Max Prison story

                                            Max’s stories                                                   

Today I went to Nelson Mandela’s prison on Robben Island.  He was in prison there for eighteen out of his twenty seven years and he was in a single cell (where only one person is in one cell) but they don’t have a toilet or shower. In the group cell you get toilets and showers in your cell but you can’t even read newspapers or have any contact by phones. They got treated badly and put to hard work at the quarry. By Max.

Continued by Nat...

It was at this quarry many years later when Nelson Mandela returned with many other ex prisoners and silently placed a stone at the side of the quarry to represent peace and freedom. The other men followed his action and also placed a stone beside Mandela’s, finally forming a pyramid of stones. This pile of stones is now heritage listed.

I expected the prison to be dark and scary like the Old Melbourne Gaol but it wasn’t like that at all. In fact the place was peaceful and light and bright. We were lead around by an ex prisoner who spoke quietly and had a sense of stillness about him reminding me of Mandela himself.

Currently Mandela is unwell and the country fears his death is imminent. Many prayer vigils are being held around the country and many messages of support and love are being sent his way via morning television shows. Mandela is locally known as ‘Tata Modiba’, father of the country.

Finally and sadly we have had to abandon our trip to Egypt due to political unrest in the country. We will decide over the next few days how we will rearrange our trip. x