I was going to write an irreverent intro about Richard Tulloch’s (claim to fame: writer of the Bananas in Pyjamas) visit to the Changi Museum, but there’s really nothing to be irreverent about. Richard’s post is a thoughtful reminder of how the Changi Museum is not just a place for presenting history and remembering; it’s an international pilgrimage site dedicated to the strength of the human spirit; about facing the demons of the past, and moving on.

Richard writes:

I hesitated to visit it. I wasn’t sure how I’d cope with hearing the details of the horror, and indeed visiting Changi Museum is a confronting experience some of the time. There are the unavoidable photos of emaciated workers on the notorious Burma-Thailand railway, of a blindfolded Australian soldier moments before his execution, and of the heads of decapitated Singaporeans that were displayed around town to intimidate the local population.

I hesitated to visit it. I wasn’t sure how I’d cope with hearing the details of the horror, and indeed visiting Changi Museum is a confronting experience some of the time. There are the unavoidable photos of emaciated workers on the notorious Burma-Thailand railway, of a blindfolded Australian soldier moments before his execution, and of the heads of decapitated Singaporeans that were displayed around town to intimidate the local population.

…

Significantly, there are also strings of Japanese paper cranes, and a Japanese visitor has written in the visitors’ book, ‘If we do not study history, history repeats itself.’ Our guide tells us that staff sometimes find apologies left by descendants of Japanese soldiers. The world has mercifully changed for the better, in some places and in some respects at least.

We are coming into an era where more and more people do not remember the great wars of the last century, which is why places like the Changi Museum are going to be even more important in the future. Read Richard’s post here, do make plans to drop by the museum some time.