Seeing the different perspectives of Robben Island

I found it very important to learn about Robben Island and its historical significance as a place of oppression, where those deemed “undesirable” were kept away from the rest of the population. But what I really appreciated was hearing a first-hand account that reminded me once again that evils of apartheid are still a part of living history and its effects on the South African people and society are still a part of their reality.

Our guide through the island’s prison facilities, Monde, did a phenomenal job of giving us a glimpse of what life in prison was like in the late 70s/ early 80s. His account showed exactly how the prison was designed to strip its prisoners of every bit of humanity: starting with their name and dignity, followed by a systematic wearing-down of their mental, physical, and even social strength. Prisoners were not allowed to keep anything personal, not even their names, and their daily lives consisted of inadequate food, overcrowded spaces, hard labor under a scorching sun, all in complete isolation from the outside world. And this is only the surface; many of the even worse horrors of the prison were not told to us, but everyone could sense that there was something more, something even more terrible.

Common cell in the Robben Island prison. Picture by Amelie Palonen.

And while I acknowledge that to make any positive statement about their suffering would be an injustice to those who suffered it, Monde’s retelling revealed that even in those circumstances, the solidarity and unity of the prisoners was something that only a survivor of those circumstances could truly understand, with strong bonds formed during the hard times endured together, and even through a collective hunger strike. In addition, most of the survivor’s accounts of their time on the island indicate a desire to turn their suffering into a source of new strength. While this certainly does not take away the pain of what they went through, one can only admire such strength of character and resilience.

On our way back from the island, we were shown a video that portrayed life on Robben Island (from the perspective of the prison guards and their families) as idyllic, with a small and close-knit community. The children in the video described how much they loved their life on the island and how they never wanted to leave. Even footage of a wedding in the island’s church was included. Although the video was made as propaganda, it can still be seen as a demonstration of what life on the island was like for this particular community. But it also raised many questions for me: How aware were the families (especially the children that their lives were made possible by the suffering of others? And if not, how do they see this in hindsight? These are not questions I expect to get clear answers to, but since they were so close to both the perpetrators and the cruelty itself, while not being subjected to it, it makes me curious.

Another perspective is its religious significance. Many Muslim leaders and royalty were exiled to the island in the 1700s, including Sayed Abdurahman Motura and ‘Abdullah Ibn Qadi ‘Abd ul-Salam (also known as Tuan Guru), the latter of whom wrote down the entire Qur’an from memory during his imprisonment on the island. Later, after his imprisonment, he became an important figure in the establishment of the Muslim community in Cape Town. Its history and the building of the Kramat in Motura’s honor in 1969 have made it a pilgrimage destination for Muslims, and the original copy of Tuan Guru’s Qur’an is still preserved in the Masjid Mosque in Bokaap, which I had the pleasure of seeing myself.

The original handwritten Qur’an of Tuan Guru. Picture by Amelie Palonen.

All these different experiences are part of the overall human experience on Robben Island. What I am grateful for is the opportunity to learn about all the ways in which people have experienced it, and I hope that all future visitors will have the same chance. As long as the island exists, stories like Monde’s and the many others are worth telling.

Amelie Palonen

The theological course Abraham Goes Global is a cooperation between Åbo Akademi University and Stellenbosch University (South Africa) funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education and The Polin Institute 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. The aims are to widen the perception of theology to cross boundaries of religion at both universities, to exchange expertise on contextualised forms of religion, and to deepen the students’ and teachers’ understanding of interreligious and intercultural dynamics in religions. This blog text is the seventh of eight blog texts to present reflections of the Finnish students visiting South Africa in January-February 2025.