On 11 December 1999, Robben Island in South Africa was officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ratings are as follows:
"The architecture of Robben Island, especially the safest prisons used to house political prisoners in the late 20th century, is the most convincing testimony to the dark history. Robben Island and its prison buildings symbolize the triumph of the human spirit, freedom and democracy over oppression. ”
Visiting Robben Island is arguably the highlight of this Trip to Africa. I've always been eager to find out what the island where Mandela was really like. How did Mandela spend 18 years in prison here?
On December 10, 2013, 91 heads of state, government leaders and representatives of international organizations from around the world personally came to Johannesburg to attend Mandela's funeral. The scale of the funeral is the largest state funeral in modern mankind. With the brilliance of others and the charm of faith, Mandela broke through the different camps of culture, race, religion and ideology, and became the only politician in modern history who can make the whole world respect incomparably.
He is not only an idol of the European and American camps, but even Chávez and Castro have named him a great man. At his funeral, U.S. President Barack Obama and his 50-year-old nemesis, Castro, put aside their hatred and shook hands. The Chinese band Bion specially composed the song "Glorious Years" for Mandela, and the tune was passionate and well-known.
How did Mandela become a great man of world glory? Will Robben Island give me a satisfactory answer?
Tickets to Robben Island were difficult to book, and several Britons I met on board waited two weeks in Cape Town to get their tickets. Thanks to the fact that I booked online two months in advance.
It takes 45 minutes by boat from Cape Town to Robben Island. The waves were choppy and bumpy, especially as I approached the island, and the whole boat swayed from side to side like a drunk, shaking me dizzy.
Robben Island, which is known as a prison, must be eerie and scary in the imagination, but when you look at the island, the scenery is unexpectedly beautiful. Lush green, blue of the sea and sky, spring in the garden, birds and flowers, flocks of seals lazily lying on the beach basking in the sun. If it weren't for the high-walled iron mesh that catches your eye, you would have thought that this is a pampered resort.
Robben Island is an island near Cape Town, South Africa, covering an area of about 13 square kilometers. Historically, British prisoners have been held, and they have also served as a quarantine for the mentally ill and lepers. Later, the South African government used it exclusively to detain political prisoners. After the abolition of apartheid, Robben Island became a museum officially open to the public.
From 1960 to 1991, more than 3,000 black South African political prisoners were imprisoned here, and former South African President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 years.
The tour guides on Robben Island are all volunteers. They are either prisoners who have been held here or jailers who have worked here. My guide was a middle-aged man in his 40s, with a thin figure, a straight waist, and curly black hair with a little silver wire. He spent 5 years in Robben Island Prison.
Entering the prison's dining room, I saw a recipe hanging on the wall. As the years passed, the paper quality of the recipes turned yellow. It says that the prisoners consume different amounts of protein, sugar, etc. per day according to their skin color. Among them, Indian prisoners daily meat 60 ounces, jam and drink 10 ounces; Black prisoners had only 50 ounces of meat and no jams and drinks. Of all the prisoners on Robben Island, skin color will determine their daily recipes.
I went to Cell 5 and there was a white card on the door that read: Nelson Mandela/466/64. Mandela, 46, was sentenced to "life in prison" for organizing anti-apartheid activities. When he arrived at Robben Island, he was changed into a prison uniform with the designation 46664. The first three digits, 466, mean the 466th prisoner in 1964.
It is a 4 m2 cell with a small iron window high above the right. The room looks like a reinforced concrete closed box. Two blankets were laid on the narrow floor, next to a small stool and a wooden barrel used as a toilet.
When I arrived on the island, it was early spring, the temperature was 37 degrees at noon, and even the air was hot and baking. Listen to the tour guide, the winter here is very hot at noon, but the temperature in the morning and evening is very low. On windy winter nights, Mandela slept on the cold cement floor and relied on two thin blankets to keep out the cold. Whenever the sun is scorching in the middle of summer, the temperature on the island reaches more than 40 degrees. The cell was like a steamer, and mosquitoes buzzed and flew in the dimly lit iron windows.
The big man Mandela of 1 meter 85 in this small box, 18 cold and hot, how did he survive? What kind of will and faith does a person need to persevere in this dark day?
Mandela was born into a large chieftain family and was well educated from an early age. He worked as a lawyer and, as a young man, aspired to pursue national liberation.
The Bantustan Act of 1958 imposed a system of apartheid by the South African authorities, which imposed a segregation system that limited 10 million blacks to 12 percent of South African territory. Mandela threw himself resolutely into the struggle against apartheid. He became the leader of the ANC's armed organization, The Spear of nations, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the South African authorities for subversion of the state, planning an armed struggle against the government's violent repression.
In a four-hour statement in court, Mandela made it clear to the world that his highest ideal was to build a free democratic society in which all people had equal opportunities and lived in harmony. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the realization of this ideal. From then on, Mandela began a career of 27 spring and autumn bars.
With the guide's car, I came to the lime field. The abrupt strange rock was white and shiny under the fiery sun. You can imagine that in the middle of summer, this place must be like a barbecue charcoal stove, nourishing the fire. Mandela was shackled and used a hammer to cut stones into small pieces for 9 hours a day. Day after day of labor, limestone was constantly splashed into his eyes, and his vision was seriously impaired and he suffered from serious eye diseases. What did Mandela think in this dark torture of hard labor? I guess he must have the determination to live this dark and boundless day to the end. For an idealistic person like Mandela, there is no desperate situation in the world. The power of faith made him fearless and unrepentant.
Mandela wanted to live his days in prison beyond anyone else's reach. In his 4-square-meter cell, he ran for 45 minutes a day, doing 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 50 squats. As Mandela himself said: If you are light, the world will not be dark. If you have hope, the world will not be completely hopeless. If you don't give in, what will the world do to you? ”
For Mandela, every day that did not dance was a disgrace to life. The prison did not allow him to study or provide books, so he kept asking for requests from organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. Eventually, under his leadership, his fellow inmates set off a craze for a degree. The night cell was turned into a study room. Many prisoners who could not read large characters learned to read here. Robben Island Prison came to be known to many as the University of Robben Island.
The tour guide told me that he was not very literate, and that he had been studying hard for several years in Robben Island and had earned a university degree.
He recalled his life in prison: "It was the most fulfilling period of my life. I learned a lot of knowledge, and I had a powerful day, and I was in a happy mood to endure the hardships that ordinary people could not tolerate.
I could feel the fire-like passion in the tour guide's eyes. He doesn't seem to be explaining the horrors of prison, but reminiscing about a period of burning passion, an invincible idealistic feeling.
A person who aspires to be ambitious can live a poem no matter how difficult the life is. You can't change suffering, but you can change the process in between. Every day on Robben Island, Mandela was always smiling and walking with his head held high. He hummed with the weaver birds and danced with the squirrels. He was fascinated by growing vegetables, his vegetable growing skills were first-class, and he was able to grow whatever he wanted. In 1982, Mandela was transferred to Ballsmore Prison. The prison had no land, so he was on the roof, dividing 16 gasoline barrels in half into 32 large plates and planting various vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and onions. For Mandela, life is beautiful and the future can be expected.
During his 18 years on Robben Island, Mandela immersed himself in various books. He completed a law degree from the University of London and went on to study economics. He had carefully studied the political systems of the countries of the world and believed that the abolition of apartheid in South Africa did not necessarily mean armed violence. By this time, Mandela had gone from a passionate young man who advocated violent revolution to a political leader with a meticulous theoretical system and framework. In order to avoid bloodshed and sacrifice, he decided to abandon hatred, reconcile with the whites, and win the sympathy and support of people all over the world.
A jailer who used to work on Robben Island said Mandela had been deliberately exercising his temperament. He became more kind and enthusiastic towards the white jailer, not to be yin and yang, but to tolerate and accept from the heart. He is dissolving hatred with forgiveness
Apartheid was lifted in South Africa in 1990. In 1994, at the age of 76, Mandela was officially elected president of South Africa. At his presidential inauguration, he invited the guards on Robben Island to imprison him.
After the ceremony, Mandela walked up to the guards and said quietly: The moment I walked out of the cell and past the prison gate to freedom, I knew that if I could not leave my sorrow and resentment behind, then I would still be in prison.
The logo of robben Island's World Heritage Site is like a hollow window, this end is a spooky prison, and the other is Cape Town's beautiful Table Mountain
Throughout his life, Mandela was oppressed by whites, including 27 years in prison, the separation of his wife and children, and the destruction of his family. What kind of strength did he use to overcome loneliness and give up hatred, and finally realize his grand ideals?
Gorky said: Faith is an emotion, a great creativity.
Robben's 18 years gave Mandela an opportunity to reinvent his faith and fulfill his faith. On Robben Island, he attained phoenix nirvana, was reborn from the ashes, and not only completed a major turning point of thought, but also truly practiced to become a great spiritual leader.
It's often said that if you only have one chance to go to South Africa in your life, you must go to Robben Island. In my opinion, Robben Island is a must-visit place in one's life, not only telling the story of Mandela and the history of South Africa, but also torturing the soul of every visitor.
Harari pointed out in "A Brief History of the Future" that plague, war and famine are no longer the protagonists of the world, and the three major problems to be solved by mankind in the future are longevity, happiness and faith. And all three of these can be found in Robben Island.
Mandela died at the age of 95 and died of illness. Africa and Mandela experienced a similar experience, with many political elites who spent decades in prison. Many of them are long-lived elderly people who have lived to the age of 100. They did not accurately calculate calories to two decimal places, nor did they pursue all kinds of nutritional nourishments all day long, it was impossible to soak in the hospital every day to check the body, and they did not issue aging laments all day long. What they have is the direction of the heart, regardless of the faith of the West and the East.
When a person can not lose his original intention, love what I love, do what I do, and ask no questions, this person is always young and always happy.
(This article is an audio work, Himalayan, Farming Reading Hope, Africa 200 Days)