So I departed and was free from imprisonment.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Yes, I was detained for eight days in Waziristan in 1996. It was against my will, and my passport and money were taken from me. I was not mistreated or harmed, but I was also not allowed to leave.
In 1960, when I came out of prison as an ex-convict, I had more freedom under parolee supervision than there's available... in America right now.
Imprisonment hit me so hard - much harder than I had thought.
In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few months. And so I was a free man, at least for a while.
No one can say, 'I have dropped out - I am no longer in the system.' When you're in prison, you're even closer to the system: you feel it more, and you might be in there for whatever reason. You don't transform the system as an absolute thing.
Lots of people think I went to prison. I never went to prison. I was in jail without bail.
Even if I was in prison, I could be free in my head. I can adapt easily.
I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.
I went to prison, I paid my bill.
I was first imprisoned in Pretoria, and then, thereafter, I was taken to Robben Island. I stayed there for a couple of weeks. I was taken back to Pretoria when I was charged in the Rivonia trial, when I was then sent to Robben Island for life.