Robben Island

Today we visited Robben Island in the middle of Table Bay, and it was one of the most memorable and moving days I’ve ever had. The 4 prisons on Robben Island were used for over 100 years for detaining criminals and political prisoners from all over South Africa. It is most notorious for being the long-time home of Nelson Mandela for the majority of his incarceration. The entire island is now a national museum and we were all looking forward to our visit.

We caught the boat out of the harbor along the V&A waterfront. We were thrilled to depart because the stormy seas of the west coast have caused more than one tour to be cancelled. The boat ride takes about 15 minutes or so. On the way, we watched some video on the incredible history of the island and its famous inhabitants. As we got closer it became more obvious that the island is not as flat as it looks from 15km away on top of Table Mountain. I also took note of all the other facilities that are on the island. Turns out, there are about 200 permanent residents that live on the island, just like others did when the prisons were in operation.

After coming ashore at the prison site, we were loaded onto tour busses for a guided trip around the grounds. The first thing you notice is that the place looks like a prison. Stone walls and barbed wire everywhere, with the occasional guard tower strewn here and there. The soil is very sandy, but there are trees and vegetation growing on many parts of the land.

Our tour guide was excellent and she provided some great information on every structure we saw. She explained many details about the more famous prisoners, describing how they got there and how they were treated while in jail. I’ll spare you all the details, because you can read about some of this history in some excellent books that are available now. I will say that the entire experience turned very real for me when I was able to hear the history while looking at the facilities that housed these people.

I have never had much sympathy for people that commit what I would call “real” crimes. Stealing is wrong. Murder is unacceptable. These are some common morals shared among many cultures. But many of the residents of Robben Island were political prisoners locked up for opposing the incredibly brutal and archaic ideas of South Africa’s Apartheid policy. I actually found myself empathizing with the prisoners she was describing. These people stood up for what they believed in and in many cases they paid dearly for their actions.

At one point, the tour stops at a small store where you can use the “loo” (that’s the bathroom for you Yanks) and purchase some drinks and snacks. Our guide had told us to look for Christo Brandt at the snack bar. Brandt is famously known for being Mandela’s guard for many years and he is known to help out at the snack shop from time to time. I saw him inside, but didn’t want to take him away from his counter duties.

After we loaded the bus to continue our tour, our guide climbed on board with Brandt himself! She briefly introduced him and handed him the microphone. Brandt proceeded to tell us an amazing story about Mandela and his wife during one of her visits to the island with their son. I was sitting in the front row with Sam, so it felt like we actually met this great man. It was amazing to hear him talk about the man he guarded with such high regard. You can read all about the remarkable relationship between Mandela and Brandt, and there is even a popular movie about the experience. This was truly one of the highlights of the tour and it was something that was only provided to our bus. Our tour guide made this special meeting happen and he didn’t enter any other busses before returning to his duties inside.

The tour continued to the maximum security cell block where Mandela and many other political prisoners were held. Amazingly, this part of the tour is guided by an actual former inmate of Robben Island. We were handed off to Sipho Msumi (pronounced Seepo M-sumi) for the trip inside the buildings. Sipho is a Zulu man that spent 5 years at Robben Island for protesting Apartheid in Lesotho (pronounced La Sue Two). He now spends his time helping people understand what life was like on the inside of this terrible place.

I was thoroughly affected by my experience listening to Sipho while sitting in the same cells that he and his fellow inmates lived in for many years. I can’t begin to tell you how impactful it is to listen to a man describe how he slept on a cement floor and ate 2 pieces of bread for lunch every day for years while you’re standing inside the actual cell. I was amazed at his extraordinary stories about the life the prisoners created inside the walls. These men accepted the horror that was thrust upon them and thrived in a sort of alternate universe they created for themselves. They educated each other. The entertained each other. They created their own system of government. They did this all within the tiny cracks that existed in the reality that the Apartheid government was trying to crush them with. I was incredibly moved by this man and his stories. He does not hate everyone for the terrible things that have been done to him and his friends. Instead he is helping to educate the world about the tragedies that have made his country famous.

Sipho took us to the famous Mandela cell that caged the civil rights leader for over 20 years. Seeing the concrete and steel box that Mandela called home really made me ponder whether or not I would have the strength and courage to last 2 weeks on the wrong side of the bars. Mandela and some others spent more than 2 decades in these cells. Emotions ran high as I reflected on how great Mandela must be to lead his nation so fairly after experiencing such despicable conditions for so long.

It became obvious to me that not only did the inmates create an alternate reality to what the oppressors intended, but each and every man imprisoned there bettered himself in some way during his time on the island. I found it very special to be able to hear these stories directly from the lips of a participant. It was a very emotional reminder of just how cruel we can be to each other in our darkest times.

If you visit Cape Town, you have to visit Robben Island. Right now, for a limited time, we all have the opportunity to hear these stories from actual inmates. This chance will vanish once these unique men are gone. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I will remember it for a long time to come.