In the foreword of the publication 'A Prisoner in the Garden: Opening Nelson Mandela's Prison Archive', Mandela stressed the importance of archives and remembering:
'In the life of any individual, family, community or society, memory is of fundamental importance. It is the fabric of identity. ... For those of us who spent many years in prison, this attack on memory was felt deep within us, actually in our bodies - the physical yearning to touch loved ones, breathe in the smells of home, feel the texture of a favourite jersey. The struggle against apartheid can be typified as the pitting of remembering against forgetting.'