South Africa, Robben Island - November 2010
Robben Island is a small island, a few miles south of Cape Town in Table Bay. The island was used for a number of purposes. But it is most ‘famous’ for its use as a prison. The Dutch Colonists were the first to use this island for that purpose. But during Apartheid in South Africa it was a facility to isolate and banish political prisoners. Among them Nelson Mandela.
Now the island is a museum and a World Heritage Site. But not simply a museum that tells and shows how things were. A visit to the museum shows how transformation of a shared history can result in a new start of a shared future. The tour guides of the museum are former guards and prisoners. They show people around, telling about the past, adding their own experience and stories. But they also emphasize the prize of human rights, freedom, equality and the necessity of critical debate and dialogue.
Visiting the island was memorable and a big inspiration. It is not only about the pain that happened in the past. It is also about a promise for the future that needs work and action of all involved to become a reality.
In the coming days I will post pictures of the inside of Robben Island. Here is the start: a stitched panorama.
Click on the picture for a bigger version
really cool..!!!