2016-06-20 Robben Island
World travel gives you a daily refresher on the big world we live in and today was no exception. We had the usual nice hotel breakfast, then off for the day at Robben Island. Robben Island was a prison for 300 hundred years to lepers, mentally ill, epileptics, criminals, banishments and most notably – Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 incarcerated years on this island and it became famous for that reason. Seeing apartheid play out in the daily lives of thousands of political prisoners is a real eye opener. We received a 3-hour tour/education from informed guides on the history of this only recently closed monster of the past.
Everything was bad – why the people were sent there – the classifications of individuals (black, colored, Indian – no whites or women). Our prison guides were just fascinating. Our first gentleman lived during apartheid while the second was a prisoner for 5 years. The man who was a prisoner was arrested on his high school graduation day for attending a demonstration. At 58 years old, his stories are still relevant and fresh. He is living history.
Beth and I feel we can now hold an intelligent conversation on South Africa, Apartheid and the accompanying personal and governmental disruptions that this tragic philosophy brought to these proud people. Bud
Here is a link to some of the prisoner’s stories. http://www.robben-island.org.za/stories
