Nelson Mandela on Robben Island

REMEMBERING NELSON MANDELA ON ROBBEN ISLAND by Wayne Dixon We visited South Africa’s Robben Island in February, 2011, as part of our Capetown to Cairo month-long journey. South Africa has much to offer in terms of tourism including Table Top Mountain, a penguin preserve, the Waterfront, and the Cape of Good Hope, but the most meaningful event for us was a tour of the prison where Nelson Mandela spent many years. Robben Island, though near the mainland, is isolated from Capetown by a narrow stretch of the Atlantic. As we left the city by boat, Capetown’s skyscrapers and the mountains behind them diminished in size as the tiny island came into view. As we disembarked we were struck by the rocky bareness of the island so near the South African coastline. It probably had little use other than the rock quarry where prisoners labored, although it once was a leper colony and World War II facility. Now its main inhabitants are jackass penguins and cormorants. As our vehicle neared the prison its tower dominated the horizon, reminding me of San Francisco’s inescapable Alcatraz. I did not know much about Robben Island’s history nor of the policies that brought political prisoners there. But we were soon to be informed. Our guide, himself a former prisoner, took our group into an outer lobby where we were shown the mats upon which the prisoners slept. I took pictures of pictures displayed showing yester-years’ conditions, a stark contrast to the now well-maintained tourist museum. We were next shown the exercise yard where some sparse plants survive from Mandela’s 1960s to 1990 off and on sojourn. Ironically, Mandela managed to earn a law degree during his incarceration which served him later. We were then taken down a dim hallway to Mandela’s cell where we viewed his small space through bars and out a high transept window. His cot and table fill the enclosure where he spent 18 years of his 27 prison life. Viewing it was a solemn moment. It was here, Mandela’s friend Archbishop Tutu later said, “The furnace of affliction burnt away the dross, and he progressively grew in a new spiritual depth. He began to be more patient and understanding of the foibles of others, especially of those of his jailers and the oppressors of his people and their fears of being overwhelmed by the black masses. This is where he was purified and made to be more compassionate and magnanimous.”