Quote

No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.

Nelson Mandela

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Nelson Mandela
Age: 95 †
Born: 1918
Born: July 18
Died: 2013
Died: December 5
Autobiographer
Former President Of South Africa
Lawyer
Political Activist
Political Prisoner
Politician
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Mandela
Prisoner 46664
Madiba
Inside
Prison
Inspiration
Inspiring
Jails
Nations
Compassion
Apartheid
Citizens
Prisoner
Truly
Lowest
Highest
Jail
Nation
Judged
Ones
Treats

More quotes by Nelson Mandela

Image
Before I went to jail, I was active in politics as a member of South Africa's leading organization - and I was generally busy from 7 A.M. until midnight. I never had time to sit and think.
Nelson Mandela
Image
My respect for human beings is based not on the colour of a man’s skin nor authority he may wield, but purely on merit.
Nelson Mandela
Image
We have introduced a democratic constitution, which put suvery South African on an equal basis.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I learned to have the patience to listen when people put forward their views, even if I think those views are wrong. You can't reach a just decision in a dispute unless you listen to both sides.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Children are the most important asset in a country. For them to become that asset, they must receive education and love from their parents.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson Mandela
Image
An initiative was essentially led by civil society because the policy of the government was that Africans must not be taught to graze in pastures which were reserved for the main white group.
Nelson Mandela
Image
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
Image
Our task is not to liberate the oppressed, but to liberate the oppressors
Nelson Mandela
Image
I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
Nelson Mandela
Image
My family is very large. 42 million.
Nelson Mandela
Image
As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems.
Nelson Mandela
Image
A new world will be won not by those who stand at a distance with their arms folded, but by those who are in the arena, whose garments are torn by storms and whose bodies are maimed in the course of the contest.
Nelson Mandela
Image
We need a fundamental change of mindset with regards to the way we speak and behave about sex and sexuality. Boys and men have a particularly critical role in this regard, changing the chauvinist and demeaning ways sexuality and women were traditionally dealt with in both our actions and speaking.
Nelson Mandela
Image
Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless.
Nelson Mandela
Image
The death sentence is a barbaric act . . . It is a reflection of the animal instinct still in human beings.
Nelson Mandela
Image
We don't have to be victims of our past, that we can let go of our bitterness, and that all of us can achieve greatness.
Nelson Mandela
Image
I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I, and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.
Nelson Mandela