South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid

Interview Segment

Eddie Daniels interviewed by Ruendree Govinder
May 27, 2005 Cape Town, South Africa.


"Whenever VIPs came to see Mr. Mandela, he would report back to the ANC and then he would make a special point of reporting back to me individually." [5:03]

Eddie Daniels describes Nelson Mandela's respect for the political integrity of members of other parties on Robben Island and Mandela's magnanimity toward him personally.

Eddie Daniels, who was classified as Coloured, was born in District Six in Cape Town and worked on a whaling vessel and in the mines in Namibia. He joined the Liberal Party because it was a nonracial and anti-government organization. He joined the African Resistance Movement (ARM), which began sabotage actions a little before the African National Congress’ UmKhonto we Sizwe armed wing. Daniels was found guilty of sabotage and was imprisoned on Robben Island for 15 years. He joined the African National Congress after he was released from prison. He has written about his imprisonment in There and Back: Robben Island 1964-1979.

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