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Mandela@90: Long Walk to Freedom
July 18, 2008
There, Nelson was imprisoned, where he remained for the next 18 of his 27 years in prison. On the island, where prisoners were segregated by race, he worked at a lime quarry in awful conditions. Because he was a political prisoner, Mandela received few rations, tight scrutiny and was allowed almost no correspondence with the outside world. Amazingly, in these trying conditions, Mandela began to study Law at the University of London through its external programme, eventually receiving his Bachelor of Law. In prison and given time to reflect on the course of the anti-Apartheid cause, Mandela began to apply the lessons of Mahatma Gandhi and also what he had learned through his University of London training.
In the 1970s, he started working on an autobiography, which would eventually become Long Walk To Freedom. At this time, with his international celebrity growing, the chant 'Free Nelson Mandela' became not just a slogan of the Left, but of all people who cherish democracy. In 1985, the South African government offered his release, if he'd ensure that the ANC would give up violent tactics. Though Mandela himself had renounced violence, he still rejected the offer, giving a now famous reply: "What freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts."
Image: Mandela holds a symbolic millennium candle 31 December 1999 in his cell at the prison of Robben Island where he was imprisoned for 27 years.
Photograph : Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images
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