Undine Whande this now by looking at a picture of the hands of Checker. Checker is in her late eighties and she lives in a small village just south of the Limpopo river. She is a weaver and, with her nimble fingers, she weaves mats and baskets to this day. Take a moment and look at your own hands, appreciate your hands, the work they have done for you, the tender touches, perhaps, Photo: Webster Whande that they have given. Contemplating this picture, I want to invite you to reflect on the oldest person whose hands you have held with your own hands in your life. Who is this person? What is their date of birth? Perhaps it was your grandfather or grandmother, or an elder in your community? Perhaps he or she was born in the late 1800s, or the early 1900s? Hold the image of that person in your mind’s eye for a moment – who were they? What were their life experiences? What shaped them and what did they teach you that perhaps shaped you? Now take a moment and think of the youngest person whose hands you have held? Most likely these were the hands of a baby recently, perhaps your own child or grandchild? Do you have a mental picture? Think about this child’s life. If he or she lives a full life – to eighty, ninety or a hundred years – what year will we have? The year 2100 perhaps? Please take a moment and share with neighbour for two or three minutes about these two people – the oldest and the youngest person whose hands you have held. [The room comes alive with conversation, laughter, sharing.] Just consider for a moment how you feel right now. Speaking about positive memories really enlivens us. This is an important consideration for transitional justice because, alongside memories of harm and pain, we all have memories of joy and moments that were meaningful. We connect through memory to people that gave and continue to give us energy in the now, emanating from encounters made perhaps as long as half a century before the now. 8 International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe