Nelson Mandela Quotes
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Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
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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.
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There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
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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.
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I realized quickly what Mandela and Tambo meant to ordinary Africans. It was a place where they could come and find a sympathetic ear and a competent ally, a place where they would not be either turned away or cheated, a place where they might actually feel proud to be represented by men of their own skin color.
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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.
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Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.
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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
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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.
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If you are poor, you are not likely to live long.
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It always seems impossible until it's done.
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In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.
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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.
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I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.
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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.
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My son has died of AIDS.
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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.
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In the 1940s, traveling for an African was a complicated process. All Africans over the age of sixteen were compelled to carry 'Native passes' issued by the Native Affairs Department and were required to show that pass to any white policeman, civil servant, or employer. Failure to do so could mean arrest, trial, a jail sentence or fine.
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Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
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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.
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Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
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After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
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The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.