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We Are Extricating Ourselves From A System That Insulted Our Common Humanity By Dividing Us From One Another On The Basis Of Race And Setting Us Against Each Other As Oppressed And Oppressor. That System Committed A Crime Against Humanity.

-Nelson Mandela

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We Are Extricating Ourselves

Nelson Mandela

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We Are Extricating Ourselves From A System That Insulted Our Common Humanity By Dividing Us From One Another On The Basis Of Race And Setting Us Against Each Other As Oppressed And Oppressor. That System Committed A Crime Against Humanity.

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Common Humanity

More From Nelson Mandela

Those Who Can't Imagine Change Reveal The Deficits Of Their Imaginations, Not The Difficulty Of Change.

Education Has Become A Very Powerful Weapon In The Struggle To Produce A Well-developed Person.

I Do Not Deny That I Planned Sabotage. I Did Not Plan It In A Spirit Of Recklessness Nor Because I Have Any Love Of Violence. I Planned It As A Result Of A Calm And Sober Assessment Of The Political Situation That Had Arisen After Many Years Of Tyranny, Exploitation And Oppression Of My People By The Whites.

Few Things Make The Life Of A Parent More Rewarding And Sweet As Successful Children.

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.

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

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.

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

There Is An Absence Of Democratic Accountability And Control In Every Sphere Of Government And The State. To Address This Debilitating Legacy Requires Determined Action And A Deep Commitment To Transforming Our Society From A Crisis Ridden Present Into Something All South Africans Can Be Truly Proud Of.

You Have A Limited Time To Stay On Earth. You Must Try To Use That Period For The Purpose Of Transforming Your Country Into What You Desire It To Be: A Democratic, Non-racial, Non-sexist Country. And That Is A Great Task.

It Is Necessary To Heal The Wounds Of The Past If You Are Going To Build Your Country And To Have Unity. I Am Working With People Who Fought Me Very Bitterly Before The Elections. It Was My Responsibility As The Man Who Is Leading The Majority Party, My Responsibility To Heal The Wounds Of The Past And To Work With People Who Were My Opponents.

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

We Have Introduced A Rule Of Law. That Never Existed For Centuries In This Country [south Africa], Especially Under The Apartheid Regime, When The Law Was Reduced Into Disrepute.

I Am The Captain Of My Soul.

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.

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.

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.

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'm Not Going To Sit Here And Argue With You. Just Put The Bloody Meter On.

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

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.

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

Long Walk To Freedom

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

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.

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.

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

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

Nonviolence Is A Good Policy When The Conditions Permit.

When We Can Sit In The Face Of Insanity Or Dislikes And Be Free From The Need To Make It Different, Then We Are Free.

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

Our Greatest Fear

Whenever I Am With Energetic Young People, I Feel Like A Recharged Battery.

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.

I Was Not A Messiah, But An Ordinary Man Who Had Become A Leader Because Of Extraordinary Circumstances.

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.

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

If I Am Your Leader, You Have To Listen To Me & If You Don’t Want To Listen To Me, Then Drop Me As Your Leader

Hating Clouds The Mind. It Gets In The Way Of Strategy. Leaders Cannot Afford To Hate

As I Have Said, The First Thing Is To Be Honest With Yourself. You Can Never Have An Impact On Society If You Have Not Changed Yourself... Great Peacemakers Are All People Of Integrity, Of Honesty, But Humility.

At The Meeting I Argued That The State Had Given Us No Alternative To Violence. I Said It Was Wrong And Immoral To Subject Our People To Armed Attacks By The State Without Offering Them Some Kind Of Alternative. I Mentioned Again That People On Their Own Had Taken Up Arms. Violence Would Begin Whether We Initiated It Or Not. Would It Not Be Better To Guide This Violence Ourselves, According To Principles Where We Saved Lives By Attacking Symbols Of Oppression, And Not People? If We Did Not Take The Lead Now, I Said, We Would Soon Be Latecomers And Followers To A Movement We Did Not Control.

Trade Justice For The Developing World And For This Generation Is A Truly Significant Way For The Developed Countries To Show Commitment To Bringing About An End To Global Poverty.

To Truly Lead One's People, One Must Also Truly Know Them.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Blaming Things On The Past Does Not Make Them Better.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Sometimes Strident, Often Tender, Never Afraid And Seldom Without Humour, Desmond Tutu's Voice Will Always Be The Voice Of The Voiceless.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Where You Stand Depends On Where You Sit.

The Majority Of South Africans, Black And White, Recognize That Apartheid Has No Future. It Has To Be Ended By Our Own Decisive Mass Action In Order To Build Peace And Security. The Mass Campaign Of Defiance And Other Actions Of Our Organization And People Can Only Culminate In The Establishment Of Democracy.

Black And White

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.

We Shall Immunize Every Child In Africa To Get Rid Of This Terrible Disease Forever.

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

I Knew We Could Improve Our Lives Even In Jail. We Could Come Out As Different Men, And We Could Even Come Out With Two Degrees. Educating Ourselves Was A Way To Give Ourselves The Most Powerful Weapon For Freedom.

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

The Virtue And The Strength Of Uwc Is That It Provides Small, But Powerful Cells Of Innovation, Catalysts For Change, Breaking Barriers Of Habit And Opening Broader Vistas Of Experience For Both Pupils And Educationalists.

Catalyst For Change

We Recall Our Terrible Past So That We Can Deal With It, To Forgive Where Forgiveness Is Necessary, Without Forgetting; To Ensure That Never Again Will Such Inhumanity Tear Us Apart; And To Move Ourselves To Eradicate A Legacy That Lurks Dangerously As A Threat To Our Democracy.

Religion Is One Of The Most Important Forces In The World. Whether You Are A Christian, A Muslim, A Buddhist, A Jew, Or A Hindu, Religion Is A Great Force, And It Can Help One Have Command Of One's Own Morality, One's Own Behavior, And One's Own Attitude.

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.

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

I Had No Epiphany, No Singular Revelation, No Moment Of Truth, But A Steady Accumulation Of A Thousand Slights, A Thousand Indignities And A Thousand Unremembered Moments Produced In Me An Anger, A Rebelliousness, A Desire To Fight The System That Imprisoned My People. There Was No Particular Day On Which I Said, Henceforth I Will Devote Myself To The Liberation Of My People; Instead, I Simply Found Myself Doing So, And Could Not Do Otherwise.

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.

Long Walk To Freedom

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

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

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

The True Character Of A Society Is Revealed In How It Treats Its Children.

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.

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

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

The Victory Of Democracy In South Africa Is The Common Achievement Of All Humanity.

When Those In Power Deny You Of Freedom The Only Path To Freedom Is Power

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

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

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.

It Is Not A Question Of Patronizing Philanthropy Towards Disabled People. They Do Not Need The Patronage Of The Non-disabled. It Is Not For Them To Adapt To The Dominant And Dominating World Of The So-called Non-disabled. It Is For Us To Adapt Our Understanding Of A Common Humanity; To Learn Of The Richness Of How Human Life Is Diverse; To Recognize The Presence Of Disability In Our Human Midst As An Enrichment Of Our Diversity.

Common Humanity

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

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

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

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

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

Atrocities Committed

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

The History Of Struggle Is Rich With Stories Of Heroes And Heroines - Some Of Them Leaders, Some Of Them Followers, All Of Them Deserve To Be Remembered.

The March To Freedom Is Irreversible.

If You Talk To A Man In A Language He Understands, That Goes To His Head. If You Talk To Him In His Language, That Goes To His Heart.

We Can't Afford To Be Killing One Another.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

If You Are Poor, You Are Not Likely To Live Long.

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

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.

It Is Your Duty To Examine The Conduct Of Public Figures And To Place Them In The Spotlight - That Is Your Duty.

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

I Told My Cellmates About The Oppression Of The Whites And Apartheid. I Helped Organize Hunger Strikes And The Like In My Prison.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

We, The People Of South Africa, Declare For All Our Country And The World To Know: That South Africa Belongs To All Who Live In It, Black And White, And That No Government Can Justly Claim Authority Unless It Is Based On The Will Of The People.

Black And White

In Human Affairs, No Single Person, Organisation Or Social Formation Ever Has A Final Or An Absolutely Correct Position. It Is Through Conversation, Debate And Critical Discussion That We Approach Positions That May Provide Workable Solutions.

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

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

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.

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

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

Our Task Is Not To Liberate The Oppressed, But To Liberate The Oppressors

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.

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

May Your Choices Reflect Your Hopes, Not Your Fears.

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

We Know Too Well That Our Freedom Is Incomplete Without The Freedom Of The Palestinians.

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 Must Nurture Tolerance, Collective Wisdom, And Democracy.

The Collapse Of Good Conscience And The Absence Of Accountability And Public Scrutiny Have Led To Crimes Against Humanity And Violations Of International Law.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

We Forgive But Not Forgotten

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.

No Power On This Earth Can Destroy The Thirst For Human Dignity

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

The Usa Is A Threat To World Peace. Who Are They To Pretend That They Are The Policemen Of The World, The Ones That Should Decide For The People Of Iraq What Should Be Done With Their Government And Their Leadership. All That [the Usa] Wants Is Iraqi Oil. [blair Is] Simply The Foreign Minister Of The United States. He Is No Longer Prime Minister Of Britain.

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.

I Stand Here Before You Not As A Prophet, But As A Humble Servant Of You, The People.

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

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 Is No Such Thing As Part Freedom.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

It Can Be Said That There Are Four Basic And Primary Things That The Mass Of People In A Society Wish For: To Live In A Safe Environment, To Be Able To Work And Provide For Themselves, To Have Access To Good Public Health And To Have Sound Educational Opportunities For Their Children.

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 Winner Is A Dreamer Who Never Gives Up

It Is Also The Fate Of Leadership To Be Misunderstood. For Historians, Academics, Writers And Journalists To Reflect Great Lives According To Their Own Subjective Canon.

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.

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

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.

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.

Exercise Is The Key Not Only To Physical Health But To Peace Of Mind.

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

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.

After Climbing A Great Hill, One Only Finds That There Are Many More Hills To Climb. I Can Rest Only For A Moment, For With Freedom Come Responsibilities, And I Dare Not Linger, For My Long Walk Is Not Yet Ended.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Video Screenshot Facts And Figures From Nelson Mandela's Life, Set To The Trailer From 'mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.' "man's Goodness Is A Flame That Can Be Hidden But Never Extinguished."

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

Rhetoric Is Not Important. Actions Are.

There's No Such Thing As Part Freedom.

People Respond In Accordance To How You Relate To Them. If You Approach Them On The Basis Of Violence, That's How They'll React. But If You Say, 'we Want Peace, We Want Stability,' We Can Then Do A Lot Of Things That Will Contribute Towards The Progress Of Our Society.

The Time Will Come When Our Nation Will Honour The Memory Of All The Sons, The Daughters, The Mothers, The Fathers, The Youth And The Children Who, By Their Thoughts And Deeds, Gave Us The Right To Assert With Pride That We Are South Africans, That We Are Africans, And That We Are Citizens Of The World.

[giving] Is The Essence Of The Great Religions Of The World - Whether You Are Discussing The Muslim, Hindu, Jewish Or Christian Religion. It Is An Essential Fundamental Principle Of All Religions, Whatever Stage Of Development A Society Has Reached, To Sympathize With Others And To Promote That Spirit Of Equality.

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

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.

Home Is Home Even For Those Who Aspire To Serve Wider Interests And Who Have Established Their Home Of Choice In Distant Regions.

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.

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.

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.

A New Society Cannot Be Created By Reproducing The Repugnant Past, However Refined Or Enticingly Repackaged.

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

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

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

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

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