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What I've come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion, everyday acts of compassion. In South Africa they have a phrase called ubuntu. Ubuntu comes out of a philosophy that says, the only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me.

— Chris Abani TED Africa Conference (2008)

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More quotes by Chris Abani

He said to me, "It will always be difficult, but if you cry like this every time, you will die of heartbreak. Just know it is enough sometimes to know it is difficult."

TED Africa Conference (2008)

"This is the kola nut. This seed is a star. This star is life. This star is us".

GraceLand (2004)

Time was the only variable in every equation of power and oppression-how long before the pot boiled over.

Something that had the quality of a dimly lit stage set just before the curtains rise on opening night. There was a rhythm to it, a beckoning, and a bittersweet tear in time.

There had been many such experiments when he worked in South Africa, in Vlakplaas, a notorious apartheid death camp.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Chris Abani (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.