Mari Serebrov > Quotes

“It takes courage to live in the midst of hate. And it requires strength to keep that hatred from eating your soul.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia

“The older I get, the more I realize that what other people think about me has little to do with who I am. … We can’t change other people, and we can’t force them to see us the way we would like to be seen.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia

“Racism defends our greed, frees us from self-control and makes others responsible for our failings. It is an attempt to silence the guilt so we can look in the mirror.”
― Mari Serebrov

“If I'm going to spend a lifetime writing my story, I want it to mean something.”
― Mari Serebrov

“• Looking backward should never divert our path to one of hatred and bitterness, for those steps lead nowhere but to destruction. To live in hatred is to miss the point of living.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia

“The eagle is your mother, your aunt, your girl cousins – the eagle is any woman. Maybe even a white woman. When you have trouble, go to another woman. She will understand. And she can help you.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia: Based on True Events

“It is up to us to choose what is right. No one can make us eat a lie,” she answers.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia: Based on True Events

“A round house keeps snakes away because it makes no shadows where snakes can hide,” Tjikuu says. “Herero who build square houses like white people are foolish. Round houses bring good luck. They’re like nature.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia: Based on True Events

“Missionary thinks he’s telling the truth,” Tjikuu says. “But he doesn’t understand the ancestors because he has forgotten his own. We should feel sorry for Missionary. People without ancestors are people without yesterday or tomorrow.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia: Based on True Events

“Looking backward should never divert our path to one of hatred and bitterness, for those steps lead nowhere but to destruction. To live in hatred is to miss the point of living.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia

“The older I get, the more I realize that what other people think about me has little to do with who I am. All of us – Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, even the godless – will always be seen by others through their personal spectacles of perception.”
― Mari Serebrov, Mama Namibia: Based on True Events