On Sunday I went through one of the most remarkable experiences of my life when I visited Robben Island – the island where many political prisons were incarcerated including Nelson Mandela for the majority of his 27 year stint behind bars.

We took the 40 minute ferry from the Nelson Mandela gateway in Cape Town and as you step off the boat you are immediately struck by the history of the island like the humidity hits you when you step off a plane – it genuinely was as striking as that.

I’ve read quite a bit about the anti-Apartheid struggle and Mandela has always been a source of great inspiration to me but nothing prepared me for how I would feel when I was actually there.

We passed the quarry where they were forced to do hard manual labour every day –an act designed to break the spirit of the prisoners but actually had the opposite effect of uniting a disparate group previously arguing about politics, religion, race etc as they united against a common enemy.

It’s incredible to think what a learning ground the quarry was for the future of   South Africa. The prisoners needed to curry favour with the guards and realised their one big advantage was their superior level of education. They used this by tutoring their guards to build stronger links and it was this experience which taught the ANC leaders that reconciliation was possible.

We then went into the prisons themselves where the tour was given by an ex political prisoner. To us this was history but for him this was deeply personal and it was incredibly powerful hearing him talk of his own experienced spending 5 years in prison on the island.

I will never be able to adequately describe quite how overwhelming it felt to be stood in the cells peering out the window imagining the hardships so many went through in their long walk to freedom.

Your head and toes would be touching either side of the cell when you lie on the bed. As you imagine the conditions and especially the mattress on a concrete floor where prisoners had to sleep prior to the 80’s I could not fathom the super-human effort it took to spend 27 years in this condition and then preach forgiveness and reconciliation in order to build a nation on love rather than tearing it apart on hate.

The experiences in Robben Island have rarely left me in the days since I visited and as the anger at the conditions these brave few had to ensure subsides I do find myself in awe at the remarkable magnitude of compassion of these incredible human beings.