Nelson Roulihlahla Mandela is celebrating his 93rd birthday today, marking still another milestone in a life that few, perhaps not even Mandela himself, could have imagined.

The boy who, like all other boys in his rural South African village of Qunu, herded sheep and kicked around a soccer ball in the rolling hills, may have dared to dream, but in those early years of the 20th century, no young black South African like himself, even one of royal lineage, would have dreamed the dream of his journey from prisoner to president of his country and icon of the world.

And yet, the dream of freedom propelled Mandela into the practice of law and into the streets aboveground and underground and finally into the docks, challenging an unjust system that took away 27 years of his life but not his dream of freedom. 

Throughout his years in prison, Mandela never wavered in his determination to free his people from their oppressive existence or compromised in his demands.

"Prison," he once said, "far from breaking our spirits, made us more determined to continue with this battle." And continue it they did, despite being treated like common criminals -- Mandela's eyes were permanently damaged from the effects of having to dig in a rock quarry.

Mandela and the legions of political prisoners on Robben Island liberated themselves from the oppression of the prison bars by preparing for their country's liberation, even though they knew not when. That preparation led Robben Island prison to become known as "Mandela University," and the students included other struggle stalwarts, some of whom -- like Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu -- have passed on, and some of whom -- like President Jacob Zuma -- are now running the country.

And it was from behind prison bars that Mandela, lacking contact with his African National Congress party in exile, initiated talks with the white minority regime that eventually led to the release of all political prisoners -- Mandela among the last -- and the ultimate release of his people from bondage.