Nelson Mandela: His Life and Legacy in South Africa

In my opinion, a person has to visit South Africa to truly understand the impact that Nelson Mandela or at least this is how it happened for me.  We were required to read Mandela’s memoir A Long Walk to Freedom in preparation for the trip.  Honestly, I read about 200 pages before departure and more pages on the long flights to Cape Town.  While reading the book, the reader gets a better understanding of how many events in Mandela’s life set the stage for what was to come later.  Another class assignment was to talk to people about their feelings regarding Nelson Mandela and in contrast to American politics, he is not a polarizing figure.  One cab driver said that Mandela is the reason why Black people have their freedom. 

En route to Robben Island

We visited Robben Island, the prison where he spent 18 years of his life.  To get to Robben Island, one has to take a ferry ride.  From personal experience, it is quite unstable and if the waves are high, you can certainly feel the impact.  On the ferry ride, I began to think about how Mandela’s family was able to visit him on the island and after reading the 600 page memoir, I learned that Winnie Mandela was only able to visit Robben Island a handful of times over the 18 years he was there.  She endured the ferry ride only to have 30 minutes of a non-contact visit with her husband. 

On the grounds of Robben Island

Nelson Mandela's cell 

Dietary restrictions based on race for prisoners

We also got to see Mandela’s cell, as well as the lime quarry where he had to work for years and the area where he and other prisoners were forced to break rocks to keep them busy during the day.  Prisoners were forced to sleep on straw mats and were subject to horrible diets.  Because Mandela was a political prisoner, he was isolated from the majority of prisoners because officials believed that he would influence them.  (Apparently, they did realize that Mandela would still have means of communicating with them).  Again, the book came to life for me and the visit was nothing short of humbling.  Today, Robben Island is used as a museum and museum staff members live on the grounds.  

Many other places in South Africa are dedicated to the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, such as the Apartheid Museum.  (No pictures were allowed inside, sorry!)  Inside the museum holds a red Benz that was given to him upon his release from prison after 27 years.  You can easily find Mandela’s memoir and other books written about his life at the museums and in special sections at airport bookstores.  


Today, Mandela is 94 years old, married to his third wife, and living comfortably in a wealthy, gated community in Johannesburg.  It is quite the contrast to his childhood and confinement for 27 years of his life, yet well-deserved for a man who sacrificed his personal life to be the voice of the people.

Upon exiting Robben Island - very powerful