How political prisoners found hope through sport

SPORT played a vital but often overlooked role in sustaining hope, discipline and solidarity among political prisoners on Robben Island during apartheid, according to new research by a Stellenbosch University academic.

- STAFF REPORTER

ACCORDING to research by Dr Vanessa Mitchell, political prisoners used sport not just for recreation, but to organise themselves, educate one another and create a sense of order in a harsh system built on control. | Supplied

(Supplied)

Dr Vanessa Mitchell, museum and heritage education coordinator at the Robben Island Museum, recently earned a PhD in sport science for her research examining how prisoners organised sport and recreation while incarcerated on the island.

Her study found that political prisoners used sport not only as recreation but also to maintain dignity and build community within a harsh prison system.

"Political prisoners used sport not just for recreation, but to organise themselves, educate one another and create a sense of order in a harsh system built on control," Mitchell said.

"Sport offered them physical release, emotional expression and relieved the psychological strain of isolation, monotony and hard labour."

According to Mitchell, sport became a tool of resistance, discipline and solidarity in an oppressive environment.