There are times that surprise you with the emotions you feel inworld. For me, this was one of them. On a tip from
NWN, I thought I would go to the
Saminaka sim after hearing about an interactive experience that allows you to experience the
Middle Passage--when almost 20 millions Africans were enslaved and sent to points overseas. Upon my arrival, I was instructed to choose a persona box, which came with clothing and information about the person you were portraying. Mine, "Nzinga", was a 36-year old Kongo married mother of six who was captured by the Portuguese traders in 1619...
You are instructed to go to the Door of No Return--which represents the last time that most stood on African soil before being loaded onto the ship. You are instructed to strip down to only your loincloth undergarment and I also put on the shackles that were provided. What I did not expect was my RL visceral reaction to doing so. I stood there and hesitated. I
did not want to...
I found myself actually taking a deep breath and stepped through. I passed the
Egungun--representing the ancestors. As you walk along the representation of the ship there are large flowers to touch, each containing RL narratives/accounts of experiences. When you get to the end, more boxes await and you choose the one with your persona...this time it is for when you have arrived in America...
Now in my new garments of an American slave and with the name "Mary", I find that my persona was sold to a captain in Jamestown, VA. To find out what happened to her and others, you must go and visit for yourself. I found it to be a very moving experience. This is the kind of thing SL is truly meant for and I commend
Tamsin Barzane for creating it.
I felt this inworld experience was worth it. I know that many of my RL ancestors experienced this and I am here today because they were strong enough to survive it. In 2001, RL me got a chance to stand Goree Island, Senegal's museum and memorial "Door of No Return". For me, it meant a lot to me that I
did...
About two weeks ago, I visited the Middle Passage experience in the Saminaka sim. Today, there was a follow-up discussion led by Acuminous Watanabe, a psychologist in RL, for those who went through it to share their impressions. Like me, others were affected by what their personas went through--being ripped from families and their homes, and the confusion and inability to communicate in this new foreign place where they were treated so horribly. One thing we all agreed upon was SL's positive aspect as a medium with which to be able to share something like this and be able to discuss it--despite the painful aspects it brings up. I believe, and will continue to believe, that SL helps us to see past barriers we might have in place in RL and see one another as persons--no matter our ethnicity or anything else.
