Sunday, December 8, 2013

Christo Brand, Nelson Mandela's Robben Island Jailer, Mourns His Friend's Death, Pushes for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembers the Freedom Icon

Let us continue what Paul Walker started. Join, donate, and contribute to his charity, ROWW.org

Rest in Peace, Paul Walker and Nelson Mandela: Two Angels Up in Heaven

Paul Walker and his Reach out Worldwide teams arrived in Haiti 5 days after the 2010 quake through Dominican Republic. ROWW.org or Reachoutworldwide.wordpress.com is a network of professionals with first responder skill-sets who augment local expertise when natural disasters strike in order to accelerate relief efforts. With the assistance of his best friend, Roger Rodas, a financial planner, Paul founded Reach Out Worldwide after returning from Haiti. Paul Walker and his ROWW members were helping in Oklahoma tornado, Illinois tornadoes, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and Tuscaloosa in Alabama.

"The Fast and the Furious" Super Star

R.I.P Madiba (Tata) and Paul Walker!. Christo Brand who was the jailer of Nelson Mandela at Robben Island, remembers his friend. He is mourning his death. He said that Mandela who was older than he was became a father figure for him. Mandela encouraged him to complete his education and always cared about asking for his family's health. Both men lost a son. Mandela did not forget about the jailer who gave him bread and his favorite hair pomade after he was released and became President of South Africa. He kept in touch with him and made sure that he was close to him. Christo Brand took his family and grandchildren to see him in his old days. They told each other stories and relaxed.

Find Nelson Mandela's Poems, Quotes, and speeches

Purchase a copy of this ebook to pay tribute to the freedom icon and global statesman.

Nelson Mandela's Poetric Biography - How to Live Before You Die - Best Business Quotes, Experience Leadership Academy, and Freedom Struggle

Kevin Levin wrote a bestselling ebook on Paul Walker's charitable works and efforts in Haiti, Chile, Joplin, Alabama, Oklahoma, and the Philippines Typhoon.

If you want to contribute to his work, do so at www.ROWW.org or Reachoutworldwide.wordpress.com

Buy this ebook which is a tribute to his short life now.

Paul Walker, The Angel Who Touched and Healed Natural Disaster and Quake Survivors - Paul Walker 1973-2013 as Eternally Young, Kind, and Famous as James Dean and JFK.

In this ebook, Kevin wrote about how the racing world and sports car owners and fans lost a friend and a good human being in the tragic accident that took the life of the 'Fast and Furious' super star.

Here is what others are saying about Paul Walker's Charity and Relief Efforts

Paul Walker and his relief work team in Haiti, five days after 2010 quake.

“Paul wasn’t someone who would just write a check and lend his name to an organization; he was the heart and soul of REACH OUT Worldwide. Paul was the first one in and the last one out, he led by example and his hard work and dedication inspired everyone who had the privilege of working with him. He led one of the first teams into the hardest hit areas of Haiti and traveled to Chile to bring water, medical aid and hope after the Earthquake and Tsunami.

“He ran a chainsaw clearing debris and helping people get back into their homes during the hottest days after the tornadoes in Alabama… Some people play a hero, Paul was a hero. Paul was an honorable, hardworking, dedicated, respectful man with a humble spirit who shared his blessings with those who needed it most. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to work with, learn and look up to someone who walked the walk”, said JD Dorfman from REACH OUT Worldwide after Walker’s death.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Invictus, Nelson Mandela's Poetry and Philosophy: Poems Written for Rolihlahla, Poems Written and Inspired by Tata

Robben Island: Invictus / Unconquered

I am Rolihlahla Mandela
I am Nelson Mandela
I am the First Accused
I am ready to die for my people’s freedom and rights
Though my body may be locked in this cell, by these walls,
My mind roams free all over South Africa
These walls and this prison cannot contain the people’s ideas
Freedom beckons them.
I am Rolihlahla Mandela
I am Nelson Mandela
I told P.W. Botha and F. W. de Klerk that my people yearned to be free
I negotiated with them behind the walls of Robben Island
Even though I had my hands tied behind my back, even though the arduous work load would become unbearable, I did not lose hope
Breaking rocks days in and days out was not a picnic
God bless all men and women who yearn to be free!
God bless South Africa! God bless Qunu!
My time has come. Other great men will follow the long fight for freedom and justice for all


======================


Book Review



Tables of Content
1, Purest Form of Gold: A Long Journey to Freedom Day
2. What is like to be Free? Nelson Mandela’s Freedom
3, Awupatha: We Shall Not Be Dominated
4. Robben Island
5. Life Celebration
6. Tribute to all the Comrades:
Mandela Pays Tribute to the Martyrs of the Struggle
7. Rolihlahla, the “Troublemaker” for the Right Cause
8. Robben Island: Thrown into the Heart of Darkness
9. Robben Island: From Darkness to Light
10. Men Made of Gold: My Respect and Tribute
11. God Bless Africa!
12. Apartheid: The Idiocy of It All
13. Bullies’ Indignities: Down with all Bullies
14. Time to Breathe Fresh

Purchase a PDF copy of this ebook now






Purchase a copy of "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How To Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle" from Barnes and Noble now


Purchase a copy of this book "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die, Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle right here





Bullies’ Indignities: Down with all Bullies

Think again if you thought bullies had a tough skin. They are paper mache
Like cheetahs that stalk their prey, soon they give up the chase
And when confronted by alpha lions or even hyenas, they leave their kill or target
Like hyenas and vultures, bullies are opportunistic scavengers
Bullies do not have the stomach to fight a protracted fight because they know they are wrong. Sooner or later, they will crack under the pressure and spotlight
Bullies have a brittle but fragile exterior. They lack the moral standards
They are show horses. Clydesdale horses they are not!
Bullies are boys or girls in transition. They are spoiled brats who need discipline and guidance
Put them in front of natural hardships. They’ll crumble like sheets of paper
The natural men live in harmony with their surroundings. They share, support, mentor, and nurture the young minds
True men have natural obligations and bring honor to their birthplace
They build stuff with their hands and mind. They hunt, build a fire, roast a pig or a goat, eat the ears of corns from their garden
True men sit around under the stars to tell tales, boast about their conquests and prowess. Long live the natural men and women among us!

Bestselling eBook in Remembrance of Nelson Mandela: Tata is Dead. A Real Freedom Fighter arose from Robben Island's Heart of Darkness to Global Statesma

Book Review





Tables of Content
1, Purest Form of Gold: A Long Journey to Freedom Day
2. What is like to be Free? Nelson Mandela’s Freedom
3, Awupatha: We Shall Not Be Dominated
4. Robben Island
5. Life Celebration
6. Tribute to all the Comrades:
Mandela Pays Tribute to the Martyrs of the Struggle
7. Rolihlahla, the “Troublemaker” for the Right Cause
8. Robben Island: Thrown into the Heart of Darkness
9. Robben Island: From Darkness to Light
10. Men Made of Gold: My Respect and Tribute
11. God Bless Africa!
12. Apartheid: The Idiocy of It All
13. Bullies’ Indignities: Down with all Bullies
14. Time to Breathe Fresh

Purchase a PDF copy of this ebook now






Purchase a copy of "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How To Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle" from Barnes and Noble now

Purchase a copy of 'Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle' from Amazon Kindle now

Purchase a copy of this book "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die, Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle right here


Nelson Mandela’s Poetic Biography:
Best Quotes, Leadership Academy and Freedom Struggle

Rodriguez's Music Pays Tribute to Nelson Mandela: Famous Musician's Songwriting and Philosophy Inspired by Nelson Mandela's Freedom Fights and Reconciliation

Answering a question asked by a journalist over the lack of royalties Rodriguez has not received for over 40 years, he replied, "“Hate is too strong an emotion to waste on somebody you don’t like..."

You can purchase a copy of this ebook right here: Sixto Diaz Rodriguez's Philosophy: Rodriguez's eBook Guide to Happiness

Rodriguez writes and sings about some universal themes. Most importantly, he writes about the subjects any Detroiter or any resident of Michigan can relate to. He writes about the people who inhabit his surroundings. Just like Philip Levine's body of works, Rodriguez writes about the working-class Detroit and the motif of the heartland. Rodriguez's songs are timeless and insightful. They are about drugs, love, lust, power, human frailty, greed, the rich and poor, the cry of children, the oppressed and the oppressor. No wonder that his music made him as popular if not more popular than Elvis, Dylan, and the Beatles put together in places such as South Africa and Australia. Rodriguez is the true example of the man who is not recognized by his own people but is made hero in another culture or beyond his own borders. He is a genius. A giant. A superhero anywhere else but his own country.

Thanks to Steven Segerman (sugarman pronounced by some) and the South African fans!

Thanks to Malik Bendjelloul for Searching for Sugar Man!

The PDF copy of this ebook is available below:

Book Review

"Sixto Diaz Rodriguez’s Philosophy: Rodriguez’s eBook Guide to Happiness" is about the man, the legend, and the genius who was not aware of his Rock and Roll fame in other parts of the world. It is about Jesus Rodriguez. Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the folk musician from Detroit, Michigan who has been given a rebirth thanks to the efforts of two South Africans who launched a search party to find out what happened to their favorite singer and song-writer. Rodriguez, as he prefers to be called now, produced two albums, Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, respectively in 1971 and 1972. They received rave reviews, but they did not sell enough copies. Bootleggers managed to take copies to South Africa and Australia where Rodriguez has had a huge following. He did not know about his popularity on those shores. He was busy demolishing and remodeling homes in the United States to make a living. Music was not paying his bills. The release of this movie/documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" was going to change things. As they say, the rest is just history.

Listening to the poetic tunes and great music of Rodriguez, one cannot help but make the comparison between Dylan, Donovan, Phil Ochs and Lou Reed, Jim Morrison, James Taylor, Nick Drake or Elvis. It may be time for the man to receive his public accolades and due! Rodriguez is the true legend!

For most white South Africans (Afrikaners) and black South Africans, Rodriguez was both a prophet and a messiah thanks to his music. Rodriguez's powerful lyrics of repression and protest caught up among the youth of South Africa which was under the apartheid regime.

Sample his music!

Nelson Mandela: R.I.P, Tata! Icon of Reconciliation and Forgiveness, Apartheid Fighter, a Symbol of Sacrifice, Champion of Freedom and Justice



Book Review





Tables of Content
1. Purest Form of Gold: A Long Journey to Freedom Day
2. What is it like to be Free? Nelson Mandela’s Freedom
3, Awupatha: We Shall Not Be Dominated
4. Robben Island
5. Life Celebration
6. Tribute to all the Comrades:
Mandela Pays Tribute to the Martyrs of the Struggle
7. Rolihlahla, the “Troublemaker” for the Right Cause
8. Robben Island: Thrown into the Heart of Darkness
9. Robben Island: From Darkness to Light
10. Men Made of Gold: My Respect and Tribute
11. God Bless Africa!
12. Apartheid: The Idiocy of It All
13. Bullies’ Indignities: Down with all Bullies
14. Time to Breathe Fresh

Purchase a PDF copy of this ebook now






Purchase a copy of "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How To Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle" from Barnes and Noble now

Purchase a copy of 'Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle' from Amazon Kindle now


Purchase a copy of this book "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die, Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle right here



Nelson Mandela’s Poetic Biography:
Best Quotes, Leadership Academy and Freedom Struggle
Foreword:
As long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by freedom fighters and human rights activists. They are men and women who seek to redress the wrongs of their societies. I am talking about men such as the various African kings who fought hard to turn back the tides of slavery and occupation of their homeland, Abraham Lincoln who fought to keep the Union intact and ultimately emancipate the American slaves, Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Petion, Henri Christophe, Jean Francois Biassou and many others who fought to liberate St. Domingue (Santo Domingo) and create the first black republic in the world, Haiti, Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks, and countless others who fought in the Civil Rights Movement. The list of those who sacrificed their lives, possessions, and families for the freedom of the People, their people and complete strangers, is very long.

Nelson Mandela follows in the footsteps of all those heroes. He knew that South Africa could treat her sons and daughters better. He also knew that there were many other men and women from all ethnic and racial backgrounds who were feeling oppressed by the nationalist agenda. If the majority was not free, the minority was not either. Finding time and devising ways to redress the wrongs and indignities directed to the dark-skinned members of the society would have to take place over time. Little did he then know that the personal cost of his commitment would be very high and arduous!

Nelson Mandela knew that he had to give up everything to launch himself into the Freedom Struggle. He figuratively became a sacrificial lamb for the cause. Many others stopped bullets with their own skin and body only to depart the struggle at a very young and promising age. The non-violent revolution was not fought without bloodshed orchestrated by the apartheid regime. Wrongful accusations and imprisonments were common. And Nelson Mandela and many of his comrades would spend more than 27 years in prison. Many South Africans and sympathizers all over the world were also suffering along with the convicted ANC members. After all, if one was in jail, all were in jail. With hammers, they crushed stones. They were sent to the lime quarry. Their determination to the cause could not be crushed despite the forced labor they endured. Despite the situation, they managed to study and educate themselves at the Robben Island University (the prison).

In this booklet, you will read about the true measures and characters of men and women who survived the most brutal attacks against their persona but who coped and ended up surviving only to finally triumph. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. The warders as well as the prisoners were not free. So many times, the warders had to defer to Nelson Mandela and his group in many areas.




Extracts from Nelson Mandela's Famous Speeches: Great Orator, Public Speaker, Freedom Fighter, and an Angel

FROM HIS ADDRESS to the conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa, Addis Ababa, January 1962.

"South Africa is now a land ruled by the gun. The government is increasing the size of its army, of the navy, of its air force, and the police. Pill-boxes and road blocks are being built up all over the country. Armament factories are being set up in Johannesburg and other cities. Officers of the South African army have visited Algeria and Angola where they were briefed exclusively on methods of suppressing popular struggles. All opportunities for peaceful agitation and struggle have been closed. Africans no longer have the freedom even to stay peacefully in their houses in protest against the oppressive policies of the government. During the strike in May last year the police went from house to house, beating up Africans and driving them to work.

"Hence it is understandable why today many of our people are turning their faces away from the path of peace and non-violence. They feel that peace in our country must be considered already broken when a minority government maintains its authority over the majority by force and violence.

"A crisis is developing in earnest in South Africa. However, no high command ever announces beforehand what its strategy and tactics will be to meet a situation. Certainly, the days of civil disobedience, of strikes, and mass demonstrations are not over and we will resort to them over and over again.

"But a leadership commits a crime against its own people if it hesitates to sharpen its political weapons which have become less effective." ---


FROM HIS ADDRESS to a Pretoria magistrate after his conviction for inciting a strike and leaving the country without a passport, November 1962.

"I do not believe, Your Worship, that this court, in inflicting penalties on me for the crimes for which I am convicted, should be moved by the belief that penalties deter men from the course that they believe is right. History shows that penalties do not deter men when their conscience is aroused, nor will they deter my people or the colleagues with whom I have worked before.

"I am prepared to pay the penalty even though I know how bitter and desperate is the situation of an African in the prisons of this country. I have been in these prisons and I know how gross is the discrimination, even behind the prison walls, against Africans, how much worse is the treatment meted out to African prisoners than that accorded to whites. Nevertheless, these considerations do not sway me from the path that I have taken, nor will they sway others like me. For to men, freedom in their own land is the pinnacle of their ambitions, from which nothing can turn men of conviction aside. More powerful than my fear of the dreadful conditions to which I might be subjected is my hatred for the dreadful conditions to which my people are subjected outside prison throughout this country.

"I hate the practice of race discrimination, and in my hatred I am sustained by the fact that the overwhelming majority of mankind hate it equally. I hate the systematic inculcation of children with colour prejudice and I am sustained in that hatred by the fact that the overwhelming majority of mankind, here and abroad, are with me in that. I hate the racial arrogance which decrees that the good things of life shall be retained as the exclusive right of a minority of the population, and which reduces the majority of the population to a position of subservience and inferiority, and maintains them as voteless chattels to work where they are told and behave as they are told by the ruling minority. I am sustained in that hatred by the fact that the overwhelming majority of mankind both in this country and abroad are with me.

"Nothing that this court can do to me will change in any way that hatred in me, which can only be removed by the removal of the injustice and the inhumanity which I have sought to remove from the political and social life of this country.

"Whatever sentence Your Worship sees fit to impose upon me for the crime for which I have been convicted before this court, may it rest assured that when my sentence has been completed I will still be moved, as men are always moved, by their consciences; I will still be moved by my dislike of the race discrimination against my people when I come out from serving my sentence, to take up again, as best I can, the struggle for the removal of those injustices until they are finally abolished once and for all."


FROM HIS STATEMENT from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the Rivonia trial, Pretoria Supreme Court, April 20 1964.

"Africans want to be paid a living wage. Africans want to perform work which they are capable of doing, and not work which the Government declares them to be capable of. Africans want to be allowed to live where they obtain work, and not be endorsed out of an area because they were not born there. Africans want to be allowed to own land in places where they work, and not to be obliged to live in rented houses which they can never call their own. Africans want to be part of the general population, and not confined to living in their own ghettoes. African men want to have their wives and children to live with them where they work, and not be forced into an unnatural existence in men's hostels. African women want to be with their menfolk and not be left permanently widowed in the Reserves. Africans want to be allowed out after eleven o'clock at night and not to be confined to their rooms like little children. Africans want to be allowed to travel in their own country and to seek work where they want to and not where the Labour Bureau tells them to. Africans want a just share in the whole of South Africa; they want security and a stake in society.

"Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy.

"But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

"This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." ---


FROM HIS SPEECH in acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with FW de Klerk, Oslo, 1993.

"At the southern tip of the continent of Africa, a rich reward is in the making, an invaluable gift is in the preparation, for those who suffered in the name of all humanity when they sacrificed everything - for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfilment.

"This reward will not be measured in money. Nor can it be reckoned in the collective price of the rare metals and precious stones that rest in the bowels of the African soil we tread in the footsteps of our ancestors. It will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of the children, at once the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures.

"The children must, at last, play in the open veld, no longer tortured by the pangs of hunger or ravaged by disease or threatened with the scourge of ignorance, molestation and abuse, and no longer required to engage in deeds whose gravity exceeds the demands of their tender years.

"In front of this distinguished audience, we commit the new South Africa to the relentless pursuit of the purposes defined in the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.

"The reward of which we have spoken will and must also be measured by the happiness and welfare of the mothers and fathers of these children, who must walk the earth without fear of being robbed, killed for political or material profit, or spat upon because they are beggars.

"They too must be relieved of the heavy burden of despair which they carry in their hearts, born of hunger, homelessness and unemployment.

"The value of that gift to all who have suffered will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of all the people of our country, who will have torn down the inhuman walls that divide them.

"These great masses will have turned their backs on the grave insult to human dignity which described some as masters and others as servants, and transformed each into a predator whose survival depended on the destruction of the other.

"The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race, will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise.

"Thus shall we live, because we will have created a society which recognises that all people are born equal, with each entitled in equal measure to life, liberty, prosperity, human rights and good governance." ---


FROM HIS ADDRESS on his inauguration as president, Pretoria, May 10 1994.

"The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.

"We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.

"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.

"As a token of its commitment to the renewal of our country, the new Interim Government of National Unity will, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of amnesty for various categories of our people who are currently serving terms of imprisonment.

"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. We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist government.

"We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.

"Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all."

A Tribute to Global Statesman Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela or Madiba, Long Walk to Freedom, Autobiography, Poetry, Civil Rights, and Fights for Justice and Reconciliation



Book Review





Tables of Content
1. Purest Form of Gold: A Long Journey to Freedom Day
2. What is it like to be Free? Nelson Mandela’s Freedom
3, Awupatha: We Shall Not Be Dominated
4. Robben Island
5. Life Celebration
6. Tribute to all the Comrades:
Mandela Pays Tribute to the Martyrs of the Struggle
7. Rolihlahla, the “Troublemaker” for the Right Cause
8. Robben Island: Thrown into the Heart of Darkness
9. Robben Island: From Darkness to Light
10. Men Made of Gold: My Respect and Tribute
11. God Bless Africa!
12. Apartheid: The Idiocy of It All
13. Bullies’ Indignities: Down with all Bullies
14. Time to Breathe Fresh

Purchase a PDF copy of this ebook now






Purchase a copy of "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How To Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle" from Barnes and Noble now

Purchase a copy of 'Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die - Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle' from Amazon Kindle now


Purchase a copy of this book "Nelson Mandela's Poetic Biography: How to Live Before You Die, Experience Leadership Academy, Best Business Quotes and Freedom Struggle right here



Nelson Mandela’s Poetic Biography:
Best Quotes, Leadership Academy and Freedom Struggle
Foreword:
As long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by freedom fighters and human rights activists. They are men and women who seek to redress the wrongs of their societies. I am talking about men such as the various African kings who fought hard to turn back the tides of slavery and occupation of their homeland, Abraham Lincoln who fought to keep the Union intact and ultimately emancipate the American slaves, Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Petion, Henri Christophe, Jean Francois Biassou and many others who fought to liberate St. Domingue (Santo Domingo) and create the first black republic in the world, Haiti, Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks, and countless others who fought in the Civil Rights Movement. The list of those who sacrificed their lives, possessions, and families for the freedom of the People, their people and complete strangers, is very long.

Nelson Mandela follows in the footsteps of all those heroes. He knew that South Africa could treat her sons and daughters better. He also knew that there were many other men and women from all ethnic and racial backgrounds who were feeling oppressed by the nationalist agenda. If the majority was not free, the minority was not either. Finding time and devising ways to redress the wrongs and indignities directed to the dark-skinned members of the society would have to take place over time. Little did he then know that the personal cost of his commitment would be very high and arduous!

Nelson Mandela knew that he had to give up everything to launch himself into the Freedom Struggle. He figuratively became a sacrificial lamb for the cause. Many others stopped bullets with their own skin and body only to depart the struggle at a very young and promising age. The non-violent revolution was not fought without bloodshed orchestrated by the apartheid regime. Wrongful accusations and imprisonments were common. And Nelson Mandela and many of his comrades would spend more than 27 years in prison. Many South Africans and sympathizers all over the world were also suffering along with the convicted ANC members. After all, if one was in jail, all were in jail. With hammers, they crushed stones. They were sent to the lime quarry. Their determination to the cause could not be crushed despite the forced labor they endured. Despite the situation, they managed to study and educate themselves at the Robben Island University (the prison).

In this booklet, you will read about the true measures and characters of men and women who survived the most brutal attacks against their persona but who coped and ended up surviving only to finally triumph. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. The warders as well as the prisoners were not free. So many times, the warders had to defer to Nelson Mandela and his group in many areas.