I remember we adjourned for lunch and a friendly Afrikaner…

I remember we adjourned for lunch and a friendly Afrikaner warder asked me the question, “Mandela, what do you think is going to happen to you in this case?” I said to him, “Agh, they are going to hang us.” Now, I was really expecting some word of encouragement from him. And I thought he was going to say, “Agh man, that can never happen.” But he became serious and then he said, “I think you are right, they are going to hang you.”

Sourced
Interview segment on All Things Considered (NPR ) broadcast (27 April 2004)

Other Nelson Mandela Quotes

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  • As we find ourselves in jobless economies, societies in which small minorities consume while the masses starve, we find ourselves forced to rethink the rationale of our current globalization and to ponder the Gandhian alternative.
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  • We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.
    We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. - View Quote Details on We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in…
  • The Gandhian influence dominated freedom struggles on the African continent right up to the 1960s because of the power it generated and the unity it forged among the apparently powerless. Nonviolence was the official stance of all major African coalitions, and the South African A.N.C. remained implacably opposed to violence for most of its existence. - View Quote Details on The Gandhian influence dominated freedom struggles on the African continent…
  • I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling contribution to the struggle for democracy. You have survived 40 years of unrelenting persecution. The memory of great communists like Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer and Moses Mabhida will be cherished for generations to come. - View Quote Details on I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling…
  • Far from the rough and tumble of the politics of our own country. I would like to take this opportunity to join the Norwegian Nobel Committee and pay tribute to my joint laureate. Mr. F.W. de Klerk.
    He had the courage to admit that a terrible wrong had been done to our country and people through the imposition of the system of apartheid.
    He had the foresight to understand and accept that all the people of South Africa must through negotiations and as equal participants in the process, together determine what they want to make of their future. - View Quote Details on Far from the rough and tumble of the politics of…
  • Tomorrow, the entire ANC leadership and I will be back at our desks. We are rolling up our sleeves to begin tackling the problems our country faces. We ask you all to join us — go back to your jobs in the morning. Let’s get South Africa working.
    For we must, together and without delay, begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This means creating jobs building houses, providing education and bringing peace and security for all. - View Quote Details on Tomorrow, the entire ANC leadership and I will be back…
  • India is Gandhi’s country of birth; South Africa his country of adoption. He was both an Indian and a South African citizen. Both countries contributed to his intellectual and moral genius, and he shaped the liberatory movements in both colonial theaters.
    He is the archetypal anticolonial revolutionary. His strategy of noncooperation, his assertion that we can be dominated only if we cooperate with our dominators, and his nonviolent resistance inspired anticolonial and antiracist movements internationally in our century. - View Quote Details on India is Gandhi’s country of birth; South Africa his country…
  • The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - View Quote Details on The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling,…
  • We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free.
    Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward. - View Quote Details on We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines…
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