The Stolen Generation (Aborigines in Australia)

[soulslicer]

I never knew such a thing had actually happened in Australia, where they forcibly removed aborigine children to be mixed with other Australians to promote intergeration.

Never knew about this until news came that Prime Minister Rudd would be apologizing for this "blight" in their nation.

The alleged aim was to culturally assimilate mixed-descent people into Australian society. Policemen or other agents of the state (such as 'Aboriginal Protection Officers'), were given the power to locate and transfer babies and children of mixed descent from their mothers or families or communities into institutions.

http://www.sundayherald.com/interna...e_ministers_apology_to_stolen_generations.php

Prime minister's apology to 'stolen generations'

Based on the premise that Aboriginals were a doomed race, as many as 100,000 mostly mixed-race children were taken from their parents between 1910 and 1970, with scarcely an indigenous family unaffected.

The "stolen generations", as they are known, were placed in the care of white foster parents or sent to institutions where many were raised to become domestic servants. Sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty were rife in some homes, leaving a legacy of shattered lives.
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In what will be the first parliamentary act of his new government, Labour prime minister Kevin Rudd will fulfil an election campaign promise when he stands up in parliament in Canberra on Wednesday and says sorry to the stolen generations. It will be shown on giant outdoor screens in Australia's two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, and aired live on two national television networks, with the red, black and gold Aboriginal flag flying from landmarks across the country.

Not all Aboriginals agree, arguing that the apology will do nothing to improve their often appalling living conditions. Australia's 450,000 Aboriginals live on average 17 years less than the rest of the population. They suffer shocking levels of alcoholism, ill health, child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Rudd's apology will be a meaningless gesture in the eyes of some.

Aborigines suffer far more horrific lives compared to the whites in Australia. It's almost like the white vs black situation in America and Europe. Any thoughts?

 

[jimbo118]

Too little too late for them I believe.

 

[Jintor]

In all seriousness, despite living in Sydney for all of my life, I have never socially met an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

This will hopefully change when I go to Uni, but I'm not too sure...

 

[Dan]

from what I hear, the Aborigines got ****ed hard in Australia and they are feeling it.

 

[Solaris]

I remember reading in Bill Brysons book where he toured Australia noting how deep the segragation was.

The apology is a good step, but it must be the first step towards a seiries of measures to fix what has happened, investing in better schools and healthcare in these deprved regions. I think cash recompense for those directly affected by these measures is justified too.

 

[Nemesis6]

Well, it's slightly comparable with the blacks in America, but the reasons and methods are different - As hard as it is to believe, the Australian government actually did it thinking it was the best way to integrate them, whereas the slavery in America was for the opposite; to avoid integrating them.

Soulslicer, I don't know if you've seen it, but I'll recommend it anyway - There's a movie called Rabbit-Proof Fence, it shows some of these conditions, and the story of a few aboriginal girls who were victims of these policies.

 

[Emporius]

Similar thing happened in Canada. Native children were taken from their families and forced to go to 'residential schools', where they were froced to forget their culture and learn the European ways

 

[venturon]

Yes, the conditions that aborigines were subjected to were horrific, but I don't think the PM should apologise. Part of the matter is that I don't feel that it is appropriate for him to be the one apologising, but more importantly, an apology won't mean anything. Many aborigines still live in the most deplorable conditions and the words 'We're sorry' won't change that. 'Sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty' are but a number of sordid afflictions gripping some aboriginal communities today, and this treatment is by aborigines and to aborigines.

Many aborigines cling to their ancestral identity without truly living in the way of their predecessors, and this is a major part of the problem. The inherent incompatibility between their traditional neolithic way of life and the modern western lifestyle means that many aborigines live idle and unhappy lives in areas where employment is scarce, and thus form a reliance on government assistance for survival. Unfortunately for them, it is much harder to go back than it is to go forward--due to the ignorance of white policy, many aboriginal customs have been lost, making it impossible for them to lead lives of self-sufficiency as they once did. The people of remote aboriginal communities don't really have much choice; they can either leave their ancestral lands and integrate (which they might not necessarily have the means to accomplish) or they can die a slow death as their communities languish amidst the miasma of substance abuse and domestic violence.

There really aren't any easy solutions to the problem, and any government involvement is heavily criticised. For example, in cases of child abuse the government might deem it appropriate to relocate the victim. You don't need a brilliant imagination to fathom the public response to this kind of action, but nonetheless it saddens me to see that people don't realise that this is about saving lives and not about a revival of racist government policy.

 

[kineaesth]

Too little too late for them I believe.

^this.