During the apartheid years Robben Island was used to isolate opponents of apartheid and to crush their morale. Freedom fighters, like Nelson mandela, spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for their beliefs. Overcoming opposition from the prison authorities, prisoners on the Island after the 1960s were able to organise sporting events, political debates and educational programs, and to assert their right to be treated as human beings, with dignity and equality. They were able to help the country establish the foundations of a modern democracy.