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Let It Never Be Said By Future Generations That Indifference, Cynicism Or Selfishness Made Us Fail To Live Up To The Ideals Of Humanism Which The Nobel Peace Prize Encapsulates. Let The Strivings Of Us All, Prove Martin Luther King Jr. To Have Been Correct, When He Said That Humanity Can No Longer Be Tragically Bound To The Starless Midnight Of Racism And War.

-Nelson Mandela

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Let It Never Be

Nelson Mandela

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Let It Never Be Said By Future Generations That Indifference, Cynicism Or Selfishness Made Us Fail To Live Up To The Ideals Of Humanism Which The Nobel Peace Prize Encapsulates. Let The Strivings Of Us All, Prove Martin Luther King Jr. To Have Been Correct, When He Said That Humanity Can No Longer Be Tragically Bound To The Starless Midnight Of Racism And War.

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It's A Tragedy What Is Happening, What Bush Is Doing. All Bush Wants Is Iraqi Oil. There Is No Doubt That The U.s. Is Behaving Badly. Why Are They Not Seeking To Confiscate Weapons Of Mass Destruction From Their Ally Israel? This Is Just An Excuse To Get Iraq's Oil.

Mass Destruction

We Raise Our Voices In Holy Gladness To Celebrate The Victory Of The Risen Christ Over The Terrible Forces Of Death.

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.

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There Were Many Dark Moments When My Faith In Humanity Was Sorely Tested.

I Have Been Influenced In My Thinking By Both West And East.

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

Sport Can Create Hope, Where Once There Was Only Despair

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

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

Let Us Give Practical Recognition To The Injustices Of The Past,by Building A Future Based On Equality&social Justice

In Africa There Is A Concept Known As 'ubuntu' - The Profound Sense That We Are Human Only Through The Humanity Of Others; That If We Are To Accomplish Anything In This World It Will In Equal Measure Be Due To The Work And Achievement Of Others.

In Prison, Illusions Can Offer Comfort.

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

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

It Is Not Where You Start But How High You Aim That Matters For Success.

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 Am Not A Saint, Unless You Think Of A Saint As A Sinner Who Keeps On Trying.

Our Experience Has Taught Us That With Goodwill A Negotiated Solution Can Be Found For Even The Most Profound Problems.

Soccer Is One Of The Most Unifying Activities Amongst Us.

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

No Country Can Really Develop Unless Its Citizens Are Educated.

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.

I Would Like It To Be Said: Here Lies A Man Who Has Done His Duty On Earth

I Have Always Regarded Myself, In The First Place, As An African Patriot.

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.

There Is No Future Without Forgiveness

By Ancestry, I Was Born To Rule.

As Long As Poverty, Injustice And Gross Inequality Persist In Our World, None Of Us Can Truly Rest.

We Cannot Blame Other People For Our Troubles. We Are Not Victims Of The Influx Of Foreign People Into South Africa. We Must Remember That It Was Mainly Due To The Aggressive And Hostile Policies Of The Apartheid Regime That The Economic Development Of Our Neighbours Was Undermined.

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

Racism Is A Blight On The Human Conscience. The Idea That Any People Can Be Inferior To Another, To The Point Where Those Who Consider Themselves Superior Define And Treat The Rest As Subhuman, Denies The Humanity Even Of Those Who Elevate Themselves To The Status Of Gods.

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Common Humanity

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

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I Dream Of An Africa Which Is In Peace With Itself.

It Always Seems Impossible Until Its Done.

I Learned That To Humiliate Another Person Is To Make Him Suffer An Unnecessarily Cruel Fate. Even As A Boy, I Defeated My Opponents Without Dishonoring Them.

There's One Place Where (fidel Castro’s) Cuba Stands Out Head And Shoulders Above The Rest – That Is In Its Love For Human Rights And Liberty!

Thinking Is One Of The Most Important Weapons In Dealing With Problems

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

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

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.

The Habit Of Attending To Small Things And Of Appreciating Small Courtesies Is One Of The Important Marks Of A Good Person.

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

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

I Approach Every Problem With Optimism.

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.

You Mustn't Compromise Your Principles, But You Mustn't Humiliate The Opposition. No One Is More Dangerous Than One Who Is Humiliated.

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I Learned To Have The Patience To Listen When People Put Forward Their Views, Even If I Think Those Views Are Wrong. You Can't Reach A Just Decision In A Dispute Unless You Listen To Both Sides.

In My Country We Go To Prison First And Then Become President.

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Guarantees That

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It Is In Your Hands To Create A Better World For All Who Live In It.

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An Initiative Was Essentially Led By Civil Society Because The Policy Of The Government Was That Africans Must Not Be Taught To Graze In Pastures Which Were Reserved For The Main White Group.

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Common Humanity

Our Society Needs To Re-establish A Culture Of Caring.

Extremists On All Sides Thrive, Fed By The Blood Lust Of Centuries Gone By.

Each Of Us, As Citizens, Has A Role To Play In Creating A Better World For Our Children

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

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

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Common Humanity

A Bright Future Beckons. The Onus Is On Us, Through Hard Work, Honesty And Integrity, To Reach For The Stars.

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Finding Strength

Everyone Can Rise Above Their Circumstances And Achieve Success If They Are Dedicated To And Passionate About What They Do.

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.

Nothing Is Black Or White.

I Am Confident That Nobody... Will Accuse Me Of Selfishness If I Ask To Spend Time, While I Am Still In Good Health, With My Family, My Friends And Also With Myself.

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

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

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

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.

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

Hunger And Poverty

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.

Times Change, We Need To Change As Well.

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.

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.

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

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

May Your Choices Reflect Your Hopes, Not Your Fears.

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

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.

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

Teach The Children That Africans Are Not One Iota Inferior To Europeans.

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.

While Poverty Persists, There Is No True Freedom.

There Is Nothing More Dangerous Than A Humiliated Man.

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

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

I Greet You All In The Name Of Peace, Democracy And Freedom For All.

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Friends, Comrades And Fellow South Africans. I Greet You All In The Name Of Peace, Democracy And Freedom For All. I Stand Here Before You Not As A Prophet But As A Humble Servant Of You, The People. Your Tireless And Heroic Sacrifices Have Made It Possible For Me To Be Here Today. I Therefore Place The Remaining Years Of My Life In Your Hands.

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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.

All That (mr. Bush) Wants Is Iraqi Oil.

Children Are The Most Important Asset In A Country. For Them To Become That Asset, They Must Receive Education And Love From Their Parents.

The Process Of Illusion & Disillusionment Is Part Of Life And Goes On Endlessly.

Fools Multiply When Wise Men Are Silent.

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

Freedom Can Never Be Taken For Granted. Each Generation Must Safeguard It And Extend It. Your Parents And Elders Sacrificed Much So That You Should Have Freedom Without Suffering What They Did. Use This Precious Right To Ensure That The Darkness Of The Past Never Returns.

When We Dehumanise And Demonise Our Opponents, We Abandon The Possibility Of Peacefully Resolving Our Differences, And Seek To Justify Violence Against Them.

You Encourage People By Seeing The Good In Them.

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.

I Have Never Regarded Any Man As My Superior, Either In My Life Outside Or Inside Prison.

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

There Can Be No Greater Gift Than That Of Giving One’s Time And Energy To Help Others Without Expecting Anything In Return.

Each Of Us Is As Intimately Attached To The Soil Of This Beautiful Country As Are The Famous Jacaranda Trees Of Pretoria And The Mimosa Trees Of The Bushveld - A Rainbow Nation At Peace With Itself And The World.

It Enables Me To Go To Bed With An Enriching Feeling In My Soul And The Belief That I Am Changing Myself.

A Winner Is A Dreamer Who Never Gives Up

I Was Called A Terrorist Yesterday... Today I Am Admired By The Very People Who Said I Was One.

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.

Education Is The Great Engine Of Personal Development. It Is Through Education That The Daughter Of A Peasant Can Become A Doctor, That The Son Of A Mineworker Can Become The Head Of The Mine, That A Child Of Farm Workers Can Become The President Of A Great Nation. It Is What We Make Out Of What We Have, Not What We Are Given, That Separates One Person From Another.

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

Resentment Is Like Drinking Poison And Then Hoping It Will Kill Your Enemies.

It Is Wise To Persuade People To Do Things And Make Them Think It Was Their Own Idea.

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

I Have Retired, But If There's Anything That Would Kill Me It Is To Wake Up In The Morning Not Knowing What To Do.

South Africans Must Recall The Terrible Past So That We Can Deal With It, Forgiving Where Forgiveness Is Necessary But Never Forgetting.

Forget The Past.

For Every Woman And Girl Violently Attacked, We Reduce Our Humanity. For Every Woman Forced Into Unprotected Sex Because Men Demand This, We Destroy Dignity And Pride. Every Woman Who Has To Sell Her Life For Sex We Condemn To A Lifetime In Prison. For Every Moment We Remain Silent, We Conspire Against Our Women. For Every Woman Infected By Hiv, We Destroy A Generation.

I Hate Race Discrimination Most Intensely And In All Its Manifestations. I Have Fought It All During My Life; I Fight It Now, And Will Do So Until The End Of My Days.

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.

This Must Be A World Of Democracy And Respect For Human Rights, A World Freed From The Horrors Of Poverty, Hunger, Deprivation And Ignorance, Relieved Of The Threat And The Scourge Of Civil Wars And External Aggression And Unburdened Of The Great Tragedy Of Millions Forced To Become Refugees.

I Cannot Conceive Of Israel Withdrawing If Arab States Do Not Recognize Israel, Within Secure Borders.

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

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.

As Long As Women Are Bound By Poverty And As Long As They Are Looked Down Upon, Human Rights Will Lack Substance.

The Truth Is That We Are Not Yet Free; We Have Merely Achieved The Freedom To Be Free, The Right Not To Be Oppressed. We Have Not Taken The Final Step Of Our Journey, But The First Step On A Longer And Even More Difficult Road. 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. The True Test Of Our Devotion To Freedom Is Just Beginning.

The New World Order That Is In The Making Must Focus On The Creation Of A World Of Democracy, Peace And Prosperity For All.

World Government

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

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

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.

I Should Tie Myself To No Particular System Of Society Other Than Of Socialism.

Freedom Alone Is Not Enough Without Light To Read At Night, Without Time Or Access To Water To Irrigate Your Farm, Without The Ability To Catch Fish To Feed Your Family.

There Are So Many Men And Women Who Hold No Distinctive Positions But Whose Contribution Towards The Development Of Society Has Been Enormous. Some Of Them Are Not Known Even In Their Own Countries, But When You Come Across Them You Are Very Impressed. Those Are Heroes Or Heroines We Must Never Forget. Because Of Their Service To Society, You Can't Really Help But Admire Them.

No Problem Is So Deep That It Cannot Be Overcome, Given The Will Of All Parties, Through Discussion And Negotiation Rather Than Force And Violence.

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.

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

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

I Appeal To The Youth And Those On The Ground: Start Talking To Each Other Across Divisions Of Race And Political Organizations.

I Detest Racialism, Because I Regard It As A Barbaric Thing, Whether It Comes From A Black Man Or A White Man.

Now We Are In The Second Term Of The Government Of A United Nation And The Government Has Done Very Well. One Thing They Have Done, One Thing People Could Not Be Blind To, Was The Achievement This Government Has Made In Giving Human Beings Dignity, Which They Did Not Enjoy Before. They Now Have Dignity.

Let Us Give Publicity To Hiv/aids And Not Hide It, Because [that Is] The Only Way To Make It Appear Like A Normal Illness

You Will Achieve More In This World Through Acts Of Mercy Than You Will Through Acts Of Retribution.

The Power Of Imagination Created The Illusion That My Vision Went Much Farther Than The Naked Eye Could Actually See.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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

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

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

Thinking Too Well Of People Often Allows Them To Be Better Than They Otherwise Would.

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