The stark grey concrete and wire architectural features really do set the tone for this national tribute to the spirit of reconciliation that has allowed the people of South Africa to survive a painful transition from legislated segregation to today's ideal of cooperation and forgiveness.
At the entrance we're divided into races, whites go in one entrance and everyone else goes into a separate door. This was the way of things in South Africa just a short while ago, as it was in America and other places on our planet.
But because this particular history is so recent, the impact of being divided and treated differently because of skin color presses down on our hearts as we begin the walking tour on which the story of white rule is told, its arrogance, cruelty and eventual unravelling when at last students in high schools made the irreversible move of burning their schools rather than be forced to learn in the language of the oppressors.
The museum affects people in different ways, some stand still weeping openly others can take only so much and flee, still others stay much longer than the allotted 2 hours to take in the history with awe for human cruelty and human resilience.
We are changed, inspired, grateful, sad, peaceful. We are humans: complex, creative. We are resolving again for our planet to live honorable peaceful lives.
Let there be...and with me let it start...
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