Yesterday we spent the day at Robbin Island, the prions wehre Nelson Mandela and other Anti-Aparthied leaders were kept. It was quite the experience walking through the halls of the prison. They call it a museum, but I don't think that quite describes the feeling you get there.
Unlike the Slave Lodge in Cape Town, for instance, Robin Island was a prison until just about 15 years ago. You get an eerie feeling being there and thinking about it. It really puts everything in perspective.
What really helped was watching "Goodbye Bofana" on the plane ride over. This movie is based on the book by one of the prison gaurds assigned to censor Nelson Mandela's mail while he was a political prisoner at Robin Island, and how this guard was transformed during his time with Mandela. Many of the scenes in the movie are based and shot at this maximum securtiy prison.
It was very powerful to see the Quarry where Mandela and others labored for years as well as the very cell where Mandela was kept in captivity. It was just a small stone cell with only blankets, to keep warm. It struck me that a man would preach forgivness after such inhumain treatment.
I was a little dissapointed to walk the halls and smell the smell of fresh paint. They are in the middle of restoring the prison for preservation so that it continues to appear "as it would have looked." It's the same building and the same walls, but I think an element of its historica value was lost in th process.
After Robin Island we spent the rest of the day on the Cape Town waterfron. They had a little mall there and some little shops. We looked around but only stoped for dinner at an Italian resturant overlooking the harbor. Very picturesque as you could imagine.
For one of our last days here, it was nice and relaxing. Only two more full days here, I think I'm missing it already.
Peace,
Matt
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2 comments:
Thanks, Matt, for another great description of your time there. It's chilling, isn't it, visiting a place like that prison and contemplating how we are capable of treating one another. I hope your final few days there are full of grace. See you soon!
Matt, I've been reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography while you've been on the trip, as a way of staying connected with all of you; the treatment he and others went through, as you described, is horrendous. He's an amazing man, and he ability to lead the country through recovery, without bloodshed, shows God's hands at work. Thanks for sharing your impressions!
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