Confidence alone does not make peace, but acknowledging rights and confidence do. Failure to recognize these rights creates a sense of injustice; it keeps the embers burning under the ashes.
Yasser ArafatRead
I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the duality of seeking peace while being prepared to fight for freedom.
Yasser Arafat's quote symbolizes the balance between diplomacy and the struggle for freedom. It conveys a powerful message that while one seeks peace (represented by the olive branch), the reality of conflict (represented by the gun for freedom) cannot be ignored. Arafat emphasizes the importance of not abandoning peaceful resolutions, even in the face of struggle, thus illustrating a complex relationship between peace and conflict.
Themes
PeaceFreedomConflictDiplomacyStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech on conflict resolution.
More from Yasser Arafat
All quotes βPalestine is the cement that holds the Arab world together, or it is the explosive that blows it apart.
Yasser ArafatRead
Similar quotes
So let us here resolve that Dag Hammarskjold did not live, or die, in vain. Let us call a truce to terror. Let us invoke the blessings of peace. And, as we build an international capacity to keep peace, let us join in dismantling the national capacity to wage war.
John F. KennedyRead
Peace is not just safety or lack of war, violence, conflict and contention. Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are, knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life's devastating trials and tragedies.
Quentin L. CookRead
No one has done more to prevent conflict - no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace - than you, America's proud missile submarine family. You stand tall among our heroes of the Cold War.
Colin PowellRead
...Any definition of a culture of peace must address the problem of achieving justice for communities and individuals who do not have the means to compete or cope without structured assistance and compassionate help.
Mahnaz AfkhamiRead
Even if my country remains in war with yours. . .remember. . . i am not your enemy.
A.J. CroninRead
Without peace and without the overwhelming majority of people that believe in peace defending it, working for it, believing in it, security can never really be a reality.
King Hussein IRead