Nelson Mandela citáty

page 5

„Keď je človeku odopreté právo žiť život, ktorému verí, nemá inú možnosť, ako sa stať zločincom.“

„Byť slobodný totiž neznamená len zbaviť sa vlastných pút, ale žiť tak, aby sme rešpektovali a posilňovali slobodu druhých.“

„Vzdelanie je najsilnejšia zbraň, ktorú môžeme použiť na zmenu sveta.“

„Pri príprave na cestu vpred nezabudnite osláviť míľniky.“

„Ak sa k mužovi prihovoríte jazykom, ktorému rozumie, pochopí to a pôjde mu to do hlavy. Ak sa s ním začnete rozprávať jeho jazykom, zachová si to vo svojom srdci.“

„Vždy sa to zdá nemožným… až kým to neurobíš.“

„Po tom, čo sa vyštveráš na vysoký kopec, zistíš, že máš pred sebou ešte mnoho ďalších, na ktoré treba výjsť.“

„Nie je nič lepšie ako vrátiť sa na miesto, ktoré sa nezmenilo, a zistiť, ako ste sa zmenili vy.“

„Hra na malého nie je vôbec vášnivá - ako ani uspokojenie sa so životom, ktorý je menší ako ten, ktorý by ste boli schopní žiť.“

„A keď necháme zažiariť svoje vlastné svetlo, nevedome dávame ostatným ľuďom povolenie, aby urobili to isté.“

„Skutoční vodcovia musia byť pripravení obetovať všetko za slobodu svojho ľudu.“

„Nikdy som nepovažoval žiadneho muža za svojho nadriadeného, ani mimo väzenia, ani vo väzení.“

“Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.”

“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.”

“But the violence which we chose to adopt was not terrorism. We who formed Umkhonto were all members of the African National Congress, and had behind us the ANC tradition of non-violence and negotiation as a means of solving political disputes. We believe that South Africa belongs to all the people who live in it, and not to one group, be it black or white. We did not want an interracial war, and tried to avoid it to the last minute. If the Court is in doubt about this, it will be seen that the whole history of our organization bears out what I have said, and what I will subsequently say, when I describe the tactics which Umkhonto decided to adopt.”

“I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if the Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders.”

“A man does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards, but when I was notified that I had won the 1993 Nobel peace prize jointly with Mr. F. W. de Klerk, I was deeply moved. The Nobel Peace Prize had a special meaning for me because of its involvement with South Africa… The award was a tribute to all South Africans, and especially to those who fought in the struggle; I would accept it on their behalf.”

“The Gandhian influence dominated freedom struggles on the African continent right up to the 1960s because of the power it generated and the unity it forged among the apparently powerless. Nonviolence was the official stance of all major African coalitions, and the South African A. N. C. remained implacably opposed to violence for most of its existence.”

“Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.”

“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.”

“When in 1977, the United Nations passed the resolution inaugurating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, it was asserting the recognition that injustice and gross human rights violations were being perpetrated in Palestine. In the same period, the UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians; without the resolution of conflicts in East Timor, the Sudan and other parts of the world.”

“We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free.
Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward.”

“Tomorrow, the entire ANC leadership and I will be back at our desks. We are rolling up our sleeves to begin tackling the problems our country faces. We ask you all to join us — go back to your jobs in the morning. Let's get South Africa working.
For we must, together and without delay, begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This means creating jobs building houses, providing education and bringing peace and security for all.”

“This is one of the most important moments in the life of our country. I stand here before you filled with deep pride and joy: — pride in the ordinary, humble people of this country. You have shown such a calm, patient determination to reclaim this country as your own, - and joy that we can loudly proclaim from the rooftops — free at last!”

“There is one compromise and one only, and that is the United Nations. If the United States and Britain go to the United Nations and the United Nations says we have concrete evidence of the existence of these weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and we feel that we must do something about it, we would all support it. … 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. And of course we must consider the men and the women around the president. Gen. Colin Powell commanded the United States army in peacetime and in wartime during the Gulf war. He knows the disastrous effect of international tension and war, when innocent people are going to die, young men are going to die. He knows and he showed this after September 11 last year. He went around briefing the allies of the United States of America and asking for their support for the war in Afghanistan. Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, they are people who are unfortunately misleading the president. Because my impression of the president is that this is a man with whom you can do business. But it is the men who around him who are dinosaurs, who do not want him to belong to the modern age.”

“Together, we join two distinguished South Africans, the late Chief Albert Lutuli and His Grace Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to whose seminal contributions to the peaceful struggle against the evil system of apartheid you paid well-deserved tribute by awarding them the Nobel Peace Prize. It will not be presumptuous of us if we also add, among our predecessors, the name of another outstanding Nobel Peace Prize winner, the late Rev Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Exercise dissipates tension, and tension is the enemy of serenity. I found that I worked better and thought more clearly when I was in good physical condition, and so training became one of the inflexible disciplines of my life.”

“Coloured communities would like to see coloured representatives. That is not racism, that is how nature works.”

“The collapse of education is a collapse of the nation.”

“It always seems impossible until it's done.”

“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

“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.”

“Experience is the best legacy men could possess and never desert in life.”