Mandela S Quotes

As a world leader who refused to accept injustice, Nelson Mandela's courage helped change our entire world ~ Salil Shetty

I never lose. Either I win or I learn. ~ Nelson Mandela

When I walked out of the gate I knew that if I continued to hate these people I was still in prison. ~ Nelson Mandela

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires. ~ Nelson Mandela

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 ~ Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is physically separated from us, but his soul and spirit will never die. He belongs to the whole world because he is an icon of equality, freedom and love, the values we need all the time everywhere. ~ Malala Yousafzai

I and some colleagues came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be wrong and unrealistic for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. ~ Nelson Mandela

We can't win a war, but we can win an election. ~ Nelson Mandela

Very sad to hear about the passing of Nelson Mandela. He was a true inspiration for human rights and equality for South Africa and the reason apartheid no longer exists there. The world will never forget his capacity for forgiveness and magnanimity. RIP ~ Bryan Adams

Justice and I became friends, though we were opposites in many ways - he was extroverted, I was introverted; he was lighthearted, I was serious. ~ Nelson Mandela

There is no future without forgiveness ~ Nelson Mandela

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. ~ Nelson Mandela

Some mornings I walked out into the courtyard and every living thing there, the seagulls and wagtails, the small trees, and even the stray blades of grass seemed to smile and shine in the sun. It was at such times, when I perceived the beauty of even this small, closed-in corner of the world, that I knew that some day my people and I would be free. ~ Nelson Mandela

Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. 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. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. ~ Nelson Mandela

As we mourn President Mandela's passing we must ask ourselves the fundamental question - what shall we do to respond to the tasks of building a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa, a people-centred society free of hunger, poverty, disease and inequality, as well as Africa's renaissance, to whose attainment President Nelson Mandela dedicated his whole life? ~ Thabo Mbeki

Nelson Mandela once remarked that he befriended his jailers, those grim, khaki-clad overseers of his decades of hard labor in a limestone quarry, by "exploiting their good qualities." Asked if he believed all people were kind at their core, he responded, "There is no doubt whatsoever, provided you are able to arouse their inherent goodness." If that sounds like wishful thinking, well, he actually did it. ~ Marc Ian Barasch

I know that, throughout the world, there are good men and women concerned with the greatest challenges facing society today - poverty, illiteracy, and disease. ~ Nelson Mandela

The call now is for each of us to ask ourselves: are we doing all we can to help build the country of our dreams? ~ Nelson Mandela

Thinking is one of the most important weapons in dealing with problems ~ Nelson Mandela

Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence. ~ Nelson Mandela

Nothing is black or white. ~ Nelson Mandela

If we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others. ~ Nelson Mandela

I used to do my Nelson Mandela voice to blag restaurant tables in Cape Town. It rarely worked. Now what a great city that is. ~ Rory Bremner

There is a constant struggle between good an evil in the world. It is up to good people to choose the right side ~ Nelson Mandela

Where you stand depends on where you sit. ~ Nelson Mandela

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. ~ Nelson Mandela

I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. Just PUT THE BLOODY METER ON. ~ Nelson Mandela

For a revolution is not just a question of pulling a trigger; its purpose is to create a fair just society ~ Nelson Mandela

Then there was Mr Mandela. Everybody knew about Mr Mandela and how he had forgiven those who had imprisoned him. They had taken away years and years of his life simply because he wanted justice. They had set him to work in a quarry and his eyes had been permanently damaged by the rock dust. But at last, when he had walked out of the prison on that breathless, luminous day, he had said nothing about revenge or even retribution. He had said that there were more important things to do than to complain about the past, and in time he had shown that he meant this by hundreds of acts of kindness towards those who had treated him so badly. That was the real African way, the tradition that was closest to the heart of Africa. We are all children of Africa, and none of us is better or more important than the other. This is what Africa could say to the world: it could remind it what it is to be human. ~ Alexander McCall Smith

Why is the United States behaving so arrogantly? All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil. ~ Nelson Mandela

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others. ~ Nelson Mandela

We recall the joy and excitement of a nation that had found itself, the collective relief that we had stepped out of our restrictive past, and the expectant air of walking into a brighter future. ~ Nelson Mandela

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul, and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all. ~ Nelson Mandela

During the years I lived here, the people of Alexandra ignored tribal and ethnic distinctions. Instead of being Xhosas, or Sothos, or Zulus, or Shangaans, we were Alexandrans. We were one people, and we undermined the distinctions that the apartheid government tried so hard to impose. It saddens and angers me to see the rising hatred of foreigners. ~ Nelson Mandela

When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing? ~ Nelson Mandela

MANDELA: a man deemed to be the greatest icon in Africa. his life thought me couple of lessons that always inspires me to strive hard for respect and to make an impact on humanity. may his footsteps continue to live for ever on the sands of time. ~ Victor Adeagbo

If you are negotiating you must do so in a spirit of reconciliation, not from the point of view of issuing ultimatums. ~ Nelson Mandela

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 ~ Nelson Mandela

As we judge others so are we judged by others. The suspicious will always be tormented by suspicion. ~ Nelson Mandela

Rhetoric is not important. Actions are. ~ Nelson Mandela

From its earliest days, the Cuban Revolution has also been a source of
inspiration to all freedom-loving people. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist-orquestrated campaign to destroy the impressive gain made in the Cuban Revolution. Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro. ~ Nelson Mandela

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. ~ Nelson Mandela

Teach the children that Africans are not one iota inferior to Europeans. ~ Nelson Mandela

At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by the highest public office we attained in our lifetime, if that were true the current president (George W. Bush) would hold as much esteem as Franklin Roosevelt in our country, and Nelson Mandela in his. That cannot be the case. Rather, we will each be judged by the mark we've left on others. ~ Elizabeth Edwards

The Church was as concerned with this world as the next: I saw that virtually all of the achievements of Africans seemed to have come about through the missionary work of the Church. ~ Nelson Mandela

It is my greatest wish that the Children's Fund should continue to be a beacon of hope and light. ~ Nelson Mandela

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. ~ Nelson Mandela

The path of those who preach love, and not hatred, is not easy. They often have to wear a crown of thorns. ~ Nelson Mandela

My grandfather was a member of Parliament for 40 years. Obviously we're talking here South Africa, a whites only parliament. I grew up in a family that was very involved with the legal battles against apartheid - the great treason trials in the 1950s and early '60s, and later with the legal resources center that my mother founded. My father was involved with a number of very prominent cases that had political aspects to them, whether it was the inquest into the Sharpeville Massacre, the death of Steve Biko, or one of the trials of Nelson Mandela. ~ William Kentridge