I remember in the 80s, in high school, when the English band the Specials did a song called "Free Nelson Mandela". I only had a vague idea who he was at the time. Nelson Mandela is everywhere in South Africa. It is something akin to George Washington in the States where there are not only monuments, but streets, towns, schools, banks, shopping malls, etc. named for him. What is strange is that this man is still alive.
I decided to take a break from football and visit Robbin Island Prison where Mandela was imprisoned from 1964 to 1982 for being an outspoken freedom fighter. This was a sobering afternoon. I asked myself, why do we visit places like Robben Island or Auschwitz? Is it morbid curiosity? Do we learn anything? When prisons like Guantanamo still exist all over the world I venture to say no. Perhaps the wrong people are touring these places.
I decided to take a break from football and visit Robbin Island Prison where Mandela was imprisoned from 1964 to 1982 for being an outspoken freedom fighter. This was a sobering afternoon. I asked myself, why do we visit places like Robben Island or Auschwitz? Is it morbid curiosity? Do we learn anything? When prisons like Guantanamo still exist all over the world I venture to say no. Perhaps the wrong people are touring these places.
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