Short Walk to Freedom: Robben Island and V&A Waterfront

The place where South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, would spend 18 of his 27 years in prison, the tour of Robben Island gave the group a snapshot into the South Africa of yesterday. A switch from the tourist attraction-driven and modern South Africa of the present that we had been used to, Robben Island connected the country that we see today to the emotion and fight it grew from. Stories of yesterday’s South Africa were voiced and characterized by former political prisoners who lived the experiences and emotions they gifted to us. In our short time on the island and prison, together, our group took a “short walk to freedom.” Literally, unlike the late President Mandela, we were privileged to walk from the prison, onto the ferry, and back to “freedom” (V&A Waterfront) without having to go through years of imprisonment. Metaphorically, “freedom” has always been the same distance away; yet, 27 years from now, an unattainable feat. Today, the V&A Waterfront, both where one boards and departs the ferry, is a lively, high-end shopping hub- a dramatic shift to the emotion-filled island only a ferry ride away. The picture above was taken with the group on our way to Robben Island. Our ferry ride there was filled with excitement and curiosity to the stories Robben Island would hold. Our ferry ride home, conversely, was a reflection and journey of the freedom we walked on and the progress the country of South Africa has made and history it has blossomed from.