Published jointly by the Michigan State University Press and Mayibuye Books, in association with the Robben Island Museum, Letters from Robben Island offers personal insight into the soul of apartheid from a man who has devoted his life to the freedom struggle in South Africa.

The book also offers insight into the close friendship between Kathrada, perhaps best known as one of Nelson Mandela's co-defendants in the Rivonia Trial, and Robert Vassen, editor of the book and associate director of MSU's English Language Center. Theirs is a friendship that has endured for more than 40 years, spans three continents, and continues to inspire their colleagues.

Vassen, who remembers meeting Kathrada while in high school in Johannesburg, was among those with whom Kathrada corresponded during his 26 years of imprisonment. Despite strict prohibitions governing the prisoners' correspondence at Robben Island, Kathrada managed to write, conceal, and smuggle out more than 900 letters.

"Although I communicated with him from the time he was incarcerated, correspondence was erratic and spotty," Vassen said. "I had always felt that his receiving letters from family was far more important, so I did not want to eat into his limited annual quota. Then one day I decided I would write and his response was so positive that we kept up our correspondence until 1989, when he was released."

Upon his release from Robben Island, Kathrada and Vassen continued their friendship with frequent visits and time spent reminiscing. After the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, Vassen left London, where he had been living in exile since 1964, and came to MSU. Kathrada served in various executive posts of the African National Congress and, in 1994, was elected a member of Parliament in South Africa's first truly free election. Kathrada also served as Parliamentary Counselor in the Office of the President.

Many in the MSU community remember when Kathrada donated a copy of his collection of microfilm, prison correspondence, and personal notebooks to MSU in 1996, a decision that Kathrada said was based on MSU being the first U.S. university to divest its holdings in South Africa in protest of apartheid. "MSU's leadership in boycotting South Africa was tremendously important," Kathrada said. "Ultimately it was the isolation of South Africa that contributed a great deal towards the changes that took place."

David Wiley, director of MSU's African Studies Center, works tirelessly in establishing partnerships with South Africans and their universities as they seek to build a new society and sees MSU's relationship with Kathrada as a bridge to the future.

"We are deeply honored to have Kathrada's papers deposited at MSU. By so doing, he has acknowledged MSU and our anti-apartheid history," Wiley said.

"Simultaneously, the MSU Southern Africa Liberation Committee and the African Studies Center have deposited the 20-year collection of anti-apartheid papers, campaign materials, and placards from MSU in two South African archives and museums. We share both a number of common values and historical struggles. These create a basis for some common futures as well."

MSU President Peter McPherson echoes that sentiment: "Kathrada's donation of the collection and the book that followed from the MSU Press are visible evidence of MSU's long-standing involvement in South Africa and our commitment to democratic values and vision of a world with greater equity."

Ahmed Kathrada (second from right) with members of the South African Parliament (at left) Laloo Chiba and Barbara Hogan and (at right) MSU College of Arts and Letters Dean Wendy K. Wilkins.

While Vassen was working on editing the comprehensive multivolume set of letters, the idea emerged to publish a smaller selection for a wider readership. Letters from Robben Island includes 86 of those letters, which give a vivid account of life lived in that place by eight men who refused to surrender and whose triumph is evident in the democracy found in South Africa today. The book "contains Kathrada's most poignant, touching, and eloquent correspondence," said Fred Bohm, director of the MSU Press. "The letters are testimonials to Kathrada, his colleagues, and to their commitment to obtaining human dignity and freedom for their fellow South Africans."

On reflection, Vassen said, it's been a privilege to travel with Kathrada on a journey that has lasted more than 40 years. "I feel privileged, honored, and proud that I was able to play a role in bringing to fruition and publication the letters Ahmed 'Kathy' Kathrada wrote from the lonely confines of his prison cell," Vassen said. "Editing this selection of his letters has been a true labor of love for me and I thank him for his encouragement and faith. I want to also thank him for the wonderful friendship that our families have shared for many, many years."

For more information about Letters from Robben Island, including order information, visit the MSU Press Website at http://www.msu.edu/unit/msupress/african/robben_island.html

-adapted from an MSU News Bulletin story by Lisa Acheson