In life, every man has twin obligations — obligations to his family, to his parents, to
his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community and his country.
In a civil and humane society, each man is able to fulfil those obligations according to his
own inclinations and abilities. But in a country like South Africa, it was almost impossible
for a man of my birth and colour to fulfil both of those obligations. In South Africa, a man
of colour who attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated. In South Africa,
a man who tried to fulfil his duty to his people was inevitably ripped from his family and his
home and was forced to live a life apart, a twilight existence of secrecy and rebellion. I did
not in the beginning choose to
place my people above my
family, but in attempting to
serve my people, I found that I
was prevented from fulfilling
my obligations as a son, a
brother, a father and a husband.
I was not born with a
hunger to be free. I was born
free — free in every way that I
could know. Free to run in the
fields near my mother’s hut,
free to swim in the clear
stream that ran through my
village, free to roast mealies
under the stars and ride the
broad backs of slow-moving
bulls. As long as I obeyed my
father and abided by the
customs of my tribe, I was not
troubled by the laws of man or
God.
