GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A South African man who once served as a guard at Robben Island Prison is traveling the world, sharing the lessons he has accumulated from one of his former prisoners, anti-apartheid activist and future president: Nelson Mandela.
The two shared a mutual respect for one another through the years, maintaining a close friendship until Mandela's death in 2013.
At the age of 18, Christo Brand decided to take a job at the isolated prison, situated in the waters off the Western Coast of Cape Town.
It was 1978 when Brand began training for the position.
“When I land on Robben Island, they told us we're going to meet the biggest criminals in the history of South Africa, and they told us these guys got life imprisonment. I was a little afraid," he recalled to FOX 17 on Wednesday.
"But that morning, when I opened that first cell door, I see elderly African men stand up from the floor. They slept on two mats, three blankets. It was terribly cold, and he stands up, and greets me with respect, 'Good morning, sir.'"
The sights he took in at the prison did not always align with the information his superiors provided him.
"I ask the sergeant, 'What are these prisoners' info?' He said to me, 'Brand, that's a terrorist that tried to overthrow our country. That's a terrorist that tried to kill young boys on the borders,'" Brand said. "But when I looked at the age of these guys, I could have not believed they can be terrorists."
After about three months on the island, he had his first encounter with Nelson Mandela.
Brand was tasked with bringing Mandela to a visitor's area.
"He was the first one who asked me a question. He asked me, 'Mr. Brandt, where are you from?'" he recalled on Wednesday.
Mandela told him, "You put a leg iron smooth around my ankles. You lifted up the chains for me, and you treat me with respect."
Brand says his father taught him to treat all people with respect while growing up on their family farm.
Mandela would often speak about the importance of education, and the value in sharing your knowledge with younger generations.
"The most important lesson Mandela left behind for me was to respect each other, help each other," he said. “Education is the most powerful tool in the hands of a poor person, and through education, people can understand each other better.”
The pair stayed close even after Mandela was finally released in 1990.
Eventually, he called Brand to offer him a job in parliament, which he gladly took for some time.
He found the work somewhat mundane, and asked Mandela if there was somewhere else he could be more useful.
Soon, he would serve on the nation's Constitutional Assembly.
Mandela would still meet up every once in awhile with Brand in his later years, always eager to share a laugh with his old friend.
"He always has that smile on him, and always be looking happy," he told FOX 17 while looking through old photos of the pair together.
Visiting West Michigan this week, he continues to spread the lessons he has collected over the years.
“Go and visit different countries, go and spend time with people from different cultures. When you make friends out there, you can bring peace in the world, and people can understand each other," Brand said. "So, I believe Mandela's legacy. I want to keep it alive.”
