How do you tell what is unspoken? How do you teach and learn the history that cannot be told? For David Fleming, President of the FIHRM (Federation of International Human Rights Museums), “at the heart of social history museums are emotions - pride, anger, joy, shame, sorrow”, which is why he has put forward the idea of the “emotional museum”. Taiwan is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society that has seen periods of colonization and authoritarian rule, and the scars of injustice continue to hurt even today. Going forward, the challenge museums face is how to pass on the story of the past to the next generation and continue to promote human rights and justice.
Museums today challenge sensitive issues of war, genocide, ethnicity, gender, human rights, and justice. Exhibits, text, film records, picture books, performances, storytelling, mobile museums, and artistic creations systematically record the history of this suffering, stories of former “comfort women” (war-time sex slaves) are shared across border, the struggles of indigenous peoples are displayed and published, and sites reminding the public of past injustices are preserved. Together, we can look to the past but also turn towards a future of transitional justice, freedom and democracy, mutual respect, and social harmony.
