Did you watch the apology to the stolen generations on Wednesday morning?
Maybe you were in Canberra for the event – or saw it on a big screen in your own town or city.
Maybe you were at school and watched it as a real live history lesson….?
What did you make of it?
Were you touched? Did it make you feel proud to be Australian?
Are you hopeful that relations between indigenous and non indigenous Australia will be improved?
Are you hopeful that the ‘gap’ will be closed – in terms of life expectancy, health, education and job opportunities?
Or are you waiting for the symbolism of the apology to be followed through with action?
Comments (2)
As a Christian I was happy to see kevin Rudd at least get the ball rolling. I believe kevin is genuine in his motives because of his Judeo Christian heritage and its expectation of us. However Australia's lack of a "Bill of Rights" really makes the apology baseless. A "Bill of Rights" such as New Zealand or America have is based upon the biblical enalienable rights based of course upon the concept of absolutes.
Also if we are serious about bridging the gap we need to begin in 1788 at the inception of our great country. I know many of us regard Australia as a Christian country but this sentiment is not shared by our American friends. If we look closely at 1788, there was very little to do with anything Christian and this is indicated by our indigenous issues. Australia was ranked last in the world on indigenous affairs last year and we really don;t have to ask ourselves why. We have only addressed certain aspects of indigenous issues. Apart from the 'stolen' generation we have several thousand other indigenous peoples to think about who have lost their culture forever. So I think Kevin hasn't gone nearly far enough to bridging the divide between the indigenous community and the rest of Australia.
Posted by Hona Wikeepa | February 18, 2008 8:17 PM
Posted on February 18, 2008 20:17
Hey there,
I have mixed feelings about the apology. I agree totally with all that Kevin Rudd said and agree partially with what Brendan Nelson said, however, there is a time and place for that sort of thing. The time was not right.
I am proud that Kevin Rudd apologised "[f]or the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind". I am so happy that the Aboriginals have finally received this very overdue apology. We have, from the very beginning, hurt the Aboriginals. We took over their land. We desecrated what was sacred to them. We took their children, under the pretext that we were helping them.
However, what is an apology without action? How can we make up for a past of pain? Is there anything we can do? How many Aboriginals accept our apology as is, without demanding payment they can very justly claim? Can any amount of money make up for what has been done?
What do the Aboriginals want for recompense?
Posted by Jessica Erskine | February 18, 2008 11:41 AM
Posted on February 18, 2008 11:41