Friday, since Brigid and I both finished class at 11AM, we decided to visit Robben Island- probably the number one must do for Cape Town. The tours leave on scheduled ferries, which you have to book in advance, and we scheduled one for 13:00. We began to regret that decision at 10AM, sprinting through torrential downpour on campus to make it to our respective only classes. (Apparently my study abroad advisor was right in telling us to bring gortex- when it rains it POURS). Luckily though, things began to clear up around 12:30. UCT runs various shuttles between it’s campuses (upper and lower are walking distance, but the medical school and the fine arts campuses are on the other side of town) and the res, so we managed to take the shuttle to the fine arts campus, cutting the cost of the cab down from R100 to R30. (Also worth noting, the greatest pancakes/crepes in Cape Town are at a restaurant by the Robben Island Ferry dock). The tour of the island itself was really surreal. The bus tour, which was first, drove us around the island, so we could see the medium-security prisons, manual labor sites, and the guards living area (a bizarrely picturesque town, sports courts and such built by the prisoners and enjoyed by guards and their families). The nature of the tour was a bit peculiar, and very careful not to exacerbate any ‘white guilt’ such a post-apartheid tour might bring about. The guide asked who was from the US, England, Holland, and Australia, and then told us that “all of our countries were instrumental in ending apartheid and ensuring that Robben Island would no longer be a prison,” and then had us all applaud ourselves. Well, if we’re talking about historical contribution, it seems strange to exclusively praise the English and Dutch for South Africa’s progress. But I suppose if these tours had an effect of any guilt or unpleasantness, nobody would come.
This is the lime quarry where all prisoners did their manual labor. Prior to its use for anti-apartheid political prisoners, the rock reached the grass.
The bus tour was followed by a tour of the maximum security prison by a former prisoner. This bit was really interesting, but was so much to absorb at once. Our tour guide had been arrested for ‘sabotage’ in the mid 1980s, after burning down a rent office to stop the ability of the government to arrest Blacks in townships who had refused to pay rent (on government shacks, after having their houses confiscated as part of the Group Areas Act). He spent time in six different political prisons in South Africa, and (I think) 6-8 years at Robben Island. He was really fascinating, and I wished I had been able to ask him more questions, but the experience itself was so hard to comprehend until after we had left.
This is number five, Nelson Mandela’s cell. (bathroom on left, bed on right)
The wall of the maximum security prison
This is the lime quarry where all prisoners did their manual labor. Prior to its use for anti-apartheid political prisoners, the rock reached the grass.
This is number five, Nelson Mandela’s cell. (bathroom on left, bed on right)
The wall of the maximum security prison
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