"Was it not enough punishment and suffering in history that we were uprooted and made helpless slaves not only in new colonial outposts but also domestically"
- Robert Mugabe
About this Quote
This quote by Robert Mugabe talks to the suffering and penalty withstood by African individuals throughout history. He is referring to the transatlantic servant trade, which rooted out countless African people from their houses and forced them into slavery in new colonial outposts. He is also describing the domestic enslavement of African people within their own countries, which was a common practice in numerous African countries. Mugabe is expressing his outrage at the injustice of this history and the suffering it triggered. He is calling for recognition of the discomfort and suffering withstood by African people, and for justice to be served. He is also calling for an end to the systemic racism and injustice that African individuals continue to deal with today. This quote works as a suggestion of the value of recognizing the history of African individuals and the requirement to fight for justice and equality.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
"The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it"
"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"
"It is humiliating to remain with our hands folded while others write history. It matters little who wins. To make a people great it is necessary to send them to battle even if you have to kick them in the pants. That is what I shall do"
