"Don't ever dismiss your own story, your own experiences. There's somebody out there who can benefit from hearing your story and even more than that, you might be able to change somebody else's life for the better by sharing your story.” Beverley Glick, In Your Own Words, episode 386
Over the last two weeks while I was on holiday in South Africa and as I took in the breath-taking scenery observing the minutiae of everything around me, these words from Beverley resonated with me. The people, the landscape, the culture, the conversations, the languages, the music, the food, the poverty, the noise. Literally everything around me competed for my attention.
With a jam-packed itinerary my husband and I covered a lot of ground in 12 days. We hiked mountains, drove up, down and across the country, walked miles, swam in pools, dipped our toes in the sea, ran the Paarl parkrun, learned about African animals, vegetation, people and heritage, watched two cricket games at Newlands, went to vineyards (but didn’t drink any wine), went on safari, ate delicious food, met up with friends and took lots of photos wherever we went. I can honestly say that I have not witnessed such levels of beauty that this part of the world offers ever before in my lifetime.
I appreciate that what we were seeing though is a very different South Africa to the years from the more recent past. Wherever we went we studied the history seeking to understand those who had trod these parts before us. There are many experiences I could share with you but there is one in particular that feels the most appropriate. One seemingly insignificant man stood out and that was Vuyani Henry Conjwa. Arrested and convicted for sabotage he was sent to Robben Island where from 26 November 1976 he was imprisoned until he was freed on 25 November 1981.
Robben Island is 6.9km off the coast from Cape Town and since the prison’s closure in 1996 it has become a living museum for tourists from all over the world. Vuyani now works there as a guide. Whilst I had been enjoying all the beauty of South Africa, here was a man who had been imprisoned for standing up for what he believed in who now calmly shares his grounding, humbling lived experience with tourists.
On the day we visited it was 39º. There was no shade, the sun scorching us and the white walls searing into our eyes. Vuyani took us through several of the prison blocks and showed us the conditions he spent five years enduring. He showed us the thin mat he had to sleep on before he and fellow prisoners went on a five-day hunger strike demanding better living conditions. They were successful and managed eventually to get proper beds. He also showed us the wooden flogging frame known as the ‘Merrie’ which some warders used for official punishment and also for additional ‘unsanctioned’ acts of violence.
Vuyani was straightforward pulling no punches around the hardship of Robben Island. His words were deeply felt by all the tourists, many of whom did not even speak English. He explained how prisoners had to harvest kelp from the icy South Atlantic waters and how others worked the lime quarry without any protective gear. A large rock pile stood at the entrance of the quarry and had been started by Nelson Mandela with other former prisoners returning to the island also adding to it.
The final place he showed us was Nelson Mandela’s cell, or the ‘Presidential Suite’ as Vuyani referred to it where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years. One window faced into an enclosed yard with another window facing into the internal corridor, there was only a small stool, a bucket, a metal plate, bowl and spoon, thin floor mat for a bed with a blanket rolled up one end and that was it. As I stood outside Mandela’s cell looking in, I pictured Mandela sitting on this small wooden stool planning what he would do when he became a free man. It’s hard not to see Mandela without the lens of all he achieved after his release however I tried to imagine the man whose future was still uncertain and unknown even to him.
The ferry crossing back from the island was a very choppy one. As the boat docked safely back into the harbour of Cape Town, I stepped with relief onto the pontoon and thought of all the prisoners who took their first steps of freedom after internment. After his release, Mandela would have stepped right here with his purpose-driven focus on reconciliation, democracy and a vision to build a united country. There is no doubt that Mandela was an extraordinary man but it is Vuyani who I will remember the most from this trip. A softly-spoken, elderly former Robben Island prisoner whose experiences and words are now etched onto my soul.
Focus on Words! Focus on WHY!
ACTION POINT: What story can you share that will change somebody’s life for the better?