When we think about South Africa and Cape Town, we obviously think about Nelson Mandela. That’s because the former president of this country was imprisoned there, for no reason, during 27 years.
Think about it. That’s freaking long.
Eighteen of these years have been served in Robben Island. It’s kinda the equivalent of Alcatraz, but with political prisoners – so it was a little bit more quiet. In fact, the only similarity with that prison in San Francisco, is that they’re both on an island. Because, I have to be honest. Robben Island is way less interesting.
It is somewhat a perquisite when we come to Cape Town, but I’m telling you, it’s not the most thrilling visit. Maybe I’m jaded after visiting emotional places like Alcatraz or, in an other way, Auschwitz. But even if the prisoners’ stories are heartbreaking, I didn’t feel a lot of emotions when I was there.
I think that it’s because they don’t really tell the story. I felt like the guides were taking for granted that we all know by heart the Apartheid, Mandela’s life and his liberation. I would’ve love to know more.
In fact, I’ve learnt more about it reading the posters while I was waiting for the boat. And damn I’ve been waiting a long time for it, because it was 30 minutes late.
Oh and talking about the boat. If you have sea sickness, avoid this visit! Or, you can choose to go, but only if you are ready with your Gravol. The boat is not that big – and we’re freezing on board! – it will take more or less than 45 minutes to reach the island, which is 11 kilometers further. It will fight against the waves. But like, really big waves!
I’m not very lucky because the day that I chose to go, it was very foggy. We couldn’t even see the city and the mountains from the island. I was dissapointed, because I’m pretty sure that it would’ve been a magnificent landscape.
So as soon as you arrive on the island, you board on a bus for a visit. You only get out once, at a small restaurant. Trust me, you don’t want to try their sandwiches.
Here’s what I’ve learned during my visit:
There is a little white house, in the middle of dozens of doghouses, where the guard dogs were. In that house, which was in fact a cell, was confined Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan Africanist Congress. There was a very particular law for that inmate. Nobody had the right to talk to him. He didn’t hear a human voice, except his own, for eight years. When his sentence was over, the government made a new law. His sentence would be automatically prolonged as soon at it would end.
When he finally got his freedom, he had problems with his vocal cords, because he hadn’t use them for a very long time.
The inmates could receive visitors, but only twice a year. And they had to be 18 years old or over. So they couldn’t see their kids. The conversations had to be either in English, or in Afrikaans. One word in another language and the visit was over. See you again in six months…
There were no beds in this prison until 1979. Before that – Mandela arrived in 1964, to give you an idea of how long he slept on the floor! – the prisoners had only this blanket:
Let’s just say that the back aches were probably frequent.
The inmates were exploited to cut rocks, which were used to make the roads on the island. They only had a pick. The sun was really blinding and a lot of them were sick because of the dust. Some of them were not able to produce tears anymore. Some others suffered from bad breathing problems.
But it was in this quarry that the men were teaching each other. There was something similar to a cave, at the back, that was called the university. But its main purpose was a toilet, which is why the guards wouldn’t go there. The inmates could therefore share their knowledge. Don’t forget that it was only political prisoners. In fact, three of them have been elected as president of the country since then.
Oh and if ever they had the idea of doing their business in the bushes, they were simply shot to death.
Here’s the cell of Mandela :
I don’t know if I’m insensitive or it’s because I haven’t read enough yet about the Apartheid and all that stuff, but I didn’t feel anything, unlike what I was expecting.
We visited the maximum-security prison where Mandela was in the second part of the guided tour. The problem is that I understood only 10% of what the guide said. I was often asking myself if he was speaking English or Afrikaans. I thought I was just bad in English. But I heard an American couple saying they didn’t understand either. So I was reassured! It’s a pity, beacause he was a former prisoner. But I think his message was more political – for what I’ve understood – about the actual situation than a recall of what he lived between these walls.
Everywhere in the souvenir shop, we see the number 466-64. That’s the ID number of Mandela. That means that he was the 466th to arrive in Robben Island in 1964.
Today, a few families still live on the island. They are probably descendants of prison guards, who kept the house of their parents. I don’t understand why they stay there. No grocery store, no service. There was a school, but they shut it down because there was only 18 students. These kids now have to travel on the marvelous boat every morning and every night to go to school in town. Same thing if you want to go at the grocery store, do some shopping, etc. I saw some cars, but no gas station. I don’t know if there is one hidden somewhere!
Before being a prison, Robben Island was a mental institution. Then it became a military base during World War II.
There is also a leper cemetery. They were sent there because people were afraid that they would be contagious, even after their death.
So this is it. If you come to Cape Town, you should visit Robben Island. But don’t have high expectations!
