NEXT UP! 2 140 Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) was born in a small village in the province Transkei in South Africa. At an early age, he decided to study law and was one of the driving forces behind the peaceful protests against the apartheid regime. However, in 1962, he was accused of plotting against the government to stop apartheid and was arrested. Following his trial in 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. During his life, he became a symbol of resistance and the triumph of peace and justice. Not only was he a role model to his people, he was a role model to the entire world. In this excerpt from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, you can learn more about his “dark years” on the infamous prison island, Robben Island. Robben Island: The dark years We landed on a military airstrip on one end of the island. It was a grim, overcast day, and when I stepped out of the plane, the cold winter wind whipped through our thin prison uniforms. We were met by guards with automatic weapons; the atmosphere was tense but quiet, unlike the boisterous reception I had received on my arrival on the island two years before. We were driven to the old jail, an isolated stone building, where we were ordered to strip while standing outside. One of the ritual indignities of prison life is that when you are transferred from one prison to another, the first thing that happens is that you change from the garb of the old prison to that of the new. When we were undressed, we were thrown the plain khaki uniforms of Robben Island. Apartheid’s regulations extended even to clothing. All of us, except Kathy, received short trousers, an insubstantial jersey, and a canvas jacket. Kathy, the one Indian among us, was given long trousers. Normally Africans would receive sandals made from car tires, but in this instance we were Before reading Read the title of the excerpt. Why do you think Mandela has called the excerpt “The dark years”? a driving force – drifkraftur resistance – mótstaða infamous – alræmdur grim – hér: dapurlegur, dimmur tense – spenntur boisterous – hávær indignity – niðurlæging garb – klæðnaður insubstantial – veikburða a jersey – peysa
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjIxNzc=