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February 17, 2006
Robben Island
Robben Island is the former maximum security prison of the Apartheid era, which housed political prisoners (as well as other criminals). The island has a long history as a space for isolation, and housed a leper colony in the past, among other things.
[Leper graveyard]
[Entrance to prison]
[The quarry where political prisoners were forced to work during incarceration, including Nelson Mandela and other heroes of the Anti-Apartheid movement]
[A picture of a picture; prisoners working in the yard at Robben Island. This picture is from the late 1800s, but the scene was almost identical during the Apartheid era, as well]
[A group cell which housed political prisoners, including our tour guide who was, at 13, the youngest political prisoner ever taken to Robben Island. Only 4 beds, mostly mats on the floor. Black prisoners were made to wear short sleeves and shorts all year round(even during the winter, which is not warm at all), while colored prisoners were given long pants, etc. 60 people were housed in a cell like this.]
[Nelson Mandela's cell at Robben Island. The leaders among political prisoners were kept in solitary cells.]
[This pile of rocks was created during a reunion of political prisoners at Robben Island after the fall of the Apartheid era. Nelson Mandela picked up a rock from the quarry they all used to work in and moved it to that spot. Everyone else followed in the symbolic gesture, creating a monument to their pasts.]
Posted by jcg24 at February 17, 2006 08:53 AM
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