stolen generation - Lee Emmett

'stolen generation'
is soft term for pain
suffered by indigenous
families ripped apart again

children placed in care
losing track of heritage
growing up with grief
as their parents age

often death occurs
before relatives reunite
meanwhile anguish and sorrow
terrifies each night

though Mr Rudd's 'sorry'
is a step in right way
must make greater effort
to improve outcomes each day

access to archives and
genaeological history
helps overcome sense
of loss and mystery

forming individual identity
depends on accurate knowledge
of ancestry and idea of 'home'
most Australians acknowldege

many Aboriginal people
displaced from their land
became refugees in missions
trying hard to understand

dispossession leads to
estrangement and disunity
compassion and wisdom
can rebuild strong community

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Lee Emmett (20th century) Australia
Source: VoicesNet com
Note: The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions between approximately 1905 and 1967, although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s. On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd presented an apology to Indigenous Australians.