“The people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone's head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.”
Cabral's reminder that a liberation struggle must be judged by real improvements in people's daily lives, not by abstract ideology.
— Amílcar Cabral, Guinea-Bissau
Source: Amílcar Cabral, PAIGC party directive (1965), published in Revolution in Guinea: Selected Texts (Monthly Review Press, 1969)
More Proverbs from Guinea-Bissau
Singing 'Halleluia' everywhere does not prove piety.
Loud public displays of religious devotion do not necessarily reflect genuine faith or character.
Saying that it's for her child, she gets herself a loaf of bread.
People sometimes use others, especially children, as a convenient excuse to serve their own wants.
What one hopes for is always better than what one has.
People tend to imagine that what they lack or wish for is more satisfying than what they already possess.
By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.
Being slow to understand or act often means missing the opportunity entirely.
No one tests the depth of a river with both feet unless he is prepared to swim.
Only commit fully to a risk once you are ready to face its full consequences.
If all seeds that fall were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees.
Not every attempt or opportunity should succeed; some failure keeps balance and order in life.