wfn.org | Parliament of World Religions erects Peace Pole on Robben Island

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

7 December 1999

Cape Town - Robben Island, the former leper colony where South Africa's
political prisoners were jailed for three decades, was recently designated
a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation. It has now also been declared a Peace Site.

Delegates to the third Parliament of World Religions, which is meeting in
Cape Town, erected a Peace Pole on the island on Sunday, 5 December.
It was unveiled by Ms Afrika Msimang, Co-Director of the Parliament, and
presented to Professor Andre Odendaal, Director of the Robben Island
Museum. The pole was blessed by, among others, Deborah Moldow of the World
Peace Prayer Society who said: "We bring the spirit of good hope, faith and
blessings to Robben Island". The Very Rev Boudewijn Goudriaan of the
Liberal Catholic Church in Johannesburg urged participants in the ceremony
to "turn this island into a centre of light. Make this a living tree of
faith and inspiration" he said.

Ahmed Kathrada, a former political detainee on the island and now Director
of the Robben Island Trust, accepted the Peace Pole, and said: "During our
incarceration here, we were encouraged by Nelson Mandela to attend all the
services from all the religions, because there are certain values that are
universal. We want Robben Island to be remembered, not as a monument to our
hardship and suffering, but as a testimony to to the triumph of the human
spirit over the forces of evil".

Rev Dave Wanless - Coordinator: Ecumenical News Network southern Africa
Tel & Fax: +27 (21) 683-9665
Cell: 082 958-6482
E-mail: davecong@mweb.co.za
Website: www.uccsa.co.za