South Africa- Townships, The Apartheid, and Robben Island

After we arrived in South Africa I had the opportunity to visit a township. Townships are poor, under-developed neighborhoods surrounding the city of Cape Town. When Blacks were forced out of their homes during the white supremacy government they formed shanty towns on the edge of the city and these were the beginnings of townships. We had lunch there at a local restaurant, the food was delicious! I also got to take a ferry out to Robben Island and visit the prison there. In South Africa's recent history, there was still a very harsh form of segregation. The South African government until recently was white and worked to give white citizens privileges and opportunities while other races were repressed. Of course the issue was not entirely clean-cut. Many white South Africans helped in the struggle to free the black citizens. However, many of the leaders and members of the resistance groups were arrested and imprisoned. Many of these people who were arrested were imprisoned on Robben Island. Our guide who showed us around the prison had been imprisoned there for seven years for being involved in the ANC, the African National Congress. The ANC is now the ruling party in South Africa and the current president of the country was in prison on Robben Island. Probably the most famous inmate of the island was Nelson Mandela who was the first president after Apartheid ended in 1991. Nelson Mandela remains to this day one of the most important figures in the struggle against segregation and racism as well as a powerful advocate for a sustainable Africa.  Although South Africa is no longer officially segregated and is the self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation it still faces many issues of racism and colonial legacy to this day.