Day Two - If freedom is the destination no walk is too far

Robben Island is like the Alcatraz of South Africa. It's the prison most famous for its containment of anti-apartheid political prisoners from 1962-1991, most famously Nelson Mandela. I visited yesterday via ferry and was surrounded by visitors representing numerous cultures and races. There were a few important things that stood out for me on the island that I wanted to share….

Robben Island is not just an island to be toured. It's an island which inhabits many ex-politcial prisoners, who now work as tour guides on the island, and their families. You may be thinking why someone would choose to live on the site of their imprisonment. Upon entering the island, you are greeted by a sign that asks you to shift your perspective on what you are about to witness.  In other words, it asks that instead of formulating the natural sympathy for the trauma and devastation of the time period and prisoners, bear witness to the strength of the human spirit that triumphed in the face of tremendous adversity. Beautiful, eh? It's the "right" of all of the ex-prisoners to tell their story, to not forget the fight for freedom. Second, Robben Island is a gift from mother nature and a Nature Conservatory. Not only is it a breeding area for the African Penguin on the island you will find various other wildlife, including one last ostrich and over 100 bird species.  The views were outstanding…pics to come soon.

Something else that stood out…when we met with our first tour guide, we were told that Robben Island had a different name given by the ex-political prisoners. They called it University. When Nelson Mandela and his contemporaries landed on the island, it was like a political meeting of the minds. They had committed themselves to self development in spite of their incarceration.  And it became the best education prisoners could have dreamed of. Funny that the National Party would find it wise to place ALL of the brilliant political minds in the same place and think they wouldn't be plotting the demise of the National Party.  In addition, they even moved the rapists and murderers OUT OF the maximum security and into the medium security facility to secure the maximum for the political prisoners. Clearly they were more fearful of the escape of a political anti-apartheid mind more so than the actions of a convict.

Mandela and other prisoners worked 8 hours a day 5 days a week in the limestone quarry.  When freed from the prison, Mandela held a reunion on the island at the quarry. Each ex-political prisoner placed a stone in a pile (pictured above).  The pile of stones represents each individual's journey as a prisoner and the strength of their spirit to find forgiveness for the people of their nation.  This pile of stones should be a reminder to all that visible or cultural differences seen by our eye hold no depth.  The truth is always beneath the surface and when we live in separation from that truth, we find suffering.  

What made Mandela the profound leader he was, was indeed his personal mastery developed on Robben Island. Without that time, who knows what role he would have taken in developing this incredible nation  towards freedom.  Mandela lived by his virtue of forgiveness, his ability to shift perspective and do what needed to be done to unite a nation that lived separation and suffering as far back as South Africans can remember….some say since the day the first white Europeans stepped foot on the soil in the 1400's.

So the lesson from the day - despite our ability to ignore the biases, judgements and prejudices that are engrained in each of us, we must be present and acknowledge what truly exists in order to move away from it.  South African's have no where near the politically correct behavior that American's do. They are actually nervous that their open talk about "races" may offend us. But they are open about the fact that there are cultural differences. And so far on this journey, I have yet to meet one local that isn't continuously working towards bridging any continued apartheid/separation between the races.  It's extraordinary to watch. We were told by a panel of locals on our first day that if South Africa had one word it would be "opportunity." It was only 15 years ago that apartheid ended - that each race was separated and that only whites had privilege. What testimony to the strength of the human spirit!