Photos at Robben Island, off Cape Town, South Africa

A highlight of my visit to South Africa was the visit to
Robben Island, the island off Cape Town, known
primarily as the prison where Nelso Mandela and
the political prisoners under the apartheid era
were detained in the l970s till early l990s.
I was accompanied by Sr. Mela of the Carmelite
Sisters of Cape Town. It was a cloudy day and it
rained by the time we left the island in the afternoon.
To reach Robben Island, one goes to the port at the
waterfront where the Robben Island/Nelson
Mandela Museum is located and which is also where
one gets the fast boat. We left at 9:00 a.m. and
the trip was almost an hour.





The port at Robben Island already
resembles that of island resorts in
the Philippines these days to make
the docking more comfortable for
everyone. However, one could
immediately tell that it was once used
as prison as there are big photos that
one can see right at the wharf area.
As soon as we alighted from the boar,
we were whisked to a bus for a tour
of the island. The tour guides are
former political prisoners who spent
time in this prison.












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One information which came as a surprise to those
who visited that day was that Robben Island
was used as place where lepers were brought to
die in the 1800s. There are around 1,500 graves
in Robben Island of those who died of leprosy.
The number included Irish priests and nuns who
served the lepers and who also died in the island.









One of the most known fact of life among
the political prisoners in Robben Island
was that they had to work in the field
to hack the limestone under the scorching
heat of the sun.

A story given prominence by the tour guide
is the big hole that one can see on one
side of the limestone cliff. When they
were allowed to rest, the political prisioners
all sought shelter in this man-made cave,
where they held classes and political
discussions.






One of the most cruel acts of those who
run the prisons was to have solitary
cells for some of the prisoners, as well
as keeping dogs that were kept to
prevent prisoners from escaping.

The photo that has the pile of stone in the
middle is a powerful symbol for all those
who spent time in Robben Island. After
the end of the apartheid era, when they
were all set free and the island became
a museum, they all gathered for a reunion.
As they walked on this area, Nelson Mandela
placed a stone at the center, then everyone
else followed him until this hill of stones
arose.





A highlight of this visit was to actually
see the cell where Nelson Mandela was
kept when he was imprisoned at
Robben Island.