I’m so excited!
Tomorrow I’m off to South Africa for two weeks. I am going to Cape Town and the Western Cape primarily to see my Dad and catch up with my brother, his family, more family and old friends.
Not only is it a holiday, but I am also going to meet some people I have long admired.
One of them is Christo Brand, author of the book, Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend. I often give talks about Nelson Mandela and my latest talk is based on this book. The part I like best about giving these talks is the questions afterwards. One of the frequently asked ones is, ‘Did you ever meet Mandela?’
Sadly, I did not. The closest I’ve got is fleetingly meeting his daughter Zindzi and a grandson in March 2014, when they were in London with Christo Brand and fellow author Barbara Jones, promoting his book. I managed a brief chat with Christo when he signed my copy of the book.
The next best thing to meeting Mandela would be spending time with his erstwhile prison guard and friend. And who knows who else I might meet?
I know that Ahmed Kathrada, one of the seven Rivonians jailed with Nelson Mandela, is still alive and often visits Robben Island incognito. It would be awesome if I met him as well!
Visiting Robben Island is on my list of things to do. I have never been there. There is a stretch on the N1 national road to Cape Town where the road curves around the Tygerberg Hills and you get a magnificent view of Table Mountain, Cape Town city, the Atlantic Ocean and the small speck of land that is Robben Island in the distance. This is a frequent scene in the movie of my childhood. My brother and I would sit perched in the car as we rounded the corner so as to be the first one to exclaim ‘I can see the sea!’
In all those years growing up in the Western Cape, I was blissfully unaware that the ‘most dangerous men’ in South Africa were imprisoned on that island.
Once Mandela and the other Rivonians were jailed, there was a ban on the media. No news, no photographs, nothing in the local or national press was allowed. I must have been in my late teens, early twenties when I first became more politically aware and heard about ‘that terrorist, Mandela.’
Reading his book, Long Walk to Freedom, I wept tears of shame, frustration, exasperation and sadness about what had been going on in my beloved country. It feels to me like I am now making some amends; honouring those years when a profound history unfolded amid heart- rendering sorrow, gross injustices, piercing cruelty and mind-less violence; and paying tribute to the people who so resolutely stood for justice, never wavered and triumphed in the end.
Yes, Robben Island, I am coming to visit you. And Christo, you too. I want to hear your stories about Madiba* first-hand, I want to walk the passages of history, and see the cell that was his home for so long. I shall come well equipped with plenty of tissues, because I sense there might be tears, even though I am not a crying person. See you soon!
*Madiba is Nelson Mandela’s clan name. A clan name represents a person’s ancestry and has a deeper meaning than a surname. It is used as a sign of respect and affection.
Photo Credit: “Robben Island Tour 48” by HelenOnline – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
