Strong convictions are the secret of surviving deprivation; your spirit can be full even when your stomach is empty.

Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.

Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

I say to all those leaders, do not look the other way. Do not hesitate... It is within your power to avoid a genocide of humanity.

To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters' roll in a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony.