US PRESIDENT Barack Obama said he
was "deeply humbled" by a visit to the Robben Island prison where Nelson
Mandela spent some of his darkest days in jail.
"On behalf of our family we're deeply humbled to stand where men of
such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield," Mr Obama wrote
in a message in the visitors book co-signed by his wife Michelle.
"The
world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island, who remind us that
no shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit."
Paying
homage to the 94-year-old, who is critically ill in hospital, Mr Obama
stared into the stark cell where Mandela spent two thirds of his 27
years in jail, now preserved as a searing tribute to the sacrifice and
unbreakable strength of the anti-apartheid leader.
Mr Obama, in a blue wind breaker and slacks and sunglasses, walked with
his wife Michelle and two daughters into the bleak lime quarry where 34
anti-apartheid leaders -- including Mandela -- endured hours of
backbreaking work.
Source: The Australian...More...
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