RefugiumDescribe your own situationPerson · 1918–2013
Resistance leader, first democratically elected president of South Africa
Mandela's sentences carry weight because 27 years of imprisonment stand behind them. For each quote you will find the situation in which he said it – and how the story ended.
Born in 1918 in the village of Mvezo, Nelson Mandela became a lawyer and a leading figure of the resistance against apartheid. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, he spent 18 years on Robben Island. He was released in 1990, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and in 1994 was elected the first democratically chosen president of South Africa.
„It always seems impossible until it is done.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
When he walked free in 1990 after 27 years he was 71 years old. A peaceful transition was considered out of the question at the time; the country stood on the brink of civil war.
Four years later millions of South Africans voted in the first free election – many queued for hours in the sun. The impossible had been done, step by step.
„I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
In prison he broke limestone by day in the glare of the quarry, which permanently damaged his eyes, and slept at night in a cell of a few square metres.
Inside prison he organised classes for fellow inmates – Robben Island came to be called "the university". Fear became structure, and structure became dignity.
„Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
After his release many expected revenge. Instead he invited one of his former prison warders to his inauguration.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission under Desmond Tutu gave victims a voice instead of creating new victims, and became a global model for transitional justice.
„Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
Mandela completed his law degree by correspondence while in prison – books were periodically banned and writing materials rationed.
As president he made primary education free and compulsory. Millions of children went to school for the first time because a prisoner had never stopped learning.
„The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
Before his conviction he lived underground for years, was betrayed, lost trials, and his marriage broke under the strain of political work.
Every one of those setbacks is in his biography – and none of them was the end. His life is the proof that a fall does not write the final chapter.
„No one is born hating another person. People must learn to hate, and they can be taught to love.“
Nelson Mandela1918–2013
He wrote this in "Long Walk to Freedom", looking back on a system that had organised hatred by law.
At the 1995 Rugby World Cup final he wore the jersey of the Springboks, long seen as a white team – an image that changed a whole country's mind. Learned hatred can be unlearned.
Tell Refugium in your own words what is on your mind – you will get a quote and the true story behind it that fits precisely.
Describe your own situation