follow The Policy Of The Government - Though He Himself Does Not Believe In That Policy.

We Know What Needs To Be Done - All That Is Missing Is The Will To Do It.

Our Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate, But That We Are Powerful Beyond Measure.

Our Greatest Fear

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

Congratulations

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

When I Came To Johannesburg From The Countryside, I Knew Nobody, But Many Strangers Were Very Kind To Me. I Then Was Dragged Into Politics, And Then, Subsequently, I Became A Lawyer.

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.

Overcoming Poverty Is Not A Gesture Of Charity. It Is An Act Of Justice.

Hunger And Poverty

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

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

We Owe Our Children – The Most Vulnerable Citizens In Any Society – A Life Free From Violence And Fear.

I Approach Every Problem With Optimism.

If We Do Not Do Something To Prevent It, Africa's Animals, And The Places In Which They Live, Will Be Lost To Our World, And Her Children, Forever. Before It Is Too Late, We Need Your Help To Lay The Foundation That Will Preserve This Precious Legacy Long After We Are Gone.

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.

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

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

Racism Is A Blight On The Human Conscience

We Signal That Good Can Be Achieved Amongst Human Beings Who Are Prepared To Trust, Prepared To Believe In The Goodness Of People.

The Anchor Of All My Dreams Is The Collective Wisdom Of Mankind As A Whole.

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

The Children's Hospital Will Be A Credible Demonstration Of The Commitment Of African Leaders To Place The Rights Of Children At The Forefront. Nothing Less Would Be Enough.

Trending Author

Category