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
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
When I was 5, some financial things happened, and I moved seven times in a year. We moved from apartment to apartment, sometimes living with friends. My mom would always say, 'Don't get comfortable, because we may not be here long.'
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
We can almost recycle everything now. If we lived within our means, by being prudent, the 7 billion people in the world could have everything they needed. Global politics should be moving in that direction. But we think as people and countries, not as a species.
The very notion that millions of workers displaced by the re-engineering and automation of the agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors can be retrained to be scientists, engineers, technicians, executives, consultants, teachers, lawyers and the like, and then somehow find the appropriate number of job openings in the very narrow high-tech sector, seems at best a pipe dream, and at worst a delusion.
That night I lie out under the stars again. The Pleiades are there winking at me. I am no longer on my way from one place to another. I have changed lives. My life now is as black and white as night and day; a life of fierce struggle under the sun, and peaceful reflection under the night sky. I feel as though I am floating on a raft far, far away from any world I ever knew.