Words cannot describe the amount of love and appreciation that South Africa has for Nelson Mandela, and really not just South Africa it is people from all over the world and anyone who has an understanding of the history of racial segregation. Today I got the chance to tour Robben Island, an island about 7km off the coast of Cape Town known for holding political prisoners. Robben Island was where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 out of the 27 years he was jailed. There is a tremendous amount of history that goes along with Robben Island, like too much for me to take in in just a 3 hour tour. But just standing on the same ground that such an influential part of apartheid history took place is such an amazing feeling. Really I has butterflies in my stomach standing next to Mandela's tiny jail jail cell where he fought for freedom.
There is this quote that keeps running through my head from Steve Biko, another political activist during the apartheid. And I don't have much to say about it because I think it speaks for itself. It goes like this...
"So tell me why you call me black when my skin is more brown than black? And why do you call yourself white when you're more pink than white?" - Steve Biko
Lots of Love
-Annie
No comments:
Post a Comment