Robben Island is a small (1.95 square miles), oval shaped (2 miles north-south, 1.1 miles east-west) island about 4.3 miles off the coast of Cape Town. Its name means “Seal Island” in Dutch.
Robben Island was used as a prison over much of its written history, beginning in the mid-17th century through 1996. From 1846 through 1931, it was also used as a hospital for people with leprosy and the mentally and chronically ill, and during World War II, it was a training and defense station.
Nearly from its start, it was used for political prisoners and the apartheid regime used it as a maximum security jail for political prisoners from 1961 to 1991 (and as a medium security prison for criminal prisoners from 1961 to 1996).
The reason for the fame (or perhaps more appropriately the notoriety) of Robben Island concerns its most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela, from 1964 to 1982. But it should be noted that many others were also imprisoned there, including two others who would later also become presidents of the Republic of South Africa -- Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma. The island is now a South African National Heritage Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For some reason, our tour did not have all of us going to Robben Island. It was, instead, an optional activity this afternoon. Since the history of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa was one of the important reasons I chose to visit here, there never was any question what my activity choice would be. To our surprise, we were the only two members of our group who chose to visit Robben Island.
You start the trip to Robben Island at the Victoria and Alfred Wharf. Inside the building is a copy of a poster that reminds us of the struggle against apartheid.
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| Free Mandela Poster at Embarkation Point for Robben Island |
We board boats and proceed away from the mainland for a 40 minute boat trip. This gives us a wonderful opportunity for photos of Cape Town.
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| Cape Town View from Boat to Robben Island |
Of course, it wasn’t so picturesque for Mandela and others. His autobiography tells of being taken to the island in the hold of a boat in the dark of night.
The island itself is fairly flat and quite low lying.
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| Approaching Robben Island |
And any doubt that you’re entering what used to be a prison is quickly erased when you land.
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| Definitely Entering Former Prison |
Arriving visitors are divided into two groups. The first group (which I was in) sees the cells and buildings first and then gets a bus ride around the island itself, while the second group does just the opposite.
The guides at the Robben Island Museum (which constitutes the entire island), are former prisoners and apparently also some guards. Some of them get to live on the island. My guide, shown in the picture below, was a prisoner on the island for undertaking anti-apartheid work as a youth in Port Elizabeth.
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| Guide and Former Prisoner |
This is supposed to be Mandela’s cell while on the island.
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| Mandela's Cell on Robben Island |
In Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela notes that he was housed in the political prisoners’ wing of the prison. Prison officials took care not to let the political prisoners have much contact with the common law (or criminal) prisoners.
Cape Town must have seemed very far off to those who were imprisoned on Robben Island.
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| Cape Town Viewed from Robben Island |
One of the stranger buildings on Robben Island is the Robert Sobukwe house. He was an anti-apartheid activist who originally was a member of the African National Congress. He later split from the ANC and founded the Pan African Congress. The ANC was a multi-racial organization which invited help and support from non-African peoples, while the PAC was Africanist and rejected working with non-Africans, including whites. The PAC was generally considered more radical than the ANC and was viewed by the apartheid regime as more dangerous.
Sobukwe was imprisoned for 3 years following a demonstration against the Pass Laws in 1960. But when he finished his sentence he was sent to be interred on Robben Island under a law that became known as the Sobukwe clause – as he was the only one who was held under its terms. It allowed his continued imprisonment, under the discretion of the Minister of Justice (ironic note), to be reviewed annually. Sobukwe was kept in solitary confinement in the house shown below, although with certain privileges denied other solitary confinement prisoners such as books, newspapers, civilian clothes, and bread.
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| Robert Sobukwe House on Robben Island |
But we need to remember that he had supposedly also served the length of his originally sentenced term. He was finally released from the island in 1969 and sent to internal exile in Kimberly, where he died in 1978. Sobukwe was pretty much a destroyed person when “released” into internal exile based on the many, many years in solitary confinement.
A word about bread specifically and food generally to those in prison in apartheid South Africa. There was a significant discrimination as follows (Africans included blacks while non-Africans included whites and Asians/Indians. I don’t know how coloured (i.e., mixed race) prisoners were classified – perhaps the classification depended on whether you were part African. And remember that how you were classified was often arbitrary):
Morning pap (finely ground corn) was served with 1 teaspoon of sugar to non-Africans and ½ teaspoon to Africans;
Coffee or tea: twice a day for non-Africans, once a day (and one cup) to Africans;
Lunch- non-Africans got mealie rice (grits) while Africans got boiled corn
Bread at supper – only non-Africans got it.
While meat or fish was given four times a week, non-Africans were given 110 grams while Africans got only 60 grams.
And remember that this was the officially sanctioned system of discrimination. Various prisoners, including Mandela, have noted that the system in practice was even more degrading and discriminatory against Africans.
Mandela and the other political prisoners who were also supposedly kept in solitary confinement on Robben Island developed elaborate systems of communication, both oral and written, while on the Island. One of the punishments inflicted on the prisoners was the requirement that they work each day in the lime quarry shown here.
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| Lime Quarry Where Mandela and Others Met and Worked |
But the guards often left the prisoners here on their own and the prisoners soon developed a political school which met usually in the cave shown above. They not only were able to develop philosophy and strategy, but they were able to keep in communication with each other.
The water around Robben Island is very dangerous for boats, with lots of shallows which have claimed many boats, including one boat that was carrying many gold coins to the Dutch East India Company in what is now Indonesia. The boat sank and while a few coins have washed up on Robben Island, the ship itself and its big treasure have not been recovered.
A lighthouse was constructed on Minto Hill on Robben Island in 1864 to warn ships.
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| Monto Hill Lighthouse on Robben Island |
This light, which is the only light in South Africa that flashes rather than rotates, was switched to electricity in 1938.
Next: It’s time for the stereotypical or iconical part of the trip. Tomorrow morning we leave on safari.
Link to Full Resolution Photos
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