Today, we went to Robben Island and District 6, where we learned and saw things that many people don’t get to see with their own eyes. We had to get on a boat ferry to reach Robben Island, which took about 20 minutes. It was a beautiful, yet cold, ride, with the South African coastline in the background. When we arrived and began our bus tour of the island, something that immediately caught me off guard was that it was more than just a prison on the island—there were homes, schools, and even an entire hospital on this same island that housed this controversial prison!
The tour of Robben Island also stood out to me after learning just how the prisoners and even employees had to endure so far away from civilization. Concrete walls with no windows as prison cells, with little-to-no time outside of the prison walls. Additionally, the strength and resolve of the people involved in touring the site was amazing. For example, our tour guide was himself a former prisoner who was imprisoned when in high school for “political acts.” I think he had a lot of courage to be able to take a ferry out to the prison every morning after being freed, having to now re-live his experience every day by telling people about it. I know if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to go back to such pain.
After our tour of Robben Island, we also had the opportunity to visit the District 6 Museum. I found the history of District 6 to be sickening. The visit also raised many questions for me. District 6 is the site where thousands of coloured people in Cape Town along the coast, were forcibly removed from their homes to make space for whites and other redevelopment plans by the apartheid government. For me this story sounded like one of the worst parts of the apartheid era because so many families lost loved ones in the chaos of the removal and relocation to the system’s organized townships. After apartheid in this District 6 area, it has become gentrified and only a handful of residents have returned to their homeland. The District 6 area is now full of hotels and tourist attractions. This made me angry. It raised the question for me of what did the people do to fight back and why did they not succeed? It’s hard and complicated, I know, but I want justice for this community.
At the end of our Robben Island and District 6 tour day, we all traveled back to our homestays to spend more time with our host families. Staying in a homestay was truly eye-opening. Although it was cold in the home with no heat, the time we shared drinking endless cups of tea while talking with our house “momma” was enjoyable. Our momma even shared with us the sad story about her daughter that was killed by her boyfriend. The story was incredibly sad, but looking into our momma’s eyes, I could see she was strong and that she felt peace in the fact that she received justice for her daughter. Also, as I have seen throughout this trip, my homestay experience has shown me that there isn’t much difference between a South African home and my own. One of my biggest takeaways is the genuine happiness of the people I have met here, no matter what they have or their circumstances.
Niko K., Eastern High School