Robben Island: Where reconciliation began
It’s hard to visit South Africa without thinking about Apartheid. And while Apartheid was born of complex history and context, to many its violent oppression of Black, Coloured and Indian South Africans was symbolized in Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and many other leaders were held for decades.

Located twenty minutes by boat from Cape Town, Robben Island is held as a symbol of the struggle for freedom and reconciliation that is still going on in the country today.

When you arrive at Robben Island, you are greeted on the wharf by large photos of prisoners disembarking ships in past years, under guard of white wardens with rifles and black wardens without – the system of class extending even to the guards. The tour around the island is led by former political prisoners, people who spent years of their lives under the brutal conditions of the prison.

Throughout the prison, Apartheid’s system of class based on race was enforced. Black South Africans, known as Bantu, were given smaller rations, no beds, and only summer clothes. Coloureds (as people of mixed races were known) and Indians were given slightly better conditions – an effort to promote division within prison ranks.

While the stories we heard were both fascinating and horrifying at the same time, a couple things stood out: The political leaders were assigned to do hard labor in a quarry, basically moving rocks around as an effort to break their spirits. In the quarry, there is a cave that was used as a bathroom for the prisoners. Because no white would ever share a bathroom with a black, the cave became the place where the prisoners could meet to discuss their plans in private. And so it was that the “Government in Exile” was born, in a bathroom cave on Robben Island.

In addition to political prisoners, the island also contained hardened criminals – rapists, murderers, etc. The criminals were mixed in with the political prisoners, in an attempt to dampen spirits. Instead of having the intended effect though, the political leaders taught the criminals, and banned them from stealing and other crime, except for one case: the criminals were employed in stealing newspapers from the wardens.

Today, 20% of the South African Parliament is comprised of people who were held as prisoners on Robben Island. While it may seem natural for there to be an overwhelming sense of lingering bitterness and resentment, that seems not to be the case. Instead, Robben Island is identified as the place where reconciliation between the races began, as white wardens got to know the black political prisoners, and realized the shared humanity.

While racial issues in South Africa are still quite bizarre (to put it mildly), Robben Island is a place where millions of people from all over the world come to remember the history and learn, in the words of our guide, “there is only one way, forward.”