Dingwaga tsa Sesole tsa Robben Island

Tlhomo ya Sesole ya Go Sale Gale

©Roger de la Harpe
Dingwaga go tloga ka 1936 go fitlha 1960 e ne ele tsa boipelo mo botshelong jwa setlhaketlhake jo bo leele jo gantsi bo leng madimabe. Tseno e ne ele dingwaga tsa sesole, fa sesole sa lefatshe le sa mo metsing se ne se tshela mo setlhaketlhakeng go sireletsa naga-kgolo gotswa go tlhaselo e e neng e solofetswe ya Majeremane.
Ka 1933, Adolf Hitler o ne a tsaya marapo kwa Germany mme a tsenya lefatshe mo kgaratlhong ya lefatshe lotlhe, e e neng ya baka tatlhegelo e e utlwisang botlhoko ya matshelo a batho mo go seo se neng se bitswa Ntwa ya Bobedi ya Lefatshe. Mo Afrika Borwa, bomphato bo ne bo kgaogane. Makgowa go ne go itshupile fa ba le mo letlhakoreng la Brithane le semphato sa yona. Ma-Afrikaner, go ya ka bona, ka kakaretso ba ne ba tshegetsa ntwa ya Majeremane, kgotsa ba rotloetsa kemo-magareng mo ntweng ya kwa Yuropa.
Seno se ne sa baka dikgotlhang mo pusong ya botlhakanelwa magareng ga Nationalist Party ya ga J.B. Hertzog le South African Party ya ga Jan Smuts. Ka nako eo, Tlhogo ya Lefapha la Tshireletso e ne ele le-Nationalist le le golo eleng Oswald Pirow, mme o ne a dirisa dikgotlhang tse di tsogang kwa Northern Hemisphere jaaka maipato a mantle a go isa sesole sa Afrika Borwa kwa setlhaketlhakeng. Gore tshweetso enô e ne ele ka ntlha ya tsholofelo ya tlhaselo ya Majeremane kgotsa paakanyetso ya ntwa ya selegae kgatlhanong le Makgowa, go thata go sweetsa.
Pirow o begile fa lefelo-kemo le le matlhajana la Robben Island kwa matsenong a Table Bay, le e dira lefelo le le siametseng kampa e ntšha ya sesole, mme a kaya setlhaketlhake sotlhe jaaka thoto ya sesole. Mokoa wa dibetsa o ne morago wa sutiswa gotswa kwa Signal Hill go iswa Robben Island, lebaka le le golo ele ka gonne tsikinyego e e bakwang ke go thuntsha dithunyi tseno mo nageng-kgolo e ne gantsi e thuba matlhabaphefo kwa Green Point. Dithulaganyo tsa tlaleletsô di ne gape tsa dirwa go natlafatsa tshireletsego ya setlhaketlhake.

Kampa ya Sesole ya Robben Island

©Roger de la Harpe
Ntwa e runtse semmuso ka 1939. Ka dikepe tsa Majapane di rataratêla mo Indian Ocean le matshosetsi a a sa bonweng a dikepe tsa Majeremane di tshosatshosetsa mo lewatleng la Atlantic, go ile ga nna botlhokwa gore tshireletsego ya Cape Town e tsholwe. Ka tshwanelo, Lefapha la Ditiro tsa Setšhaba le ne la laelwa gore le nônôtshe setlhaketlhake. Ditone di le 150 000 tsa ditlamelwana tsa go aga di ne tsa romelwa go tlola lewatle, mme e se kgale ditlhopha tsa badiri di ne di aga ditsela, marobalo a sesole, maemela-fofane, metšhôtšhô ya botlhokomedi, maiphitlho, mafelo a ditlhobolo, dikompone tsa masole le ditlamelo tse dingwe tsa ntwa. Bontsi jwa dikagô tsa bogologolo bo ne le bona ba thubiwa, mme maketlo a ditena a ne a diriswa go aga boemela-kepe jo bontšha kwa Murray's Bay. Kwa bofelong, bodirelo jwa phepafatso ya metsi bo ne ba agwa go tlaleletsa thebolo e e bokoa ya metsi mo setlhaketlhakeng.
Mabolokelo a dibetsa a mabedi a a neng a agilwe a ne kwa bofelong a tshola mefutafuta ya ditlhobolo tsa matlhatlhelo a 6” and 9.2”; Bobolokelo jwa dibetsa jwa Cornelia bo ne bo lebile mosele wa Blouberg mme bobolokelo jwa De Waal bo ne bo sireleditse matseno a kwa Table Bay. Ka motsi wa ntwa, ditlhobolo tse nne tsa matlhatlhela a 3.7” le ditlhobolo di le pedi tsa 40mm Bofors di ne tsa tsenngwa mo mokoeng wa dibetsa, mmogo le bobolokelo jo eseng jwa nnete jo bo neng bo tlile go dira jaaka setsietsi. Mmogo le bobolokelo jwa dibetsa kwa Simonstown le Llandudno, go ne go solofetswe fa maitshireletso anô a kwa lôbôpong a tlile go samagana le batlhasedi bangwe le bangwe, mme megala e ne e adilwe mo boalông jwa lewatle go ka lemoga dikepe tsa U-boat tse di tlhaselang.
Go ne ga se nne le tlhaselo e e rileng mo Cape Town, mme ditlhobolo ga ise nke di thuntshwe mo ntweng. Fela di thuntshitswe mo ditekong, ka motsi mongwe, ba tshubile ditlhare tsa Bluegum tse di mo tikologong le go baka molelo o mogolo thata. Fela, dikepe tsa Majeremane di kile tsa gara mo metsing a a fa ntle ga Kapa le go kgerisa dikepe di le mmalwa tsa semphato fa di ne di tlhatlogela kwa Lôbôpong lwa Bophirima.

Legae la Bontsi jwa Masole

©David Fleminger
Ka dingwaga tsa ntwa le morago ga tsona, diketekete tsa masole di dirile Robben Island legae la bona. Boradithunya, bo-engineer, baoki, baruti, masole a fa fatshe le a mo metsing, botlhe gotswa kwa sesoleng sa Brithane le Afrika Borwa ba dirile mo Robben Island, mo ntweng kgotsa jaaka karolo ya katisô. Mo godimo ga fao, masole a batho bammala gotswa kwa Cape Corps le masole a basadi gotswa kwa Women’s Auxiliary Army Service (WAAS), Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) le South African Women’s Auxiliary Naval Service (SWANS) a ne a diriswa go natlafatsa maiteko a ntwa a naga fa thebolo ya banna ba basweu e ne e ya tlase.
Morago ga gore ntwa e fele ka 1945, bontsi jwa masole bone ba gogelwa morago gotswa mo Robben Island. Sesole se ne se santse se tshwareletse kampa e e botlhokwa enô go fitlhelela ka 1960, mme sa dirisa kagelelô e se e agileng jaaka Sekolo sa kwa Lôbôpong sa Sesole. Bontsi jwa marobalo a sesole, maiphitlho, mafelo a ditlhobolo le metšhôtšhô ya batlhokomedi di ne tsa fetoga matlotla, fela morafe o monnye wa baagi ba eseng ba leruri ka botlalo o ne wa thopa 'Irish Town' ya bogologolo le go e dira motse wa bona. Batho ba le mmalwa ba setse ba kwadile ka ga malatsi a bongwana a ba a dutseng mo Robben Island, ka pabalêsêgô fela ka botlhaodi, mo tiragalo ele nngwe fela e neng ele motsao wa gangwe mo sebakeng wa sesole le modumo wa ditlhobolo tse di neng di thuntshwa nako dingwe jaaka karolo ya diteko.

Translated by Nchema Rapoo