Robben Island

This morning we got the bus to the V&A waterfront in Cape Town to take the short sea crossing to Robben Island, formally a leper colony, allied war base and general prison, but most recently famous for the incarceration of political prisoners who fought against the insidious South African apartheid scheme introduced following independence after the Second World War.

Organisations such as the ANC and SWAPO galvanised black Africans to challenge the whole segregation process and the resulting persecution of the indigenous South African population by the minority white government. Prisoners such as Nelson Mandela and Robert Subukwe were held there for many years, in appalling conditions.

On landing on the island the first part of the trip involved a bus tour of the island, followed by a tour of the actual prison, which was given by a former prisoner who spent a total of five years there, apparently imprisoned for acts of sabotage against the government.

The whole talk and tour was extremely interesting, but also horrifying at the way the black prisoners (as opposed to ‘the coloureds’) were treated, being victimised by everything from food rationing and clothing allowances to sleeping arrangements (often 50 to a cell, with only mats to sleep on and limited sanitation). And we’re talking about the 1980’s here, not the 1780’s. Mandela himself was kept in a solitary cell.

The whole experience was very informative and emotionally moving. After the tour we took the ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ as Mandela autobiographically described on his release.

We had intended to then go up Table Mountain but visibility was poor and a bit drizzly so hopefully we’ll get up there tomorrow.

Les, our server at the restaurant where we ate in the evening described Cape Town weather as “Four Seasons in one day”. A bit like the U.K. then.