"Take a Stand" By: Meagan Bourne

We had heard of Nelson Mandela, seen the movie Invictus, and learned about apartheid. The next step was to take a trip to Robben Island where he was held prisoner for 28 years. However, it wouldn’t be just any trip to the Island. We would have our tour guided by Nelson Mandela’s prison mate, Ahmed Kathrada.

The day started with a short film about Nelson Mandela followed by two guest speakers. Then around 12:00 we loaded the buses where we arrived at the V&A Waterfront for a 1:00 departure to Robben Island. When we arrived, we made our way through the prison passing by each individual cell, not much bigger than a closet. Passing by Mandela’s cell, it was hard to imagine spending so many years there and then going on to lead a country towards equality. At the end of the cells, we all gathered in a larger room and listened to Kathrada’s recollection of his time spent in the prison. As he talked about chiseling rocks during the day, going to church on Sundays, and bartering for any piece of news they could find, it was unbelievable to think of the journey he and Mandela had gone through.

Sitting on the ferry back to Cape Town, I realized that sitting right behind me was Nelson Mandela’s prison mate talking to the granddaughter of a past African National Congress president while a Pulitzer Prize winning author was standing just a few feet away from them (these were the two guest speakers from this morning). It was an incredible and privileged experience that I will remember forever. So, my three words to the world are “Take a stand.” Even when the prisoners were arrested and thought they were facing the death sentence, they never stopped fighting for what they believed and became important figures to change South Africa forever.