Refugees, sport, and mental healthRefugees, sport, and mental health
All In The Mind
The trauma of war and displacement has a negative impact on the mental health of hundreds of thousands of refugees around the world. Australian researchers recently travelled to a large refugee camp in Bangladesh* where around 500,000 Rohingya people are living. The researchers found that sports and exercise programs make a huge difference to these refugees' physical and mental health, and to their well-being. *There are around 900,000 Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh
29:03•10 Nov 2019
Refugees, Tension and the Healing Power of Sport
Episode Overview
- Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh describe intense psychological distress as "tension", tied to statelessness, lack of rights and relentless worry.
- Sport and physical activity are locally recognised ways to feel "tensionless" and "mind fresh", offering relief alongside social connection.
- Community football teams in the camp go beyond play, supporting new arrivals, donating blood and drawing crowds that can be used for health and education efforts.
- Women and other vulnerable groups often lack safe access to physical activity, so any programme must adapt to culture, safety concerns and differing abilities.
- Researchers argue that building on existing community coping strategies and training local "sports therapists" is more respectful and effective than importing external models.
“"If you give a kid a ball, they're going to kick it. And then you added, they're going to look for a friend to kick it to."”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This episode of *All In The Mind* looks at life inside the vast Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh and how something as simple as kicking a ball can ease crushing psychological strain. Host Lynne Malcolm speaks with exercise physiologist Dr Simon Rosenbaum, psychologist Ruth Wells and community development practitioner and psychotherapist Sean Nemerin about their work in Kutupalong camp, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live without rights, education or work.
People in the camp talk about feeling "tension" – a mix of being "opportunity-less", thinking too much about unsolvable problems and the physical feeling of a racing heart or painful chest. Rather than offering traditional one‑to‑one therapy, the team focus on what refugees already use to feel better: sport and physical activity.
One refugee, Habib, explains it simply: "If I just play a game, then my tension relive." You’ll hear how local football teams didn’t just play matches; they helped new arrivals at the border, registered blood types so they could donate in crises, and drew huge crowds where health and education messages could be shared. The researchers also highlight whose needs are still being missed.
Ruth shares vivid stories from Rohingya women who once played games and ran in their backyards in Myanmar, but now must cover up and stay inside crowded camps. They long for safe, women‑only spaces to move, talk and even just "gossip" together. This episode suits anyone interested in mental health under extreme stress, from clinicians and aid workers through to people curious about low‑cost, community‑led ways to support wellbeing.
It might even prompt you to rethink sport in your own recovery: could a simple walk, game or group activity be more powerful than it seems?
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