In South Africa, I feel I am a stranger, at best an animal.
We believe it is comprehensive international sanctions against the white regime that will save us from the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of South Africans, black and white.
Interpretation
What this quote means
International sanctions are seen as a necessary measure to prevent violence and protect lives in South Africa.
This quote by Oliver Tambo emphasizes the imperative of implementing comprehensive international sanctions against the oppressive regime in South Africa. Tambo argues that such sanctions are crucial for saving the lives of countless individuals, regardless of their race, from the brutal violence that would result from maintaining the status quo of the white regime. The call for sanctions reflects a belief in collective action against injustice to foster change and protect human rights.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech advocating for human rights, this quote can highlight the need for international solidarity against oppressive regimes.
More from Oliver Tambo
All quotes βThe more pressure you bring from without, the less internal pressure is necessary.
The sanctions will not kill us. It's apartheid that's killing us.
How do you deal with a criminal that will not listen to what you have to say and who continues his policy of violence? Some say you continue to talk and let him tire himself out. But nearly 40 years after the institution of apartheid, is there anyone who still believes that verbal persuasion will work?
The U.S. is the last country that should see itself as an ally of the apartheid system.
It was of limited usefulness to head great rallies. The government did not listen, and, soon enough, the tear gas and the muzzles of the guns were turned against the people. The justice of our cries went unrecognized.
Similar quotes
I did say, at Chicago, in my speech there, that I do wish to see the spread of slavery arrested and to see it placed where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction.
So imagine a world 6 degrees warmer. It's not going to recognize geographical boundaries. It's not going to recognize anything. So agriculture regions today will be wiped out.
There comes not seldom a crisis in the life of men, of nations, and of worlds, when the old forms seem ready to decay, and the old rules of action have lost their binding force. The evils of existing systems obscure the blessings that attend them, and, where reform is needed, the cry is raised for subversion.
Unless one says goodbye to what one loves, and unless one travels to completely new territories, one can expect merely a long wearing away of oneself and an eventual extinction.
You want to change your life? Control the only thing you can control: the meaning you give something.
A political revolution must proceed simultaneously with the nationalist revolution. When we overthrow the Manchu regime, we will achieve not only a nationalist revolution against the Manchus but also a political revolution against monarchy. They are not to be carried out at two different times.