Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.
We must look within ourselves, become responsible and provide fresh solutions if we ever want to do more than complain,or make excuses.
Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.
There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you have the iron will and the neccessary skill.
South Africans must recall the terrible past so that we can deal with it, forgiving where forgiveness is necessary but never forgetting.
I came to accept that I have no right whatsoever to judge others in terms of my own customs, however much I may be proud of such customs.
Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial; and when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another.
Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless.
We can build a society grounded on friendship and our common humanity - a society founded on tolerance. That is the only road open to us.
These numbers are staggering, in fact incomprehensible. By all accounts, we are dealing with the greatest health crisis in human history.
Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.
It is time for the next generations to continue our struggle against social injustice and for the rights of humanity. It is in your hands.
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.
If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important - and you do that by being genuine and humble.
If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.
Children are the most important asset in a country. For them to become that asset, they must receive education and love from their parents.
The relations between a man and his or her god is a personal matter; you can't go out and challenge the belief of people in a superior being.
If there are activists in Cosas and they do poorly academically, then they would be cited as examples as to why others should not be in Cosas.
Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.
When you are behind bars with no hope of release, you need to find strength wherever you can. Personally, I found strength in Michael Jackson.
There's one place where (Fidel Castro’s) Cuba stands out head and shoulders above the rest – that is in its love for human rights and liberty!
There is nothing to popularize a person. Only humility, which is the ability to remain in the background and to put others in the front light.
There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous.
Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people.
There are many people who have worked just because they love the community in which they are in, without expecting any financial consideration.
We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.
Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them.
Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.
Justice and I became friends, though we were opposites in many ways - he was extroverted, I was introverted; he was lighthearted, I was serious.
There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.
I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses. We must never forget that it is our duty to protect this environment.
No problem is so deep that it cannot be overcome, given the will of all parties, through discussion and negotiation rather than force and violence.
History will surely judge us harshly if we do not respond with all the energy and resources that we can bring to bear in the fight against HIV/AIDS
Does anybody really think that they didn't get what they had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment?
I was neglected by my family because I had disappointed them - I'd run away from being forced into an arranged marriage, which was a big blow to them.
No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated. Any nation that is progressive is led by people who have had the privilege of studying.
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.
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
Who could doubt that sport is a crucial window for the propagation of fair play and justice? After all, fair play is a value that is essential to sport.
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.
As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.
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.
The history of struggle is rich with stories of heroes and heroines - some of them leaders, some of them followers, all of them deserve to be remembered.
What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
We must also know that even before liberation in 1994 there [in South Africa] were people with resources who tried to share with those who were deprived.
If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
When we dehumanise and demonise our opponents, we abandon the possibility of peacefully resolving our differences, and seek to justify violence against them.
A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.
The collapse of good conscience and the absence of accountability and public scrutiny have led to crimes against humanity and violations of international law.
I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.