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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE February 26, 2006
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| January 27, 2006 |
Cape Town – Conflict Resolution Workshop at Pollsmoor Prison |
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| Table Mountain dominates the Cape Town skyline as Peace Boat nears the harbor. |
After a week at sea navigating the east African coast, Peace Boat made its way around the Cape of Good Hope and into Cape Town harbor. Optimism dominated the atmosphere as everyone onboard demonstrated an obvious eagerness to experience first hand a country with an exceptional recent history. Thanks to the excellent cooperation between local counter-partner organizations and Peace Boat’s pre-arrival teams, a range of interesting programs permitted participants to experience South Africa through an alternative point of view. One such group headed to the maximum security Pollsmoor prison where Nelson Mandela spent nearly a third of his term as a political prisoner. |
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| Peace Boat 52nd voyage International Director Onodera Ai translates for Thando Sekame as the bus heads to Pollsmoor Prison. |
Thando Sekame, a former prisoner at Pollsmoor during the apartheid era, led our Peace Boat delegation into the penal facility. A lifelong activist for progressive change, Thando described to participants how the apartheid system made sure that “(racial) differences were always highlighted and manipulated”. This racist policy and social structure created a cycle of violence and retribution. Therefore, Thando argues that “reconciliation from apartheid can only come through restoration and reparation, starting at the local level.” |
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| Maximum security Pollsmoor Prison holds nearly 8,000 inmates. |
Prisoner abuse used to be rampant in South Africa. Demoralized prisoners would find that society would stigmatize them, and alienate them even after their release. These individuals would find it all too easy to fall back into a life of crime, thus creating another cycle of violence and despair. Even today, nearly 80 percent of South African convicts are repeat offenders. Hence, Pollsmoor Prison began implementing a program which, according to Thando, sincerely focused on “rehabilitation and not retribution – the only way to truly make a change of mindset which allows the reintroduction of an ex-convict into society.” |
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| Joanna and Julian Thomas, co-directors of the Center for Hope and Transformation (CHAT). |
A group of nearly 50 Peace Boat participants arrived at Pollsmoor, where Joanna and Julian Thomas, co-directors of the Center for Hope and Transformation (CHAT), provided a warm welcome. A NGO whose main goal is to “build human relationships”, as Joanna explains, CHAT has been working at Pollsmoor since the late 1990’s. It runs several projects inside the prison, from which eight to twelve week courses focus on life skills, conflict resolution and restorative justice. Open to any inmate on a voluntary basis, Julian considers the aim of such workshops as “one which will help the prisoners understand that their victims are real people with real losses.” Such realization is fundamental in order to avoid falling back in the cycle of violence once their sentence has been completed. |
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| A Pollsmoor inmate exchanges ideas and experiences with a Peace Boat participant. |
Once inside the prison, Peace Boat participants joined in a workshop with roughly 15 prisoners involved in CHAT courses. Most of them incarcerated for violent crimes such as murder, rape, or armed robbery, the inmates demonstrated a humane side which pleasantly surprised their Japanese guests. Some of the activities included testimonials as well as joint activities focusing on perceptions and tolerance. The exchange was an enormous success; as one inmate stated, such visits provide “an invaluable moral support boost.” |
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| Prison cell at Pollsmoor where former president Nelson Mandela spent 8 years as a political prisoner. |
Towards the end of our visit to Pollsmoor Prison, a group of guards guided our delegation into the former cell occupied by Nelson Mandela. Isolated from other inmates along with five other political prisoners, former president Mandela spent roughly eight years at the penitentiary. Even though the cell seems large, the officers explained how its isolation and lack of access to windows created a harrowing environment. Furthermore, the guards recalled a time when the population of wardens was strictly white and would abuse prisoners who were predominantly coloured or black. Today, a racially mixed pool of prison guards can be found at Pollsmoor.
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| Former Pollsmoor inmates Magadien Wentzel (center left) and Joseph Uren (center right) during a talk with Peace Boat participants. |
The afternoon portion of the itinerary consisted of meeting two former Pollsmoor inmates, Joseph Uren and Magadien Wentzel. Both completed CHAT courses as well as their prison terms at Pollsmoor, and have become social leaders in their communities - particularly involved with music and sports projects focused on children. Both former prisoners firmly believe it is important to provide children with options which will take away their focus from the poverty and violence that surrounds them. Regarding their personal struggles to stay out of the vicious circle of crime, Magadien stated philosophically that “to die is to lose hope. I want to live… so hope leads to love, and love leads to peace.” He adds that “instead of running around with guns, now I run around with music instruments and soccer balls.” |
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| Barefoot child at the Guguletu Township in Cape Town. |
Lastly, before returning to the ship, our guide Thando gave us a brief tour of his neighborhood: the Guguletu Township. First established in 1927, it expanded enormously during apartheid’s beginning in the late 1940’s. Despite the abolition of the apartheid system, the township remains racially segregated, like many others, and afflicted with severe social and health problems such as lack of water or adequate housing. Thando presented a clear example of how the apartheid system inflicted abuse and segregation through seemingly innocuous functions such as the naming of roads. The Guguletu Township sits along the NY1 road, which stands for “Not Yours” – a reference to how white landowners put the squatter communities in their place, so to speak. |
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