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I realized that they could take everything from me except my mind and my heart. They could not take those things. Those things I still had control over. And I decided not to give them away.

Nelson Mandela

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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
Giving
Decided
Heart
Control
Mind
Away
Things
Stills
Give
Still
Everything
Realized
Take
Except

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We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society.
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It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people.
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To a freedom fighter hope is what a lifebelt is to a swimmer - a guarantee that one will keep afloat and free from danger.
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The challenge for each one of you is to take up these ideals of tolerance and respect for others and put them to practical use in your schools, your communities and throughout your lives.
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Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.
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[I] read Anne Frank's diary [while imprisoned] on Robben Island and derived much encouragement from it.
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You encourage people by seeing the good in them.
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The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!
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Individuals get caught up in the policy of their country. In prison, for instance, a warden or officer is not promoted if he doesn't follow the policy of the government - though he himself does not believe in that policy.
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Each of us, as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children
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There was much in such a society that was primitive and insecure and it certainly could never measure up to the demands of the present epoch. But in such a society are contained the seeds of revolutionary democracy in which none will be held in slavery.
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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.
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There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.
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In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.
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I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.
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I will use the rest of my life to help the poor overcome the problems confronting them - poverty is the greatest challenge facing humanity. That is why I build schools I want to free people from poverty and illiteracy.
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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.
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Apart from life, a strong constitusion and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla
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I was able to change my life by knowing that if somebody does something good for you, you have to respond.
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