Desmond Tutu quotes

“In its history, Europe has committed so many massacres and horrors that it should bow its own head in shame.”

— Desmond Tutu

“In the Bible, we first encounter God when he sides with a bunch of slaves against a powerful Pharaoh, an act of grace freely given.”

— Desmond Tutu

“In the land of my birth I cannot vote, whereas a young person of eighteen can vote. And why? Because he or she possesses that wonderful biological attribute - a white skin.”

— Desmond Tutu

“It's a blessing that South Africa has a man like Nelson Mandela.”

— Desmond Tutu

“Niger is not an isolated island of desperation. It lies within a sea of problems across Africa - particularly the 'forgotten emergencies' in poor countries or regions with little strategic or material appeal.”

— Desmond Tutu

“Oh, 1994, April 27. There won't be a day like that ever again. I mean, the sky was blue, with a blueness that had never been there before.”

— Desmond Tutu

“The universe can take quite a while to deliver.”

— Desmond Tutu

“Universal education is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity, to pave the way toward making many more nations self-sufficient and self-sustaining.”

— Desmond Tutu

“When a pile of cups is tottering on the edge of the table and you warn that they will crash to the ground, in South Africa you are blamed when that happens.”

— Desmond Tutu

“When we see the face of a child, we think of the future. We think of their dreams about what they might become, and what they might accomplish.”

— Desmond Tutu

“When you think of the sort of things that happen when a genocide happens, it's again not people who are intrinsically evil.”

— Desmond Tutu

“You must show the world that you abhor fighting.”

— Desmond Tutu