Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2015-08-14
Apartheid struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada says he wants to live on Robben Island and is in talks with various officials about buying a house there.
The 85-year-old has launched his coffee table book Triumph of the Human Spirit in Lenasia in Johannesburg.
The book gives a vivid and emotional account of Kathrada’s visits to the island, escorting celebrities, presidents and ordinary individuals.
Kathrada says he never gets tired of talking about his time spent on Robben Island while fondly speaking about Nelson Mandela who he refers to as ‘Madala’.
He says the more than 300 trips to the island have not stopped his desire to continue visiting there.
“My visits to the island have now become routine. The first and second visits were quite traumatic.”
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Zaakirah Vadi said, “We are currently in negotiations with various authorities to try and get the house on the island, specifically for him to receive his guests on the island and [as a place] where he can spent a little bit of time and reflect on the past.”
Kathrada says he hopes people who read the book will get a better understanding of the island and the great liberation leaders who were once incarcerated there. – EWN
0 Comments