Robben Island

During my semester vaction, which was June-July, my friend Deidre came to visit me. She is a medical student in North Carolina, but was doing her summer research and visiting family in Ghana. So since we were on the same continent, she decided to travel to South Africa to visit me.

We had a great time during her visit. We traveled to Cape Town's major tourist destinations.

Robben Island is one of the places that we went to. It is an island off the coast of Cape Town. This island housed a prison where many political prisoners were sent during aparthied. Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratic president, and Robert Sobukwe, founder of the Pan African Congress were both imprisoned there.

Apartheid was a legal system in South Africa that segregated people based on race and color. The system favored the needs and rights of White people, followed by Colored and Asisan people, and lastly Black people. People like Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe fought this injustice.

The picture that I've posted from Robben Island is of the prison's food menu. The menu shows the differences between the food that prisoners received. Asiatic and colored prisoners, neither of whom are considered Black, received one food diet. "Bantu" prisoners, who are consdiered Black, received a different food diet. You might notice from the picture that the Asiatic/Coloured menu has larger food portions than the "Bantu" menu. I think this demonstrates the extent to which apartheid influenced institutions in South Africa. For even in a prison, a distinction was made between people because of the color of their skin.

It's improtant to keep in mind that racism and segregation was not exclusive to South Africa. In the United States, Jim Crow laws in the South allowed for a segregation system very similar to South Africa's apartheid system. In Germany, discrimation towards Jews was allowed.

Injustice is a worldwide problem. Being able to tour Robben Island and see things like the food menu helps us to remember the past and hope that in the future the same unjust actions aren't repeated.