--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am convinced that the world-wide…" description: "\"I am convinced that the world-wide protests during the Rivonia trial saved Mandela and his fellow-accused from a death sentence. But in South Africa, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/oliver-tambo-11472_death_i-am-convinced-that-the-world-wide-prote_242702.jpg" --- # I am convinced that the world-wide protests during the… ![“I am convinced that the world-wide protests during the Rivonia trial saved Mandela and his fellow-accused from a death sentence. But in South Africa, a life sentence means imprisonment until death - or until the defeat of the government which holds these men prisoner.” quote by Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/oliver-tambo-11472_death_i-am-convinced-that-the-world-wide-prote_242702.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/oliver-tambo-11472_death_i-am-convinced-that-the-world-wide-prote_242702.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/446/oliver-tambo-11472_death_i-am-convinced-that-the-world-wide-prote_242702.jpg) > “I am convinced that the world-wide protests during the Rivonia trial saved Mandela and his fellow-accused from a death sentence. But in South Africa, a life sentence means imprisonment until death - or until the defeat of the government which holds these men prisoner.” [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Global protests pressured the apartheid regime, influencing the outcome of the Rivonia trial and preventing capital punishment for Mandela and co‑defendants. **In simple terms:** World protests helped avoid death sentences for Mandela and others. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of international solidarity. Themes political activism justice solidarity Mood determined hopeful Type historical political When to use this quote - anti‑apartheid campaigns - human rights advocacy - legal defense - public demonstrations Key Concepts human rights legal strategy public pressure Questions to Reflect On - How can modern movements harness global support effectively? - What limits does external pressure face? A Different Perspective International pressure may not always change outcomes; local dynamics matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-sentence/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-sentence-350551/) [Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mandela/) [Means Imprisonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-imprisonment-2429806/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Protests Rivonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protests-rivonia-2429805/) [Saved Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saved-mandela-2429804/) ## Related quotes > [A death sentence will be issued, a death sentence will be implemented. A life sentence will be issued, a life sentence will be implemented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-morsi/a-death-sentence-will-be-issued-a-death-sentence-will-be-implemented/) [Mohammed Morsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-morsi/) > [Many men would take the death-sentence without a whimper, to escape the life-sentence which fate carries in her other hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-men-would-take-the-death-sentence-without-a-whimper-to-escape/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The popularity of leaders like Mandela was an invitation to counter-attack by the government. Mandela was banned from speaking, from attending gatherings, from leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-popularity-of-leaders-like-mandela-was-an-invitation-to-counter/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [We are all serving a life sentence, and good behavior is our only hope for a pardon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-horton/we-are-all-serving-a-life-sentence-and-good-behavior-is-our-only-hope/) [Douglas Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-horton/) > [“The past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-rankine/the-past-is-a-life-sentence-a-blunt-instrument-aimed-at-tomorrow/) [Claudia Rankine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-rankine/) > [Being a parent is a life sentence. From the day that kid is born until the day you die and then some. Mom, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/being-a-parent-is-a-life-sentence-from-the-day-that-kid-is-born-until/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/and-we-are-quotation-marks-inverted-and-upside-down-clinging-to-one/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [Some people are like a defeated warrior: they accept the defeat, go to work, go back home, watch TV silently. That is like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burhan-sonmez/some-people-are-like-a-defeated-warrior-they-accept-the-defeat-go-to/) [Burhan Sonmez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burhan-sonmez/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [“Christianity Life sentence with a death penalty and full pardon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-sheehan/christianity-life-sentence-with-a-death-penalty-and-full-pardon/) [John M. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-sheehan/) > [“Health is a Lifestyle, not a Life Sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tora-cullip/health-is-a-lifestyle-not-a-life-sentence/) [Tora Cullip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tora-cullip/) > [“Justice being served or not, being a victim carries a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-moore/justice-being-served-or-not-being-a-victim-carries-a-life-sentence/) [John D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-moore/) > [I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-could-never-work-out-whether-we-were-to-view-religion-as-a-life/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [We agreed that great men and women should be forced to live as long as possible. The reverence they enjoyed was a life sentence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-agreed-that-great-men-and-women-should-be-forced-to-live-as-long/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Reality is a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-john-x-veraja/reality-is-a-life-sentence/) [Carl-John X Veraja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-john-x-veraja/) ## More by Oliver Tambo > [If apartheid is removed, then the violence that is necessary to maintain it will be removed along with the pressures from apartheid which create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/if-apartheid-is-removed-then-the-violence-that-is-necessary-to/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/we-have-a-vision-of-south-africa-in-which-black-and-white-shall-live/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [Mandela drafted the M Plan, a simple, commonsense plan for organization on a street basis so that Congress volunteers would be in daily touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/mandela-drafted-the-m-plan-a-simple-commonsense-plan-for-organization/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The violence associated with the A.N.C. is minimal, infinitesimal next to the violence of the apartheid regime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-violence-associated-with-the-a-n-c-is-minimal-infinitesimal-next/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [How can it be said we should use only constitutional means in our struggle, when all resistance is illegal and we have no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/how-can-it-be-said-we-should-use-only-constitutional-means-in-our/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The sanctions will not kill us. It's apartheid that's killing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-sanctions-will-not-kill-us-it-s-apartheid-that-s-killing-us/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [Whites, like ourselves, belong to our country. They are compatriots, fellow citizens... we see them as Africans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/whites-like-ourselves-belong-to-our-country-they-are-compatriots/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The popularity of leaders like Mandela was an invitation to counter-attack by the government. Mandela was banned from speaking, from attending gatherings, from leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-popularity-of-leaders-like-mandela-was-an-invitation-to-counter/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [Using the power you derive from the discovery of the truth about racism in South Africa, you will help us to remake our part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/using-the-power-you-derive-from-the-discovery-of-the-truth-about/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [My sister had some ailment and convulsions that she suffered from, and she had been sent to some place to go and get healed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/my-sister-had-some-ailment-and-convulsions-that-she-suffered-from-and/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [We seek to create a united Democratic and non-racial society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/we-seek-to-create-a-united-democratic-and-non-racial-society/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The U.S. is the last country that should see itself as an ally of the apartheid system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-u-s-is-the-last-country-that-should-see-itself-as-an-ally-of-the/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [You were not wanted. You were, at best, tolerated. You had to be constantly on your guard, like an animal in a jungle full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/you-were-not-wanted-you-were-at-best-tolerated-you-had-to-be/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [For decades, we resisted violence - until Sharpeville.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/for-decades-we-resisted-violence-until-sharpeville/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The Soviet Union was a very useful ally in the defeat of Nazi Germany.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-soviet-union-was-a-very-useful-ally-in-the-defeat-of-nazi-germany/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) [Explore all 59 Oliver Tambo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am convinced that the world-wide protests during the Rivonia trial saved Mandela and his fellow-accused from a death sentence. 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