On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education.
The education I received was a British education, in which British ideas, British culture, British institutions, were automatically assumed to be superior. There was no such thing as African culture. At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect.
I have done whatever I did because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background, and not because of what any outsider might have said. 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.
Prison life, fortunately, I spent a lot of years, about 18 years with other prisoners, and, as I say, they enriched your soul. From the beginning, Mandela and Tambo was besieged with clients.
We were not the only African lawyers in South Africa, but we were the only firm of African lawyers. For Africans, we were the firm of first choice and last resort. The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world. I never had time to sit and think. Let us give publicity to H. Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote.
They want political independence. I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists. Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality.
Nelson Mandela said Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.
I came across few whites as a boy at Qunu. The local magistrate, of course, was white, as was the nearest shopkeeper. Occasionally, white travelers or policemen passed through our area. These whites appeared as grand as gods to me, and I was aware that they were to be treated with a mixture of fear and respect. I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot.
Apart from life, a strong constitution, and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla. As an attorney, I could be rather flamboyant in court. When trying a case, I often made sweeping gestures and used high-flown language. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle.
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. I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. A bad free press is preferable to a technically good, subservient one. A leader who relies on authority to solve problems is bound to come to grief.
A man and wife usually discuss their most intimate problems in the bedroom. A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future. A willingness to make sacrifices for a loftier purpose was the unwritten code of the struggle. According to our custom, you marry the village and not the human being. After nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens.
It is in your hands now. All of us know how stubbornly racism can cling to the mind and how deeply it can infect the human soul. An organisation can only carry out its mandate if there is discipline, and where there is no discipline there can be no real progress. As long as you have an iron will you can turn misfortune into advantage.
Being latecomers to freedom and democracy, we have the benefit of the experience of others. Belief in the possibility of change and renewal is perhaps one of the defining characteristics of politics and of religions. Can we continue to tolerate our ancestors being shown as people locked in time? Cash handouts might sustain you for a few months, at the end of which your problems remain. Children are the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures. Conflict threatens not only the gains we have made but also our collective future.
For me, survival is the ability to cope with difficulties, with circumstances, and to overcome them. Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. Friendship and support from friends is something which is a source of tremendous inspiration always and to everyone. Good use of photography will give even poverty with all its rags, filth and vermin a measure of divineness rarely noticeable in real life.
Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. Here are the reins of the movement — protect and guard its precious legacy.
History shows that penalties do not deter men when their conscience is aroused. I am what I am, both as a result of people who respected me and helped me, and of those who did not respect me and treated me badly. I realized that they could take it all except my mind and heart. And I just made a decision not to give them away. I stand before you humbled by your courage with a heart full of love for all of you.
I step down with a clear conscience, feeling that I have in a small way done my duty to my people and my country. I will pass through this world but once, and I do not want to divert my attention from my task, which is to unite the nation.
If you are a politician, you must be prepared to suffer for your principles. If you are in harmony with yourself, you may meet a lion without fear, because he respects anyone with self-confidence. If you are not prepared to compromise, then you must not enter into, or think about, the process of negotiation at all. It becomes important, the older you get, to return to places where you have wonderful recollections. It is a mistake to think that a single individual can unite the country.
It is important to surround yourself with strong and independent personalities, who will tell you when you are getting old. It is not easy to talk about peace to people who are mourning every day. It would not be right to compare me to Gandhi. None of us could equal his dedication or his humility. Judge me not on how I have risen, but on how many times I have fallen and risen.
Let us keep our arms locked together so that we form a solid phalanx against racism. Make every home, every shack or rickety structure a centre of learning. Men must follow the dictates of their conscience irrespective of the consequences which might overtake them for it. My greatest regret in life is that I never became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Never forget the greatness of a nation that has overcome its division. Let us never descend into destructive divisiveness.
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. No organisation whose interests are identical with those of the toiling masses will advocate conciliation to win its demands. No people can boast more proudly of having ploughed a significant field in the struggle. No power on earth can stop an oppressed people determined to win their freedom. No true alliance can be built on the shifting sands of evasions, illusions, and opportunism.
None of us can be described as having virtues or qualities that raise him or her above others. None of us can insulate ourselves from so catastrophic a scale of human suffering. One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible. Our struggle is the struggle to erase the colour line that all too often determines who is rich and who is poor. Parents have the right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Peace and prosperity, tranquillity and security are only possible if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. Poverty is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.
Poverty still grips our people. Pride in our country is a common bond between us all. It is the essence of our new patriotism.
Respect for human life, liberty and well-being must be enshrined as rights beyond the power of any force to diminish. Some criticise us when we say that whilst we can forgive, we can never forget. Struggle that does not strengthen organisation can lead to a blind alley. Struggle without unity enables the other side to pick us off one by one. That is the nature of compromising: you can compromise on fundamental issues. The advantage of prison life is that you can sit and think and see yourself and your work from a distance.
The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action, and action at an unprecedented intensity and scale. The choice is not between freedom and justice on the one hand, and their opposite, on the other. The death sentence is a reflection of the animal instinct still in human beings. The great lesson of our time is that no regime can survive if it acts above the heads of the ordinary citizens of the country.
The hard slog of reconstruction and development is as exciting as the tremors of conflict. The mark of great leaders is the ability to understand the context in which they are operating and act accordingly. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for the stars.
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future. The question of education has nothing to do with the question of the vote. The reality can no longer be ignored that we live in an interdependent world which is bound together to a common destiny. The suffering of the people of any single country affects all of us no matter where we find ourselves.
The true character of a society is revealed in hot it treats its children. The whole purpose of a husband and wife is that when hard times knock at the door you should be able to embrace each other. The world is truly round and seems to start and end with those we love. The wounds that cannot be seen are more painful than those that can be treated by a doctor. There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.
There are men and women chosen to bring happiness into the hearts of people — those are the real heroes. There is always a danger that when there is no opposition, the governing party can become too arrogant — too confident of itself. There is nothing which makes people more appreciative of a government than that it should be able to deliver services. Thinking is one of the most important weapons in dealing with problems. Those who are ready to join hands can overcome the greatest challenges.
To deny any person their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To overthrow oppression has been sanctioned by humanity and is the highest aspiration of every free man. To this day we continue to lose some of the best among ourselves because the lights in the developed world shine brighter.
We can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. We do face major challenges, but none are as daunting as those we have already surmounted. We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom.
We must not continue to be debating, to be arguing, when people are dying. We operate in a world which is searching for a better life — without the imprisonment of dogma. We should treat the question of peace and stability on our continent as a common challenge. What is important is not only to attain victory for democracy, it is to retain democracy. Whatever my wishes might be, I cannot bind future generations to remember me in the particular way I would like.
When I have no visitors over weekends, I remain the whole day in my pyjamas and eat samp. When we read we are able to travel to many places, meet many people and understand the world. Whenever I am with energetic young people, I feel like a recharged battery.
With all our colours and races combined in one nation, we are an African people. Without the church, without religious institutions, I would never have been here today. Women today are very sensitive to men expressing opinions without consulting them. You are responsible for your own future, and with hard work you can accomplish anything and make your dreams come true. Mandela received more than awards, honours, honorary degrees from universities and other recognitions. Some of the most important ones are listed below:.
Nelson Mandela has written numerous books, mostly autobiographical ones that provide great insight into his life and help us understand better the horror of apartheid and the struggle for freedom.
Others include speeches, letters and quotes of him and address readers of all ages. Some of them are:. Continue reading. Your email address will not be published. Quotes Home » Personalities ». The grand struggle of the black patriots against the most hated regime of apartheid succeeded. There was a spectacular display of jets and the salute by the bedecked generals with ribbons to President Mandela.
The playing of the two national anthems symbolised a new regime based on equality irrespective of race and colour. Why was Nelson Mandela overwhelmed with a sense of history?
Give the birth and finally the burial of the apartheid regime in South Africa. On the day of the inauguration of the Republic, Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history. It was quite natural for a man who taught against the hated regime for decades.
After the Boer war, the white groups patched up their differences. They imposed the domination of the whites over the majority population of South Africa. The birth of the apartheid was the birth of one of the harshest and inhumane regimes in the world.
It was based on racial discrimination and oppression. Deep oppression and atrocities produced thousands of black patriots who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of their fellow men. The determined struggle of these black heroes ended in their victory. A democratically elected government headed by President Nelson Mandela was installed on the 10th of May, The apartheid regime, the whites created in South Africa, was one of the harshest and most inhumane societies the world has ever known.
The apartheid regime symbolised oppression, exploitation and an extraordinary human disaster. The white regime was based on racial discrimination. The blacks in South Africa were deprived of their rights, equality and human dignity.
After the Boer war, the white groups in South Africa patched up their differences. They imposed a system of racial discrimination against the black people of their own land. It was one of the harshest and most inhumane regimes the world has ever known. The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in South Africa and its people. Thousands of black patriots sacrificed their lives fighting for the rights and freedom of their people. Thousands of Tambos, Sisulus, Dads, Fishers and Sobukwes suffered deep oppression and tortures but never gave up their cause.
Ultimately, their struggles and sacrifices led the blacks to victory under Nelson Mandela. Their victory was a common victory of humanity, for peace, for justice and for human dignity. Which twin obligations does Nelson Mandela mention in the lesson? Why were he and the rest of blacks able to fulfil those obligations? Nelson Mandela that every man has twin obligations in life. The first obligation of a man is to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children.
He has another obligation also. He has an obligation to his people, his community and his country. Every man is to do his duty according to his situation and strength.
But in South Africa, it was impossible for a man like Mandela or other blacks to fulfil those obligations. Please share, but don't repost in its entirety.
Learn the important power of prioritizing sleep Subscribe today and receive a free e-book. You'll find out why high-functioning leaders take their sleep seriously and how you can find your way to satisfying, rejuvenating slumber. Skip Prichard is an accomplished CEO, growth-oriented business leader, and keynote speaker. He is known for his track record of successfully repositioning companies and dramatically improving results while improving the corporate culture. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Disclaimer Permissions Policy. Subscribe today and receive a free e-book. Ntando Mbatha and Skip Prichard. If you want to change your future, start here. Subscribe to Leadership Insights , the blog that transforms. The opposite could also be true. A moral system encompasses more than just behavior. It is the application of universal truths, from a personal perspective, that places the importance of individuality at some level of life.
Following a religion is a classic example of a moral system. It is a broad set of beliefs. For the Nelson Mandela leadership style, the situation is a little different.
The scope of the belief system is narrowed. Morality can form the basis of ethical leadership. Ethics, however, does not form the foundation of moral leadership. Nelson Mandela had a dream that his people would be free one day.
Here are some of the additional qualities and traits that Mandela exhibited during his time fighting against apartheid and later when he held political office. Although some people may disagree with the idea of violent protest, Mandela embraced the idea when it was needed because he felt like there were things that were morally right and morally wrong from a human standpoint. The minority white leadership in South Africa attempted to stay in power at all costs, often harming the majority population in untold ways in the name of justice.
Mandela taught us that there are times it is imperative to stand up and fight to protect your nation, community, and family.
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