Just a few miles off the coast of Cape Town lies Robben Island a harsh place, battered by the strong winds and famous ‘Cape” storms. It has an illustrious history of shipwrecks and ghosts and a place where the sick, mad and criminal elements of society where swept away.
Today a visit to Robben Island today must rank as one of the ‘BIG 6’ attractions in Cape Town and many visitors flock on the ferry to visit the famous political prison. Lionel Davis spent 1967 – 1971 on Robben Island as a political prisoner and now accompanies AWOL’s guests and gives his personal account of his time on the island. Lionel was prisoner #366-64 – in the same block as the most well-known Robben Island prisoner – #466-64! This is Lionel’s story in his own words:
Just a few miles off the coast of Cape Town lies Robben Island a harsh place, battered by the strong winds and famous ‘Cape” storms. It has an illustrious history of shipwrecks and ghosts and a place where the sick, mad and criminal elements of society where swept away.
Today a visit to Robben Island today must rank as one of the ‘BIG 6’ attractions in Cape Town and many visitors flock on the ferry to visit the famous political prison. Lionel Davis spent 1967 – 1971 on Robben Island as a political prisoner and now accompanies AWOL’s guests and gives his personal account of his time on the island. Lionel was prisoner #366-64 – in the same block as the most well-known Robben Island prisoner – #466-64! This is Lionel’s story in his own words:
Just a few miles off the coast of Cape Town lies Robben Island a harsh place, battered by the strong winds and famous ‘Cape” storms. It has an illustrious history of shipwrecks and ghosts and a place where the sick, mad and criminal elements of society where swept away.
Today a visit to Robben Island today must rank as one of the ‘BIG 6’ attractions in Cape Town and many visitors flock on the ferry to visit the famous political prison. Lionel Davis spent 1967 – 1971 on Robben Island as a political prisoner and now accompanies AWOL’s guests and gives his personal account of his time on the island. Lionel was prisoner #366-64 – in the same block as the most well-known Robben Island prisoner – #466-64! This is Lionel’s story in his own words:
“As a young man growing up in District 6, an impoverished working–class ghetto in the heart of Cape Town, I had developed a mistrust of everything “White”. What fuelled this anti-White attitude in me was that as a teenager I had been punished by an apartheid court for allegedly assaulting a white person.
As a result of this and other, similar experiences, I became politically involved and joined a political organization, the National Liberation Front. One of the most fundamental lessons I learnt there was not to judge people because they were White but to look at who your oppressors were and to direct your energy at them. One’s rulers might be White today but tomorrow they would be Black.
Because of my political involvement, I was charged with “Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Sabotage” and sentenced to seven years in prison on Robben Island in 1964. I was released in 1971.
On Robben Island, I was fortunate to meet activists like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other Rivonia trialists (belonging to the ANC), Johnson Mlambo, Clarence Makwetu, Kwedi Mkalipi (members of the Pan Africanist Congress) amongst many others.
Regardless of our irreconcilable political positions, we learnt to work together, share our food, play together and educate ourselves with the help of fellow political inmates. We learnt to act in concert in our fight to retain our dignity which prison authorities tried to undermine. We thus learnt to live in harmony.
This was crucial for our sanity. We transformed the harshness of jail life through education, sport and unity in action. The lessons we learnt in jail prepared us for the future. Without his experiences on Robben Island, I doubt that Nelson Mandela would have become the international icon he is today. Many of those incarcerated on Robben Island became better South Africans and a few, like Mandela, became better human beings.
After my jail term, I was placed under house arrest for another five years. Since then, I have found purpose and inspiration in becoming involved in visual art. I worked as a cultural activist at the Community Arts Project in the late 1970’s, the 1980’s and 1990’s. I received art training at the Rorke’s Drift Evangelical Lutheran Centre in Kwazulu Natal and at the Michaelis School of Art (University of Cape Town) where I obtained a B.A. (Fine Art). From 1997 to 2007, I worked as tour guide and educator for the Robben Island.” To read more about Lionel Davis
“As a young man growing up in District 6, an impoverished working–class ghetto in the heart of Cape Town, I had developed a mistrust of everything “White”. What fuelled this anti-White attitude in me was that as a teenager I had been punished by an apartheid court for allegedly assaulting a white person.
As a result of this and other, similar experiences, I became politically involved and joined a political organization, the National Liberation Front. One of the most fundamental lessons I learnt there was not to judge people because they were White but to look at who your oppressors were and to direct your energy at them. One’s rulers might be White today but tomorrow they would be Black.
Because of my political involvement, I was charged with “Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Sabotage” and sentenced to seven years in prison on Robben Island in 1964. I was released in 1971.
On Robben Island, I was fortunate to meet activists like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other Rivonia trialists (belonging to the ANC), Johnson Mlambo, Clarence Makwetu, Kwedi Mkalipi (members of the Pan Africanist Congress) amongst many others.
Regardless of our irreconcilable political positions, we learnt to work together, share our food, play together and educate ourselves with the help of fellow political inmates. We learnt to act in concert in our fight to retain our dignity which prison authorities tried to undermine. We thus learnt to live in harmony.
This was crucial for our sanity. We transformed the harshness of jail life through education, sport and unity in action. The lessons we learnt in jail prepared us for the future. Without his experiences on Robben Island, I doubt that Nelson Mandela would have become the international icon he is today. Many of those incarcerated on Robben Island became better South Africans and a few, like Mandela, became better human beings.
After my jail term, I was placed under house arrest for another five years. Since then, I have found purpose and inspiration in becoming involved in visual art. I worked as a cultural activist at the Community Arts Project in the late 1970’s, the 1980’s and 1990’s. I received art training at the Rorke’s Drift Evangelical Lutheran Centre in Kwazulu Natal and at the Michaelis School of Art (University of Cape Town) where I obtained a B.A. (Fine Art). From 1997 to 2007, I worked as tour guide and educator for the Robben Island.” To read more about Lionel Davis
“As a young man growing up in District 6, an impoverished working–class ghetto in the heart of Cape Town, I had developed a mistrust of everything “White”. What fuelled this anti-White attitude in me was that as a teenager I had been punished by an apartheid court for allegedly assaulting a white person.
As a result of this and other, similar experiences, I became politically involved and joined a political organization, the National Liberation Front. One of the most fundamental lessons I learnt there was not to judge people because they were White but to look at who your oppressors were and to direct your energy at them. One’s rulers might be White today but tomorrow they would be Black.
Because of my political involvement, I was charged with “Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Sabotage” and sentenced to seven years in prison on Robben Island in 1964. I was released in 1971.
On Robben Island, I was fortunate to meet activists like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other Rivonia trialists (belonging to the ANC), Johnson Mlambo, Clarence Makwetu, Kwedi Mkalipi (members of the Pan Africanist Congress) amongst many others.
Regardless of our irreconcilable political positions, we learnt to work together, share our food, play together and educate ourselves with the help of fellow political inmates. We learnt to act in concert in our fight to retain our dignity which prison authorities tried to undermine. We thus learnt to live in harmony.
This was crucial for our sanity. We transformed the harshness of jail life through education, sport and unity in action. The lessons we learnt in jail prepared us for the future. Without his experiences on Robben Island, I doubt that Nelson Mandela would have become the international icon he is today. Many of those incarcerated on Robben Island became better South Africans and a few, like Mandela, became better human beings.
After my jail term, I was placed under house arrest for another five years. Since then, I have found purpose and inspiration in becoming involved in visual art. I worked as a cultural activist at the Community Arts Project in the late 1970’s, the 1980’s and 1990’s. I received art training at the Rorke’s Drift Evangelical Lutheran Centre in Kwazulu Natal and at the Michaelis School of Art (University of Cape Town) where I obtained a B.A. (Fine Art). From 1997 to 2007, I worked as tour guide and educator for the Robben Island.” To read more about Lionel Davis