Videocrux - Guides turned prisoners still haunted by the past

#Videocrux - Guides turned prisoners still haunted by the past Guides turned prisoners still haunted by the past
The highlight of the tour, Nelson Mandela's cell. But the former detainees hope the tourists will leave the island with more than just photographs. A mental picture of what life would really have been like. And that's why the guides come back to the island every day even if that means being surrounded by memories. Thulani Mabaso, Guide and former prisoner, "It's difficulty because emotions are getting higher and higher and you have to hold yourself because sometimes you think 'I don't want to talk about this."
Nelson Mandela's hometown becomes a tourist spot
From Cape Town, it's only a half-hour boat ride to Robben Island. Today, it’s a popular tourist spot, but 20 years ago passengers of a very different kind were offloaded here. The island was once home to the country’s most infamous prison. Nelson Mandela, the father of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle was locked up here between 1964 and 1982. Now, it's former prisoners who help tell the story of the island's dark past.
Prisoners decided to change the island into a museum
Thulani Mabaso, Guide and former prisoner, "As we were her in 1989, the Berlin wall was collapsing and then we said Apartheid is going to be next - and definitely we are all going to be free. And what is going to happen with this island? This is when we started to say we want this island to be a museum. And then we said you know what. We need to relate our history, so former prisoners must come and talk to the visitors."
Guides turned prisoners still haunted by the past
The highlight of the tour, Nelson Mandela's cell. But the former detainees hope the tourists will leave the island with more than just photographs. A mental picture of what life would really have been like. And that's why the guides come back to the island every day even if that means being surrounded by memories. Thulani Mabaso, Guide and former prisoner, "It's difficulty because emotions are getting higher and higher and you have to hold yourself because sometimes you think 'I don't want to talk about this."
Tourists captivated by the details from the guides
And it's thanks to first-hand accounts from people like Thulani that tourists leave the UNESCO heritage site so enthralled. "It was good to see where Mandela and all the leaders in our country, what they went through." "People must go there and listen to those people who were held there." "The guide was absolutely fantastic, it adds to the story the fact that he was a prisoner there." 14 years after the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela's former prison has become a symbol of freedom for the new south Africa yet a constant reminder of it's oppressive history.

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