Former Political Prisoners as Tour Guides at South Africa’s Robben Island Museum

Present day tours of Robben Island Prison construct a triumphalist narrative of national liberation through the life stories of former political prisoners like Nelson Mandela and others who went on to play pivotal roles in disassembling apartheid.  Yet, many of the tour guides presenting this narrative were prisoners themselves, with few economic opportunities other than to return the island and work for relatively low-pay (and an offer of free room and board).  Poor working conditions, mismanagement, and corruption plagued the site, prompting multiple rounds of labor strikes - even as UNESCO was declaring it a world heritage site.  Drawing on participant observation, interviews, newspaper articles, and museum documents, I investigate the positionality of individuals in relation to two state institutions that occupy the same space, the apartheid penal system and the post-apartheid tourism industry.