 |
- South African authors - Non-fiction - |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Island in Chains: Ten Years on Robben Island |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Island in Chains: Ten Years on Robben Island by Indres Naidoo Penguin Books South Africa 294 pages, 2000 ISBN 0140060537 Reviewed by Faith Leslie - South Africa Island in Chains formerly published in 1982 by Penguin Books UK, has at last been published in South Africa after being on the banned list for years. The book has been translated in Dutch, Portuguese, French and German and serialised in the former USSR in the national youth magazine. In 1983 the book won the Martin Luther King Memorial Award. Photocopies were distributed among sympathizers in the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas. Dedicated to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners and those who gave their lives for the liberation of South Africa, it is an eye-opening account of the arrest and imprisonment of the author, together with other members of his political party who were sentenced for attempted sabotage of a railway signal box. Indres Naidoo was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour on Robben Island, approximately 10 kilometres Northwest of Cape Town, which eventually became the prison for political prisoners. The account of the ill-treatment is shocking, and one can only contrast the attitudes of the warders with the steadfast courage and spirit of the prisoners whose belief in ultimate victory upheld them throughout. Mr. Naidoo's entire family have been active in politics for several generations; his grandfather was a close friend and associate of Mahatma Gandhi. His father, Narainswamy "Roy" Naidoo was adopted by Mahatma Gandhi; he studied under him and the great Indian Philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore. The list of Indres Naidoo's political acquaintances reads like a "Who's Who" of the giants for the struggle against apartheid in this country. His courage and endurance can only be marvelled at and admired. Island in Chains is an important work which will enlighten many average South Africans with no great political bias about events at the time, events reported (and not reported) with a slant meant to portray a different impression. Mr. Naidoo's style is that of a reporter; his intention is principally to inform the outside world. He has succeeded in documenting very well an infamous piece of South African history. Recommended for all thinking readers who wish to know more about the South African struggle against apartheid. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||