Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was in custody. As we approached on the very same boat that had taken him to the island I noticed the stark contrast between the brash white concrete of the new breakwater ( solid, monolithic rock, sharp edged, immovable) – and the black sea birds flying free above and around and then nestling on the concrete. It seemed to be a poignant visual metaphor of the successful struggle for black freedom against the forces of white apartheid.
David Toft
November 2018