No title {Further reflections} Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #615)

Chapter 18: What appears on these pages is my life story and certainly not a history of the liberation movement. But more than 30 years of my life has been associated with the freedom struggle and an account of my life would be incomplete if I omitted those political events in which I took part or those individuals and issues that influenced my thoughts and actions. 14 years ago when I returned from abroad we were confident that the movement inside the country would be far stronger than it is at present and be able to exert a lot of pressure on the enemy. Events have shown that our calculations have gone wrong, and there are still some tricky problems to be sorted out before our expectations can be fulfilled. I am also aware that massive efforts have been made here and abroad for my release and that of other political prisoners, a campaign which has given us much inspiration and shown us that we have hundreds of thousands of friends. Next to my wife's affection and that of the family as a whole few things have inspired me more than the knowledge that in spite of all that the enemy is doing to isolate and discredit us people everywhere never forget us. But we know the enemy very well they would like to release us from a position of strngth and not of weakness and this is an opportunity they have missed forever. However inspiring it is to know that our friends are insisting on our release a realistic approach clearly shows that we must rule out completely the possibility that such a demand will succeed. But i am highly optimistic, even behind