“Jobless people will have no self-confidence. And they feel they are worthless because when you don’t have a job you have to rely on someone.”

We want to empower our people; we want to strengthen them; we want to provide them with the kind of qualifications that will enable them to build up their own country themselves.

I think more women should be involved in politics for the good of the human race.

The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same.

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear

The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better of positive forces anywhere, we are all at risk.

We have to choose between dialogue and utter devastation.

How could I stand the separation from family and friends? It is ironic, I say, that in an authoritarian state it is only the prisoner of conscience who is genuinely free. Yes, we have given up our right to a normal life. But we have stayed true to that most precious part of our humanity-our conscience.

People ask me about what sacrifices I’ve made. I always answer: I’ve made no sacrifices, I’ve made choices.

Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people.

When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons.

It’s good to know that the people of different countries are really concerned and involved in the movement to help Burma.

That just laws which uphold human rights are the necessary foundation of peace and security would be denied only by closed minds which interpret peace as the silence of all opposition and security as the assurance of their own power.

Justice is a dream. But it is a dream that we are determined to realize.

Courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’ – grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.

The greatest gift for an individual or a nation… was abhaya, fearlessness, not merely bodily courage but absence of fear from the mind.

I don’t think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I’m just rather flexible and adaptable.

And when it’s sold to 50 countries or whatever, for me it’s a great deal. I make movies for an audience so if that audience grows, I feel really honoured and thankful for it.

Having a life in transit, I feel like you are always looking out the back window.

Somehow I feel that my subconscious part creates far more interesting things than my conscious part can ever dream of.

Do I feel good enough? Do I feel big enough? Do I feel sexy enough?” Some days, the answer is ‘yes’ but sometimes it’s not.

It’s the best thing if your work is your passion in life. It makes me feel like I’m always on break.

It is remarkable that in such countries people do not feel very free. The second kind of freedom, freedom from desires, is celebrated only in some religious communities. It celebrates contentment, peace that is free from desires.

It feels wonderful to be go back to the 1940s and recreate the whole era through my clothes, voice and body language.

To not ever feel myself living, To only know myself in others’ eyes, reflected.