Quotes from Nelson Mandela

Men come and men go, I have come and I will go when my time comes

Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent

Intervention only works when the people concerned seem to be keen for peace.

As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.

If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.

One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible. Time and time again, conflicts are resolved through shifts that were unimaginable at the start.

Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.

Love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Poverty is not natural; it is man-made

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot.

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.

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.

The time has come to accept in our hearts and minds that with freedom comes responsibility.

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.

Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain enslaved by the chains of poverty. It is time to set them free.

I am not the only one who did not want revenge. Almost all my colleagues in prison did not want revenge, because there is no time to do anything else except to try and save your people.

Together as a nation, we have the obligation to put sunshine into the hearts of our little ones. They are our precious possessions. They deserve what happiness life can offer.

Where people of goodwill get together and transcend their differences for the common good, peaceful and just solutions can be found even for those problems which seem most intractable.

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

The world is truly round and seems to start and end with those we love.

AIDS is our number one enemy. This enemy can be defeated. While the research for a cure continues, four principles -- love, support, acceptance and care for those affected -- can make us winners.

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.

I have retired, but if there's anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do.

Communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of Communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements.