'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
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.