night -- in black and white.

For white Bermuda High School Student Jennifer Burland it was time for people to see beyond skin colour and bury the hatchets of the past.

And she asked why young whites were blamed for what their ancestors did.

For 19-year-old Quito Swan -- a black student from Florida A&M University -- it was not just the perpetrators of segregation who bore the guilt.

It was also those who failed to lift a finger to reverse that evil.

Mr. Swan went on to appeal to fellow blacks to unite as they battled to emerge from "mental and economic slavery''.

The pair gave their views at the Beyond the Barriers forum at Astwood Hall in Church Street.

About 90 people packed the hall for the meeting, which featured a speech by Dr. Timothy Wilson, a white adviser to the South African Government who was at the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle.

Dr. Wilson told of the "miracle'' which occurred on April 27, 1994 when democratic elections were held, and his optimism for the future.

Just five years earlier South Africa had been plunged into a "state of emergency'' during the death throes of apartheid.

He outlined the healing progress under way in his reborn country through the Reconstruction and Development Programme, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up to dig out the horrors of apartheid.

A panel of politicians also spoke, including Human Affairs Minister the Hon.

Jerome Dill, Government Whip Mr. John Barritt, Shadow Human Affairs Minister Miss Renee Webb and Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen.

Miss Burland told the forum it was understandable for those who still remembered segregation to have strong feelings of prejudice and hatred.

But she added: "Now we live in a society where everyone has equal opportunities and how they decide to use them -- i.e. how they will fail or succeed -- is no longer due to race, religion or creed.'' Miss Burland accepted the evils perpetrated by her ancestors.

"This is still happening today, which is why racism is still with us still.

While what my ancestors did was unjust and inhumane, I have done nothing of the sort.

"So why am I to blame? Why are the youths of my race sought out and prejudiced against? "Although it is not my fault that racism has occurred or indeed the fault of my parent's generation, it has fallen on to our shoulders.'' She concluded that people needed to see beyond skin colour.

"This needs to start happening now so that the feelings of hatred are not passed down on to countless other generations.'' Mr. Swan defined racism as the exploitation of one race for the benefit of another.

He asked why black Bermudians were never taught about their history in schools.

A brief history of recent developments in South Africa was outlined by Dr.

Wilson, a special adviser to his country's Minister of Health.

He spoke of the evil of apartheid which degraded oppressors and the oppressed alike.

The system went beyond race -- it touched on gender relations, and the discrimination of rural communities, he said.

Of last year's election, Dr. Wilson said: "It was an amazing event. There was a spirit of peace which descended like a mist on all of us.''