After a one hour ferry ride this morning we arrived at the harbor and made the walk toward the prison that was exclusively used to house political prisoners until 1996.
Glen was our tour guide. He was a political activist that was imprisoned for six-and-a-half years, so his knowledge and perspective was unique and fascinating. Many have asked Glen why he would come back to the prison to relive the experience everyday, and his need for employment brought him back. He has been giving tours for 12 years on the island.
Glen described his experience as walking shackled from the ferry to the prison. He also described the circumstances of his arrest. He had been through several prisons before arriving at Robben Island.
People in South Africa who sat in the prison looked for inspriation and leadership. Prison gave them time to critically analyze, and debate policy for the South Africa they dreamed of. The debates were intense and they made the prisoners better. They used experiences of those before them to make changes so that when they left the prison they could take the feeling of empowerment to go out and make changes in the country.
Strategies were different coming in than going out for the activists/prisoners. Glen said when he came in he wanted freedom and it didn't matter how it came. They fought military for these desires. Then once imprisoned they became sober and patience grew. They had time to look at the big picture and gain perspective for a different approach. They needed to approach apartheid differently. They needed a symbol to focus on, and that's how Mandela brought the world the two prong style of inspiration/leadership.
Mandela symbolized what many could not say themselves.
In the prisons the prisoners would debate politics in secret at night from 8 to 10 pm when the guards were not around because politics were banned.
Information was a commodity. Prisoners relied on cooks, or new prisoners for information. They would slice a tennis ball, put a slip of paper inside and bounce it around to different sections to share information. White officers of the prison were also essential for information, and only 10 guards participated in information exchange and did not get caught. The photo below was the cell Mandela was held in.
After our tour of the prison we loaded back on the Nauticat and headed back to the waterfront for an afternoon of free time. The ride back was beautiful with sunshine, and breeze that blew through Greg's luscious, radiant mullet. We also took an opportunity to snap a picture with our flat classmates!
Our next stop was for lunch. We had some interesting items for lunch. The game kabob was delicious. I had chunks of wildebeest, impala, kudu, and ostrich.
After our meat treats we headed to the mall to walk around the ahopping center. We stopped for gelato and then headed out to ride the Cape Wheel. A big enclosed feeris wheel with great views of the area.
The last stop was a group dinner at the City Grill. We had springbok carpaccio, which is raw, and individual loaves of bread, and real ceaser salad with real anchovies. Our main course was beef or fish, and for dessert we had bread pudding. To say we're stuffed is an understatement!
Tomorrow we'll head to the Cape of Good Hope.
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