Page 22 - English Reader - 6
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Mandela was arrested and was charged with treason that if proven,
Mandela would get a death penalty.
The Government’s oppression and ANC’s protest both were on the go.
Mandela in his leadership carried out a bombing as a protest. After
sometimes Mandela got to have a tour of Africa and Europe to gain
support for their movement. When he returned he was arrested again. He
was asked to confess and give up the movement but the adamant young
man felt it better to accept a penalty. He was then taken to the prison
in Robben Island and
was sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Life in Robben Island
was brutal. Mandela
and his friends were
category D prisoners.
They had the worst food
and least privileges of
all the prisoners. They
had to do a hard physical labour with little rest. While Mandela was in
prison, his wife was also sentenced to seventeen month imprisonment.
He could not get to see his five children for years. He was refused to
attend the funeral of his eldest son who was killed in a car accident. But
he never gave up. He continued to pass messages from the prison and
spread awareness in people.
Finally Mandela’s tree bore the fruit. He was released from the prison
in 1990 after twenty seven years. It was the time when South Africa
was in a complete unrest. After his release, a general election was held,
constitution was made and he became the first democratically elected
22 Dolphin English Reader Book 6
