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 ROBBEN ISLAND, South Africa (AP) - The wind-swept island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned was the site of romance Tuesday as 22 couples were married in a special Valentines Day ceremony.
The weddings stand as testimony to the government's determination to make Robben Island — a symbol of fear and hatred during the apartheid era — into a monument to love and reconciliation in the new democratic South Africa.
"We chose Robben Island because you only get married once in your life and we wanted it to be a very special occasion," said Mario Pare, a native of Quebec, Canada, who was tying the knot with his South African fiance Jacqui Middlewick.
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