A visit to Robben Island

If all goes well I’ll be flying home this evening, changing planes in Dulles after a 15-hour flight, and arriving in Chicago tomorrow morning. I’ll be a wreck, of course, but that’s expected after a long trip like that. Regular posting here will begin after I start recovering from jet lag.  But today we have a post on my visit (more of a pilgrimage, really) to Robben Island.

Like Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay, South Africa’s Robben Island has, in the last hundred years or more, served as a repository for the most ostracized of criminals, though Robben is most famous for the last century’s political prisoners rather than common criminals. And, of course, the most famous among these was Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 of his 27 years of incarceration on Robben (see his cell below).

And, like Alcatraz, Robben is within viewing distance of a lovely city (it’s 11 km from Cape Town), which of course would tantalize the prisoners, who could see freedom so close but still unattainable. Below is a Wikipedia aerial photo of Robben Island, with Cape Town and Table Mountain in the distance. The prison is the group of buildings directly in line with the wharf.

As far as I know, only one person, the black political prisoner David Stuurman, escaped from Robben Island. That was in the early 19th century, and he did it twice, by boat.  He eventually was deported to Australia, where he died. But, like Alcatraz, nobody is known to have escaped Robben by swimming. The water is cold and the distance to Cape Town is great.

Note that Robben is only a few meters above sea level, and its height is decreasing with global warming causing a rise in sea level.

Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so designated because of its “outstanding universal value”. The UNESCO page says this:

Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base. Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which democracy and freedom triumphed over oppression and racism.

What survives from its episodic history are 17th century quarries, the tomb of Hadije Kramat who died in 1755, 19th century ‘village’ administrative buildings including a chapel and parsonage, small lighthouse, the lepers’ church, the only remains of a leper colony, derelict World War II military structures around the harbour and the stark and functional maximum security prison of the Apartheid period began in the 1960s.

The symbolic value of Robben Island lies in its somber history, as a prison and a hospital for unfortunates who were sequestered as being socially undesirable. This came to an end in the 1990s when the inhuman Apartheid regime was rejected by the South African people and the political prisoners who had been incarcerated on the Island received their freedom after many years.

Criterion (iii): The buildings of Robben Island bear eloquent witness to its sombre history.

Criterion (vi):Robben Island and its prison buildings symbolize the triumph of the human spirit, of freedom and of democracy over oppression.

But really, I think that if Nelson Mandela hadn’t spent 18 of his 27 years in prison on Robben, and then gone on to win a Nobel Peace Prize and become President of South Africa as well as President of the African National Congress, then Robben wouldn’t be nearly as well known, or have become a tourist destination.

I went mainly because of Mandela, and especially to see the conditions he endured for 18 years. He is one of my heroes, and his refusal to promulgate divisive hatred after he was released and became President is one of the great conciliatory and humane gestures of history.

But we should remember that many other political prisoners—some of them very well nown—were housed there, too, often for decades. It was the maximum-security prison for blacks and Asians that the white government considered especially dangerous (no white prisoners were housed there, though all the guards were white).  And now that South Africa is a democracy, the site could indeed be feted as more than a place where Mandela was imprisoned: it could be seen as demonstrating the triumph of the human desire for freedom over bigotry and authoritarianism.

Tours to Robben Island take about 3.5 hours, with 1.5 hours or so traveling to the island and the other two hours for the tour, which consists of a bus drive around the island followed by a tour on foot with a guide, often a former inmate. You’re advised to book in advance, as the slots sell out quickly (I booked two weeks in advance.)

It was an overcast day, with clouds floating around Table Mountain, but the views of Cape Town and surrounding mountains were still spectacular both entering and leaving the harbor. As you can see, Table Mountain is flat like a table, looming high above the city. Taking the cable car to the top for the view is a must-do for visitors, but, sadly, I just couldn’t fit it in.

Below is the entry to the prison complex as well as the rest of the island, which still houses a town for those who maintain the site.  There is also a colony of African penguins (the same species as in Cape Town), as well as assorted smaller wildlife (see below).  Sadly, as in other places in South Africa, the penguin population is declining, almost certainly because of competition from human overfishing.

Below is the entrance to Robben Island, though I’m not at all sure it’s what the entrance looked like in the days of apartheid.  The site “Shadows on the Grass” says this about the entrance, and then goes on to describe how poorly the prisoners were treated:

These are the words written above the entrance gate to Robben Island. A sort of sick irony and blatant lie, symbolic of the methods used by the apartheid regime to try and break the spirit of the political prisoners from 1961 to 1991.

. . . . Originally named Robbeneiland, Dutch for Seal Island, the low lying kilometre wide piece of land is arid with no water sources. From 1836 to 1931, the island was used as a leper colony (Hansen’s Disease) and during the second World War, allied forces used it as a gun fortification.

During apartheid, the regime converted Robben Island into a maximum security prison. Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men was [sic] incarcerated for political crimes, including the former president and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela.

. . . The visitor center, near the front gate was used by prisoners as often as once every six months. Visits must be booked a year in advance, even though they lasted only a half hour in length. Often times, to break the spirits of the captives, guards would tell family members who had travelled from as far away as Namibia, JoBerg, and Natal that their loved ones were ill and could not come see their relatives behind the glass. At the same time they might tell the prisoners that the family had missed the ferry or could not afford the train down to Cape Town. Additionally, all conversation between visitors had to be conducted in Afrikaans or English, the languages of the guards- not their native tongues like Xhosa, isiZulu et… We also stopped at the lime quarry where prisoners like Madiba [Nelson Mandela] worked for 13 years in blinding light without protection or shoes. Many of the former prisoners have undergone eye procedures to correct sun and dust damage.

Our guide (see below) says that because many prisoners could speak neither Afrikaans nor English, and couldn’t speak their native languages under any circumstances when the guards were listening, the yearly half-hour visits were often conducted in silence.

A graveyard (taken from a fast-moving bus) where inhabitants of the island are buried. I’m not sure if any of these are prisoners as opposed to others who worked on the island or sufferers from leprosy (Hansen’s Disease):

Here is the limestone quarry where the prisoners worked—for many hours a day.  There was no need to have them do this, but the hard labor was consider part of their punishment. The harsh sunlight and glare from the rocks, combined with rock dust, hurt the eyes of many prisoners, including Mandela. 

Below: our guide, who was also a political prisoner. I asked him how long he spent on the island and he said “eighteen years”—the same as Mandela. He added that he was in as a political prisoner and also for having a firearm.

In the famous Rivonia Trial of 1964, Mandela and seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage and conspiring to overthrow the government through violent acts. Mandela admitted to sabotage but denied the other charges, and gave a famous three-hour speech, called “I am prepared to die” when the defense presented its case. This is the speech’s ending:

During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Mandela was to serve 18 years (1964-1982) on Robben Island and then spent 8 more years in two mainland prisons. He was finally released in 1990.

Besides working in the limestone quarry, the prisoners spent many days sitting the the courtyard outside their cell, breaking rocks. Here’s a photo of a photo hanging on the wall of the prison, showing the rock-breaking. This is the same courtyard where Mandela got the prison to allow a small garden, which, not coincidentally, is where he buried his political writings. See below for a modern view.

In memory of those times, Mandela, revisiting the island, put down a single rock, which was supplemented by single rocks added by other re-visiting prisoners. The picture and caption below show the rock pile from the Wikipedia article on Robben Island:

Below: the house on the left was that of Robert Sobukwe (1924-1978), another anti-apartheid activist described by Wikipedia:

In March 1960, Sobukwe organized and launched a non-violent protest campaign against pass laws, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison on grounds of incitement. In 1963, the enactment of the “Sobukwe Clause,” allowed an indefinite renewal of his prison sentence, and Sobukwe was subsequently relocated to Robben Island for solitary confinement. At the end of his sixth year at Robben Island, he was released and placed under house arrest until his death in 1978.

But for reasons that are unclear, Sobukwe had privileges that other prisoners didn’t, although, unlike other prisoners, he was kept in solitary confinement.

Sobukwe was kept in solitary confinement but enjoyed a unique prisoner-plus status; he was permitted certain privileges including books, magazines, newspapers, civilian clothing, etc. He lived in a separate area on the island and was strictly prohibited from contact with other prisoners, though Sobukwe was able to communicate sporadically through visual signals while outside for exercise.

His house is the big house to the left; I presume the other buildings contain individual cells.

The buildings that held the political prisoners:

Some prisoners were allowed outside exercise and games; here’s a rugby field they constructed. (By the way, congrats to the Springboks for their victory over New Zealand’s All Blacks yesterday.)

This shows the food provided to prisoners, which differed according to their apartheid classification: Asians and “coloureds” (blacks with white genes) got food different from the “Bantus” (native African blacks). “Mealie meal” is corn porridge, presumably like “pap”.  Either way, the prisoners didn’t eat well (where are the vegetables?) and weren’t given much time to eat (just a few minutes in the limestone quarry, we were told):

Prisoners were allowed to receive and to write one letter every six months, but these were read and censored, with any material eliminated that might be considered political. Here’s one censored letter from Durban displayed on the wall of the prison:

The first part of the waking tour of the prison involved showing us two large halls, one full of bunk beds. I’m not sure what these were, as I was was too far behind the guide to hear him, but perhaps they were for non-political prisoners. If you’ve been to Robben or know the answer, please weigh in below.

Mandela was instrumental in getting the prison to allow a small garden to be planted in the courtyard.

The garden area (below) had little greenery (perhaps it was the time of year) and one leafless apple tree. It served more than just a place to see a little greenery, for it was in this garden that Mandela buried some of his political writings, including the manuscript of his best-selling autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, not published until 1994.

When we were in the “garden” area, our guide told us that Mandela’s cell was the fourth window on the right above, and of course I waited until the group had passed so I could see it and photograph it without a crowd.

Here’s where the man spent 18 years. It’s only about 6 m²  (7 x 9 feet).  The electric light was kept on in all the cells night and day. Prisoners, as you can see, slept on the floor on a mat, and had almost no amenities. Here we see a table, a plate, cup, and utensil, and what looks like a slop bucket.

Another view, this time taken with a flash.  Mandela did his writing at night, which I believe extended from 6 pm to 6 am.

Here’s the outside of the prison taken as a panorama. Click the photo to enlarge it.

While exiting the grounds I came upon this turtle. Reader Divy and her husband, who run a veterinary business and have extensive knowledge of reptiles, agreed this is an Angulate tortoise (Chersina angulata), known to be found in Robben Island.

On the way to the exit from the grounds was this room, which was an office without any X-ray machines. I suspect it was part of the facilities used when the prison was in operation.

And the exit to the harbor (the other side of the entrance).  I imagined how happy a prisoner was to be walking out this gate to freedom.

Finally, after a choppy trip back to the mainland, we encountered a trio of brown fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus). There are two subspecies with a curiously disjunct distribution, one living at the southern tip of Africa and the other in a strip of southeast Australia.

And, with the sight of a proud seal, we’re back.