I looked around the room.

There were chairs arranged for people who had not arrived yet, water at the back, and a place where questions could be written down if someone preferred not to ask aloud.

None of it was impressive enough to appear in the settlement headlines.

It was the part of the foundation I could understand most clearly: prepare a room, invite the right people, make useful information available, and give them time to speak.

Ruth placed a pen beside the sign-in sheets.