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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.

-Nelson Mandela

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The Calm And Tolerant

Nelson Mandela

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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.

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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.

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

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

Atrocities Committed

If You Are Negotiating You Must Do So In A Spirit Of Reconciliation, Not From The Point Of View Of Issuing Ultimatums.

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 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!

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.

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

What Freedom Am I Being Offered While The Organization Of The People Remains Banned? Only Free Men Can Negotiate. A Prisoner Cannot Enter Into Contracts.

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

I Have Always Endeavoured To Listen To What Each And Every Person In A Discussion Had To Say Before Venturing My Own Opinion.

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.

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.

There's No Such Thing As Part Freedom.

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.

Why Is The United States Behaving So Arrogantly? All That (mr. Bush) Wants Is Iraqi Oil.

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

A Political Movement Must Keep In Touch With Reality And The Prevailing Conditions. Long Speeches, The Shaking Of Fists, The Banging Of Tables, And Strongly Worded Resolutions Out Of Touch With The Objective Conditions Do Not Bring About Mass Action And Can Do A Great Deal Of Harm To The Organization And The Struggle We Serve.

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.

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.

In The 21st Century, The Capacity To Communicate Will Almost Certainly Be A Key Human Right.

Let Your Greatness Bloom.

Running Taught Me Valuable Lessons. In Cross-country Competition, Training Counted More Than Intrinsic Ability, And I Could Compensate For A Lack Of Natural Aptitude With Diligence And Discipline. I Applied This In Everything I Did.

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.

It Is Better To Lead From Behind And To Put Others In Front, Especially When You Celebrate Victory When Nice Things Occur. You Take The Front Line When There Is Danger. Then People Will Appreciate Your Leadership.

The Very Right To Be Human Is Denied Every Day To Hundreds Of Millions Of People As A Result Of Poverty, The Unavailability Of Basic Necessities Such As Food, Jobs, Water And Shelter, Education, Health Care And A Healthy Environment.

I Am Aware Of What The Position Is In The United States Of America. If Somebody Gives To Charity, Then He Gets A Tax Incentive, Provided The Charity Is Registered In Terms Of The Law.

My Time In Prison Only Deepened My Resolve Against Apartheid. Even While I Was In Prison, I Fought Against It, Teaching My Cellmates About White Supremacy And How To Fight Against It.

Unlike Some Politicians, I Can Admit To A Mistake.

Let There Be Work, Bread, Water And Salt For All.

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.

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.

To The Youth Of Today, I Also Have A Wish To Make: Be The Scriptwriters Of Your Destiny And Feature Yourselves As Stars That Showed The Way Towards A Brighter Future.

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.

There Are So Many Men And Women Who Hold No Distinctive Positions But Whose Contribution Towards The Development Of Society Has Been Enormous.

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.

I Found Solitary Confinement The Most Forbidding Aspect Of Prison Life. There Is No End And No Beginning; There Is Only One's Mind, Which Can Begin To Play Tricks. Was That A Dream Or Did It Really Happen? One Begins To Question Everything.

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

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

If There Are Dreams About A Beautiful South Africa, There Are Also Roads That Lead To Their Goal. Two Of These Roads Could Be Named Goodness And Forgiveness.

I Dream Of Our Vast Deserts, Of Our Forests, Of All Our Great Wildernesses. We Must Never Forget That It Is Our Duty To Protect This Environment.

I Am Convinced That Floods Of Personal Disaster Can Never Drown A Determined Revolutionary Nor Can The Cumulus Of Misery That Accompanies Tragedy Suffocate Him.

I Knew As Well As I Knew Anything That The Oppressor Must Be Liberated Just As Surely As The Oppressed.

Long Walk To Freedom

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

I Love Playing And Chatting With Children...feeding And Putting Them To Bed With A Little Story, And Being Away From The Family Has Troubled Me Throughout My...life. I Like Relaxing At The House, Reading Quietly, Taking In The Sweet Smell That Comes From The Pots, Sitting Around A Table With The Family And Taking Out My Wife And Children. When You Can No Longer Enjoy These Simple Pleasures Something Valuable Is Taken Away From Your Life And You Feel It In Your Daily Work.

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

My Family Is Very Large. 42 Million.

To Deny People Their Human Rights Is To Challenge Their Very Humanity.

Our Children Are The Rock On Which Our Future Will Be Built, Our Greatest Asset As A Nation

You Know, You Can Only Lead Them From Behind.

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

Force Is The Only Language The Imperialists Can Hear, And No Country Became Free Without Some Sort Of Violence.

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.

We Can't Win A War, But We Can Win An Election.

What We Did Was To Try And Exploit That Spirit [the Idea Of Giving], Which Was There Even Before I Approached Individual South Africans [to Give To The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund]. I Think We Must Start From That Angle.

Keep Your Friends Close - And Your Rivals Even Closer.

Keep Your Friends Close

Sports Have The Power To Change The World. It Has The Power To Inspire, The Power To Unite People In A Way That Little Else Does. It Speaks To Youth In A Language They Understand. Sports Can Create Hope, Where There Was Once Only Despair. It Is More Powerful Than Governments In Breaking Down Racial Barriers. It Laughs In The Face Of All Types Of Discrimination. Sports Is The Game Of Lovers.

The Un Took A Strong Stand Against Apartheid; And Over The Years, An International Consensus Was Built, Which Helped To Bring An End To This Iniquitous System. But We Know Too Well That Our Freedom Is Incomplete Without The Freedom Of The Palestinians...

I Was Neglected By My Family Because I Had Disappointed Them - I'd Run Away From Being Forced Into An Arranged Marriage, Which Was A Big Blow To Them.

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.

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

I Have Always Admired Men And Women Who Used Their Talents To Serve The Community, And Who Were Highly Respected And Admired For Their Efforts And Sacrifices, Even Though They Held No Office Whatsoever In Government Or Society.

The Challenge For Each One Of You Is To Take Up These Ideals Of Tolerance And Respect For Others And Put Them To Practical Use In Your Schools, Your Communities And Throughout Your Lives.

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.

I Admire Young People Who Are Concerned With The Affairs Of Their Community And Nation Perhaps Because I Also Became Involved In Struggle Whist I Was Still At School.

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.

I Really Wanted To Retire And Rest And Spend More Time With My Children, My Grandchildren And Of Course With My Wife.

Nothing Is Black Or White.

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

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

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.

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.

Soccer Is One Of The Most Unifying Activities Amongst Us.

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.

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

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

Working Together

Distribution Of Wealth

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

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

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.

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.

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

I Am The Captain Of My Soul.

It Is Not Beyond Our Power To Create A World In Which All Children Have Access To A Good Education.

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.

My Son Has Died Of Aids.

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

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.

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

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.

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

The Time For The Healing Of The Wounds Has Come. The Moment To Bridge The Chasms That Divide Us Has Come. The Time To Build Is Upon Us.

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

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 Can't Pretend That I'm Brave And That I Can Beat The Whole World.

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 Don't Have To Be Victims Of Our Past, That We Can Let Go Of Our Bitterness, And That All Of Us Can Achieve Greatness.

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

Our Children Are Our Greatest Treasure. They Are Our Future. Those Who Abuse Them Tear At The Fabric Of Our Society And Weaken Our Nation.

Greatest Treasure

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

I Was Able To Change My Life By Knowing That If Somebody Does Something Good For You, You Have To Respond.

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.

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

There Is Nothing Like Returning To A Place That Remains Unchanged To Find The Ways In Which You Yourself Have Altered.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

As Long As Outmoded Ways Of Thinking Prevent Women From Making A Meaningful Contribution To Society, Progress Will Be Slow. As Long As The Nation Refuses To Acknowledge The Equal Role Of More Than Half Of Itself, It Is Doomed To Failure.

Negotiation And Discussion Are The Greatest Weapons We Have For Promoting Peace And Development.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

It Is Always Impossible Until It Is Done.

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.

Let Us Remind Ourselves That It Is Ordinary People - Men And Women, Boys And Girls - That Make The World A Special Place

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

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

It Is What We Make Out Of What We Have, Not What We Are Given, That Separates One Person From Another.

Self Actualization

We Must Appreciate That All Over The World, Right Down The Centuries, There Have Been Great Religions That Have Encouraged The Idea Of Giving - Of Fighting Poverty And Of Promoting The Equality Of Human Beings - Whatever Their Background, Whatever Their Political Beliefs.

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 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.

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.

There Is No Future Without Forgiveness

After Climbing A Great Hill, One Only Finds That There Are Many More Hills To Climb.

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

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

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

I Could Not Imagine That The Future I Was Walking Toward Could Compare In Any Way To The Past That I Was Leaving Behind.

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

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

If You Don't Allow People To Contribute, To Offer Their Point Of View, Or To Criticize What Has Been Put Before Them, Then They Can Never Like You. And You Can Never Build That Instrument Of Collective Leadership.

[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."

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.

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

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 . . .

The United States Of America Is A Threat To World Peace.

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

I Have Never Cared Very Much For Personal Prizes. A Person Does Not Become A Freedom Fighter In The Hope Of Winning Awards.

It's Not Our Weaknesses That Frighten Us. It's Our Strengths.

A Free Press Is One Of The Pillars Of Democracy.

Hiv/aids Is The Greatest Danger We Have Faced For Many, Many Centuries. Hiv/aids Is Worse Than A War. It Is Like A World War. Millions Of People Are Dying From It.

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.

If The Anc Does To You What The Apartheid Government Did To You, Then You Must Do To The Anc What You Did To The Apartheid Government.

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.

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.

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

I Have Often Wondered Whether A Person Is Justified In Neglecting His Own Family To Fight For Opportunities For Others.

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

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

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

Although Verwoerd Thought Africans Were Lower Than Animals, His Death Did Not Yield Us Any Pleasure. Political Assassination Is Not Something I Or The Anc Ever Supported. It Is A Primitive Way Of Contending With An Opponent

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.

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

There Is No Easy Walk To Freedom Anywhere.

Shadow Of Death

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

The Freedom We Enjoy Is A Richly Textured Gift Handcrafted By Ordinary Folk

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.

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.'

History And The Generations To Come Will Judge Our Leaders By The Decisions They Make In The Coming Weeks.

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

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.

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

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.

A Movement Without Vision Would Be A Movement Without Moral Foundation.

We Must Nurture Tolerance, Collective Wisdom, And Democracy.

In Prison, Illusions Can Offer Comfort.

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.

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.

Rhetoric Is Not Important. Actions Are.

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.

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

It Is Time For The Next Generations To Continue Our Struggle Against Social Injustice And For The Rights Of Humanity. It Is In Your Hands.

Great Anger And Violence Can Never Build A Nation.

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.

Man's Goodness Is A Flame That Can Be Hidden But Never Extinguished

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Education Is The Great Engine To Personal Development.

Personal Development

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

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