Robben Island
These are pictures I took at Robben Island prison. Nelson Mandela spent 18 years here as a political prisoner out of his 27 years of incarceration. He was given a life sentence, so the cell in these pictures is what he could have expected for the rest of his life. There was mistreatment here for prisoners that included beatings, psychological abuse, and torture. Political prisoners like Mandela were jailed for fighting against a system of inequality and persecution that subjugated an entire race because of the color of their skin.
The man in the pictures holding signs & speaking is a former prisoner who was incarcerated on the island in the 1980's. He now serves as a tour guide to educate the public about what happened here.
The guides of the prison are all former inmates, so they are able to give first-hand accounts of the abuse. There were stories of beatings, even murders, and physical abuse at the hands of the guards. However, what I found most disturbing was hearing of the psychological abuse, especially stemming from confinement in total isolation. Mandela wrote in his autobiography ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’ that prisoners were routinely charged for the smallest infractions and sentenced to isolation. A story that I heard on the tour that sticks out in my memory is that of inmate Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress and one of South Africa’s most noted dissidents in the fight against Apartheid. The government was concerned that his contact with other prisoners and members of the PAC would impair their ability to quell dissent. He was held in a separate area of the prison without any with other inmates for many years. The prolonged absence of human contact caused him great mental distress, and at one point he was seen having conversations with the plants around his quarters. I found it disturbing to hear of such psychological abuse which can be a worse form of torture than a physical beating, with longer lasting effects. Mr. Sobukwe was released in 1969 but, according to the tour guide, he was (understandably) permanently affected and never quite the same again. He passed away in 1978 and is still remembered as a great fighter of injustice whose legacy still casts a long shadow over South African history.
This prison was in operation not that long ago, 25 years or so. It’s difficult to see what was once seen as acceptable and commonplace to now, not so long after, be universally viewed as abhorrent. Looking back at Apartheid, segregation, or even the Holocaust and institution of slavery brings about feelings of shame and embarrassment for the entire human race. How was ‘that’ ever allowed to happen? Moreover, how did anyone even come up with the idea? Maybe we just have to remember that, as appalling as it is, at one point in time, this ideology was seen as normal. Questions arise. What practices or general ways of treating other humans are considered to be normal and acceptable now, but might well eventually be viewed as, in the least, backwards, or, at the most, purely evil? Who are the people that perpetuate these practices? Who is in opposition to them? How will history remember us?
It would have taken such strength of character and of will in order to deal with the conditions of life on Robben Island. Most people, I think, would be overcome with despair in this harsh struggle of daily life. I don’t know that I could do it.
I think of the poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Hendley, which Mandela recited to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of determination in the face of great adversity. This ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude encompasses the spirit of Mr. Mandela and others who have fought for equality.
'It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.'
Read MoreThe man in the pictures holding signs & speaking is a former prisoner who was incarcerated on the island in the 1980's. He now serves as a tour guide to educate the public about what happened here.
The guides of the prison are all former inmates, so they are able to give first-hand accounts of the abuse. There were stories of beatings, even murders, and physical abuse at the hands of the guards. However, what I found most disturbing was hearing of the psychological abuse, especially stemming from confinement in total isolation. Mandela wrote in his autobiography ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’ that prisoners were routinely charged for the smallest infractions and sentenced to isolation. A story that I heard on the tour that sticks out in my memory is that of inmate Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress and one of South Africa’s most noted dissidents in the fight against Apartheid. The government was concerned that his contact with other prisoners and members of the PAC would impair their ability to quell dissent. He was held in a separate area of the prison without any with other inmates for many years. The prolonged absence of human contact caused him great mental distress, and at one point he was seen having conversations with the plants around his quarters. I found it disturbing to hear of such psychological abuse which can be a worse form of torture than a physical beating, with longer lasting effects. Mr. Sobukwe was released in 1969 but, according to the tour guide, he was (understandably) permanently affected and never quite the same again. He passed away in 1978 and is still remembered as a great fighter of injustice whose legacy still casts a long shadow over South African history.
This prison was in operation not that long ago, 25 years or so. It’s difficult to see what was once seen as acceptable and commonplace to now, not so long after, be universally viewed as abhorrent. Looking back at Apartheid, segregation, or even the Holocaust and institution of slavery brings about feelings of shame and embarrassment for the entire human race. How was ‘that’ ever allowed to happen? Moreover, how did anyone even come up with the idea? Maybe we just have to remember that, as appalling as it is, at one point in time, this ideology was seen as normal. Questions arise. What practices or general ways of treating other humans are considered to be normal and acceptable now, but might well eventually be viewed as, in the least, backwards, or, at the most, purely evil? Who are the people that perpetuate these practices? Who is in opposition to them? How will history remember us?
It would have taken such strength of character and of will in order to deal with the conditions of life on Robben Island. Most people, I think, would be overcome with despair in this harsh struggle of daily life. I don’t know that I could do it.
I think of the poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Hendley, which Mandela recited to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of determination in the face of great adversity. This ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude encompasses the spirit of Mr. Mandela and others who have fought for equality.
'It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.'
