00:00When I was in prison, a young lady, who is now the principal of a leading university in South Africa, came to see me.
00:18She did not beat about the bush.
00:21She said, if my father was still alive, she would have been 70.
00:34You are 70.
00:37And I came here to see how a man of 70 looks like.
00:43Now I am 80.
00:51That is when I phoned some place in my country.
00:58And a lady answered the telephone.
01:02I then asked, to whom am I speaking?
01:07She said, you are speaking to me.
01:10I said, well, lady, I know I am speaking to you.
01:16But what is your name?
01:18She said, who are you to ask for my name? What is your name?
01:22I said, well, lady, as soon as you tell me your name, I will tell you mine.
01:30But as we argued as to who should tell his or her name, she became very close.
01:37And she said, you seem to be a backward person.
01:42Have you passed your matric?
01:45Now matric in our country is a university entry examination.
01:51And I said, well, lady, you must be very careful.
01:55Because if the qualification to speak to you is the possession of a matric certificate,
02:00I might work hard and pass my matric and be in the same class as you are.
02:09That was treason.
02:12She said, you will never be in my class and bang the telephone.
02:18How I wish she were here today.
02:25She would now discover that I have achieved more than past my matric.
02:43Ladies and gentlemen, this may very well be our last official visit to the United States before retiring from office next year.
03:04There could not be a more moving start to the visit than one which included being honored in this way by one of the great educational institutions of this nation and of the world.
03:24If in these later years of a life lived in pursuit of equality, we can at last look upon our own country as one in which citizens, regardless of race, gender or creed, share equal political rights and opportunities for development.
03:45We do so with great gratitude towards the millions upon millions all around the world who materially and morally supported our struggle for freedom and justice.
03:59Together with those freedom and just loving citizens of justice, loving citizens of the world, we do at the same time, however, note that at the end of this century, a century which humanity entered with such high hopes of progress.
04:19The world is still beset by great disparity between the rich and the poor, both within countries and between different parts of the world.
04:31If in individual life, we all may reach that part of the long walk where the opportunity is granted to retire to some rest and tranquility for humanity, the walk to freedom and equality seems a lot still to be a long one ahead.
04:56This augustine situation gains its standard and reputation also from the manner in which it has conducted and continues to conduct itself as an international president.
05:15Wherever men and women of learning and thought together, its name and weapon are known, it embodies that spirit of universality, which marks a great university.
05:33To join the ranks of the ranks of the alumni is to be reminded of the oneness of our global world.
05:40The greatest single challenge facing our globalized world is to combat and eradicate its disparity.
05:54While in all parts of the world progress is being made in entrenching democratic forms of government, we constantly need to remind ourselves that the freedoms which democracy brings will remain empty-shared if they are not accompanied by real and tangible improvements in the material lives of the millions of ordinary citizens of those countries.
06:23Where men and women and children go burdened with hunger, suffering from preventable diseases, languishing in ignorance and illiteracy, or finding themselves bereft of decent shelter, talk of democracy and freedom that does not recognize this material aspect.
06:52The other nation's ideal aspects can ring hollow and erode the confidence exactly in those values we seek to promote.
07:01Hence our universal obligation towards the building of a world in which there shall be greater equality among nations and among citizens of nations.
07:14The disparity between the developed and developing world, between north and south, reflects itself also in the sphere of educational and intellectual resources.
07:31The United States of America and democratic South Africa have, in the course of these last four years, built a relationship of mutual respect and cooperation.
07:46Each country, respecting the sovereignty of the other, while cooperating as partners, as part of this relationship, the scholars who had the benefit of standing here, returned better equipped to deal with the local challenges and problems as Africans.
08:10It is therefore a source of great encouragement and inspiration for us to learn about the emerging Africa's research program housed in the newly created Center for International Development at Harvard.
08:27Its objective of undertaking an appraisal of Africa's economic, social and political history, as well as the problems facing the continent, is timely and to be greatly welcome.
08:43But, it will be doing this in collaboration with African research institutions and scholars, will serve to strengthen and build African intellectual capacity to take charge of its reconstruction and regeneration.
09:01I am confident that it will also strengthen and build your own understanding of African reality and your capacity to analyze that reality as part of our shared world.
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