Cape Town Tour 2009 – Robben Island
Sinenhlanhla Ndlovu (AS-Level)
Window to History
On the ferry back to Cape Town from Robben Island, which is twelve kilometers apart ,I felt a huge sense of pride in my country because of how far we've come but most importantly I finally felt the taste of freedom.
As I made my way through the gates at Nelson Gateway, which is at the Waterfront, I couldn't help but notice a cream white ferry. I watched with fear in my eyes as my fellow schoolmates stood in a line waiting for their turn to board the ferry. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, but my desire to set foot on Robben Island was far greater then my fear of sinking, so I boarded the Ferry despite images of drowning playing over and over again in my head like a broken record.
The Ferry had rows of bottle green seats and few television screens. I sat together with my friends, then the ferry began to move. The captain said the few words and I couldn't help but get excited. This was it, I was going to Robben Island. A huge smile crossed over my face and my fear slowly crept away.
The weather was a bit chilly and I was too excited to remain seated in my seat for a whole half an hour trip to Robben Island. I got out of my seat and made my way to the deck. The smell of salty sea water tickled my nose. The waves crashed along the Ferry and far in the distance I could see Cape Town. It is a beautiful city indeed. A few minutes remained before we reached Robben Island.
As the ferry slowed down, I noticed seagulls in the sunny sky and land !!! I had never been so thrilled to see the land in my life. The sound of teachers echoed telling us to line up. As I got off the Ferry we lined up then made our way to the Ferry. We shared the bus with few British girls who shared their stories of how amazing their way in Cape Town had been so far.
Our guide was a colored gentleman who grew up in Robben Island as a child. He was of great assistance since he portrayed more knowledge about Robben Island as a whole.The bus took us from one historic place to another.
Our first stop was Leper graveyard, which was a graveyard filled with graves of people who were sent to Robben Island because they had leprosy, which is an illness causes people living with it to loose their sense of touch and at a later stage even loose parts of their bodies, for example their legs. The apartheid Government thought killing these people would cure the country of the illness not knowing that few a few years later a cure would be discovered. Mentally ill people were also sent to Robben Island as well as outcasts and prostitutes.
Our second stop was where the political prisoner from Eastern Cape was sent to Robben Island , because he had a huge influence on the black people and because he organised many peaceful marches ,which went wrong the day police decided to shoot. The police did not tell the truth about the reason why they shot the victims, instead they insisted that the victims were violent. To confirm that the victims were not violent, they were shot from behind deliberately by the police.
Thinking about this brings tears to my eyes. The political prisoner died on the island, he was not allowed to speak to his family or anybody, but a priest once a month, because they feared he would influence the other prisoners. He died a few years before black people were finally given freedom .
Our third stop was at the lime quarry where prisoners did hard physical labour as a form of punishment. Other forms of punishment were beatings, insufficient food and no proper bedding and clothing ,legal actions, hunger strikes and international pressure on the government helped better these conditions.
We then passed by a fascinating shrine called KRAMAT, which was built in honour of TUAN EURU. We also passed by Methodist church which is the only privately owned property in Robben Island .It's owned by the HEAD of the Methodist church. We went passed the light house where I could see a lot of seabirds and Table Mountain. We got back on the bus and made our way to our last stop which was the maximum security prison.
When we reached the prison we bid our amazing guide a goodbye who then informed us about meeting a former inmate, who would take us around the Mandela tour in B-section. Our guide , who was a former in mate of section A, told us about how the wardens tried to separate the different racial groups ,but instead made them bond even more despite the beatings and other hardships they encountered.
We then moved to section - B which was Tata Madiba, Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela for twenty years. I wasn't very impressed with the cells because they were all empty and display in Tata Mandela's cell looked fake. I personally think they should have kept the cells the way they were would have made the experience more meaningful, but because the cells were empty and painted in depressing and rather boring white and blue. The atmosphere was rather dull and boring.
The whole Robben Island experience was very rewarding, because now I can truly say I understand what is meant by fifteen years of freedom. Going to Robben Island helped me put myself in our fallen and still living freedom fighters' shoes. I admire them and hope our fallen heroes rest in peace knowing that they didn't fight and die for nothing but rest in peace knowing that the free South Africa they dreamt of is now a reality indeed.
As young black South African woman I will pray each day thanking the LORD for this free South Africa and will make the fallen and living freedom fighters proud by grabbing all the opportunities that come my way.
Other Extra-Curricular Activities
- Extra-Murals
- Tour & Camp Photograph Galleries
- Drums & Dreams - 2008 School Concert
