Nelson Mandela Quotes
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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.
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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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There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
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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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We can't afford to be killing one another.
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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.
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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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There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty.
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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 defenseless people.
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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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Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.
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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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In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.
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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
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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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Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will.
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It always seems impossible until it's done.
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If you are poor, you are not likely to live long.
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My son has died of AIDS.
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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.
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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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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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You know, you can only lead them from behind.
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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.