Toward the end of last summer 2023, I travelled to Cape Town with my fiancé to scout potential venues for our upcoming nuptial. One must-see destination on our list was the infamous Robben Island. I was determined to see or at least try to experience its history firsthand.
I had no intention of writing a blog about that visit, but having reflected on the experience for a year and the world today, I feel compelled to write something about this desolate and heartbreaking place, why? Catharsis perhaps, certainly a faint hope to educate and inform at least one person about this place and its history.
As someone new to blogging, I hope you will bear with me if this is not up to standard.
Visiting Robben Island is profoundly moving, particularly exploring the subversive garden nurtured by Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners.
This garden, which is now a symbol of resilience and hope, became more than a place to grow vegetables. It was a quiet act of defiance and a sanctuary for intellectual and political exchange, Mandela's autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," famously written and buried there.
On Mandela Day each year, the world reflects on Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy and the indomitable human spirit that triumphed over adversity. One of the most poignant symbols of this spirit is Robben Island, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.
Robben Island’s history as a prison predates the Apartheid era. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch used the island to incarcerate political prisoners from the Dutch East Indies. The island is home to a Kramat (in the Cape Malay community of Muslims in South Africa, a kramat is a shrine that honours a holy person) dedicated to Prince Pangeran Chakra Deningrat, who died there in 1754, it also housed the first chief imam of the Cape from 1780 to 1793.
When the British took control of the Cape, they continued to use Robben Island as a prison for those who resisted their rule. In the latter half of the 19th century, Robben Island became a leper colony. Initially, lepers moved there voluntarily, but following the Leprosy Repression Act of 1882, they were forcibly relocated with no option to return. The only break in its use as a prison was during World War II when it served as a military base, which is why today you’ll find artillery batteries and fortifications there.
Robben Island is now a World Heritage site, recognised for its rich, albeit cruel, history of enslavement, banishment, isolation, war, and political imprisonment. From 1960 until its closure in 1996, the island was an infamous maximum-security prison, embodying the apartheid state’s repression. It held many who resisted apartheid, including notable figures such as South African presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.
Nelson Mandela, perhaps the most renowned of Robben Island’s political prisoners, endured 18 years of harsh conditions there. He noted that most inmates had no beds or plumbing and were subjected to gruelling manual labour, with minimal contact with the outside world.
As the world honours Mandela’s legacy, let us remember how Robben Island remains a testament to the resilience and strength of those who fight for freedom and justice.
It is a reminder of the long, arduous journey towards equality and the enduring power of the human spirit, poignant as we approach Black History Month here in the UK.
In conclusion, the subversive garden on Robben Island, which began as a simple vegetable garden, providing prisoners with a vital connection to nature and a clandestine means of communication became a powerful symbol of resilience and defiance, embodying the indomitable spirit of those who fight against apartheid. Visiting this garden is a profoundly moving experience, and I hope sharing this glimpse into its history inspires others to reflect on the enduring power of hope and resistance.
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