Published in: MyMarist575.com and Marist College's school newspaper, "The Circle"
Beginning in 1948, racial segregation encapsulated the basis of civilization in South Africa. The time enacted as apartheid separated people into categories based upon their appearance, descent and the acceptance they received from the "white population."
In 1958, all people of black descent lost citizenship in South Africa, were forced to live in particular places across the country and would have to carry a passport to travel anywhere in the country. The majority of the population felt they had no choice but to oblige to these regulations and others knew they had to fight to control the freedom of all citizens in South Africa. One man, who wanted his voice heard to end the segregation, is Eddie Daniels who came to Marist to speak of his experiences of apartheid on Sept. 20.
The laws regulated all South Africans so they could not advance in society and improve their skills by getting an education. This left them unable to further themselves and garner an income. Even with few experiences of schooling in any field, Daniels knew he felt certain that he wanted to change the laws and regulations that separate all races throughout his country.
Daniels described the white race in South Africa as the most privileged, with everything at their disposal, but his hope was to make all races equal. Daniels was an activist who made many attempts to alter the views of his countrymen; however, the South African government reacted by jailing Daniels for going against the views of the country.
Daniels said that so many people supported the apartheid regulations because there was no other choice if you weren't willing to be jailed for taking action. Many people, including many white citizens, were silenced because of how strict the government stood over the people. If anyone, no matter their race, would speak against what laws and regulations were subjected onto the people, they would be completely ostracized from the population.
Other countries who opposed the laws of South Africa decided not to trade with any South African imports or exports, their sports, like rugby, weren't supported by anyone other than South Africans and South Africa was even taken out of the Olympics.
"I see people, I don't see color," Daniels said. "Skin color is largely irrelevant. It's just there like flowers in a garden."
All members of the South African civilization that associated themselves with anyone black were then considered to be black, no matter the actual color of their skin. Being "black" was a representation of being different and segregated, more than just simply being a color. This idea was drilled so much into Daniels head that he considers himself to be black, no matter the color of his skin.
After protesting for his views, Daniels was tried with the punishment of the death penalty but was only sentenced to 15 years in jail. As he was being sent to jail, Daniels described the time as the most horrific, frightening and intimidating in his life. He had no idea what to expect as he was escorted to Robben Island in shackles, yet he describes his time in jail now as the most influential in his life. In jail, Daniels met many other activists, particularly, one of the most influential people of South America today, Nelson Mandela.
"I met people of character, dignity and courage," Daniels said.
Daniels described all the people he was jailed with as beautiful and courageous who were sent to jail to "be destroyed." All activists were sentenced to the "C" category of Robben Island jail, where they had the least privileges of all the prisoners. These men all helped each other get through hard times in jail and Daniels said they even tried helping each other escape, but never succeeded.
After finishing his 15 years in jail, Daniels returned home and was forced into five years of home arrest. His first experience out of jail was going home, where a young boy he had never seen before welcomed him at the door. As he walked past the boy to see his family, his relatives informed him that he had just passed his son. When Daniels was sentenced to jail, his son, Donny, was only 9 months old, and it was then 15 years later, thus he couldn't even recognize his own son.
After Daniels was welcomed back into civilization, Nelson Mandela, the future President of South Africa, was left in Robben Island. Daniels talked about how he wanted to help Mandela escape jail, specifically using a helicopter, but the plan never succeeded.
Mandela spent 25 years total in jail, 13 of them with Daniels. Five hours after Mandela came out of jail, he addressed 80,000 to 100,000 of his followers in South Africa. Before and after Mandela's imprisonment, a reaction started and people wanted to be a part of it. Mandela had the chance to discuss how he wanted revenge after his time in jail, but Daniels described Mandela as making a tremendous gesture, through "embracing his enemies." Daniels to this day sees Mandela as one of the greatest, most influential men in the world.
Daniels has recently written a novel based upon his experience at Robben Island called, "There and Back," in which he details his struggles and accomplishments. During his speech at Marist, Daniels gave out the poem, "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley, as inspiration to the students, just as Mandela inspired him.
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