Reconciliation

2004-05-13T09:06:00.000+10:00

The Collard Family,

The story of a family affected by the stolen Generation

The Collard family is story that is neither one side nor the other on the topic of stolen generation.

In a community in Condinnin, there were many Aboriginal families, instead of all the children in that area being taken away only the Collard families children were taken away. The family thought the reason their children were taken away was because they were the “whitest” out of the area and the fact that they didn’t go to an accepted church. The parents of the Collard children were charged with drunkenness and neglect of their children. The parents were enraged and said that these charges were un-true.

One of the children said that their parents did drink and neglect them. When the Collards were found the children were under weight and malnourished. She feels it was the right thing to be taken away from her parents.

The Collards made it back home, except for Ellen who became to attached to her white family.

Ellen is happy that they were taken away to live with white families.

“ I got things perhaps I wouldn’t have received if I was brought up by my biological parents, and I wasn’t abused like my sisters back at home. But I miss not knowing my parents, brothers and sisters while I was growing up, I feel sad when they talk about being growing up together and I can’t join in”

2004-05-13T08:43:00.000+10:00

I think that part of the fact Australia still hasn't in whole, reconciled, is because there is still a lot of racial discrimination around. Though many Australians have made it clear that they want reconciliation, with national protests, like the marches around different cities in 2000, John Howard, opur prime minister, still refuses to apologise. You have to question, is he racist?

He says he refuses to apologise because he wasn't the one who initiated the Stolen Generation. Neither did the rest of Australia, but we said sorry too. The fact is, that some people look up to John Howard, so if he doesn't say sorry, they won't either. Its like a "sheep following shephard" thing. It's hard to believe that people can be so shallow, that they are scared of people who have different coloured skin to them. It doesn't make them a lesser person to us, and I don't understand how people can actually look at someone, and can't see past their colour and to who they really are...and in truth (though this is generalised) Aboriginals are nice, some may be angry about his whole affair, but they're nice, nicer then a lot of rich, posh white people.

It sounds so divided how we refer to the Aboriginals as Aboriginals, and us as Australians, when in truth...we are all Australians. I don't like that fact, its too seperated, when we should just be one country, but we can't do that until John Howard, and the rest of the people who refuse to apologise, apologise. So we can mend the patches that make us a divided country. I suppose it could be a new Federation, but not with the states, but with the people, and thats the most important thing.

2004-05-13T08:37:00.000+10:00

BETH'S OPINION

I'm kind of sitting on the sideline here with my opinion on Aborigninal Reconciliation. One one hand, I think that saying sorry would be great for Australia and it's historical progress, yet it could also be bad financially. What happens if after the government apologises, many legal cases are opened up for repossession of land? This happened in Canada after the Candian government apologised to the native Indians,and the country has suffered. Would saying sorry really be the best option, putting everyone into consideration here? The Australian citizens have already informally apologised, would an apology from the government be any different, and would it actually help, or have the Aboringines actually thought about whether they really need this extra symbol of unity.

To state my opinion on a more controversial issue in our group, in John Howard's informal apology, he stated that he was sorry for what his ancestors did, but he wasn't sorry for being white. Although some people in my group think this apology was not good enough, I think that it was quite acceptable. I mean, what he is saying is very true, he shoudn't feel ashamed for being white just because of what happened many, many years ago and he did apologise for what his ancestors did - he can't exactly say he was sorry for what HE did, seeing as he didn't actually do anything, and he has to consider how a formal apology will affect the whole of Australia, not just him and his personal views. When you are prime minister, you cannot just think of part of the nation, you must think of all of it, no matter how hard that is to do.

All the Aboriginies want is an apology and I think this one was good enough. How will it make a difference to them if he leaves out the few words - "for what my ancestors did"? Yes, I undertand that these few words can have a big signifigance to some people, but putting it into perspective here - What are the Aboringinies really asking for? Will these requests ever stop? Are they really necessary? Will they really help or is what we have already done enough? How long will the ancestors of the perpetrators be blamed? Will this be detrimental to the health of Australia's youth? Will the Aboriginies ever forgive and forget?

That is all i ask. If an apology would really settle all these issues, and not be detrimental to Australia, if it would solve the problems, and push Australia towards a better future, then I am all for it.

But if we do apologise, and it opens up many legal cases, is detrimental to Australia's youth, the animosity towards the White Australians remains and the apology really did nothing to change the predicament we were in before then I say no to Reconciliation.

Reconciliation: You decide!

2004-05-11T09:43:00.000+10:00

Information Blog

The Stolen Generation Information written by Julia Hirst

What happened in the stolen generation?

Between periods of 1804 and 1970 around 100,000 children were removed from their aboriginal families by force. The children that were taken would either be put into a boarding house for indigenous children (girls separated from boys) or taken t a “white Australian family to be raised and brought up white.

This idea was to civilise the children at a young age so that the generation of traditional aboriginal up bringing would be abolished. White people in this period in time also thought that what they were doing to these children was morally right, since the white people had settled in Australia they had brought alcohol and cigarettes, the white people though that they were being brought up irresponsibly brought up.

Even though this was sometimes the case they were still being torn away from their culture. White Australian felt that their way of life was much superior to the Aboriginals and felt that if brought up in a white society they would receive a proper education and a so-called “civilised life”.

The result of the stolen generations:

The result of the stolen generation was devastating at the time and is still an extreme problem today in Australia society. These are some statics we found in our research of this topic and they all were scary and disturbing.

· 90% of Aboriginals that were affected by the stolen generation suffered from chronic depression.
· When surveying 500 stolen generation aboriginal two-thirds of them had experienced physical abuse in their new white homes
· One in six stolen generation aboriginals had been sexually abused in their white families
· The Aboriginals taken from their families at a young age never were able to learn their native language, this problem makes it harder, for the victims of stolen generation, to finding their parents.

2004-05-11T09:35:00.000+10:00

WHAT IS RECONCILIATION?
Reconciliation for White Australian people and Indidgenous Australians is about acknowledging the past and finding new ways for these two groups to come together in peace and move forward in the future as a reconcilied nation.
Reconciliation involves justice, recognition and healing to unite the people of Australia.

SAYING SORRY
Saying sorry to the Aboriginal people is about White Australians acknowledging the wrong doings and actions concerning the Aborignies, performed by our ancestors in our world toady. it is partly a symbolic recognition for the exclusion of Indidgenous Australians and is a step forward in reconciling Australian people. There are many different opinions on whether an apology is a positive necessary thing. These arguments are valid and purely justifiable. Some of our opinions on this topic are presented on the following blogs. Why don't you post yours?

2004-05-10T12:30:00.000+10:00

I'm addressing the issue of reconcilition. I believe that saying sorry to the Aboriginals is the only way that we, as a country, will find true unity. I think the fact that John Howard refuses to apologise might prompt the Aboriginies to fight for their land, which was theirs in the first place. I believe that in refusing to apologise, he is putting his pride above their recovery. In his apology he said it wasn't his fault, but if he were Prime Minister back in the time of the Stolen Generation, he probably would of done the exact same thing, seeing as they used to have different ideals and racial views back then. By saying sorry to the Aborigines, we may be making a clear path for them to start up legal cases about their land, but isn't that expected to happen anyway? I mean, we did take their land. I wouldn't mind if they started up legal cases, as it was their land in the first place, and i believe that the Aboriginies position in society today is not right the way it is! They are treated very harshly by todays society, and there is still a lot of racism around as well. Many people share this view. This isn't about what we did, it's about them and their recovery, and I believe that if we apologised it would help them on their road to a better, reconciled future.I think that John Howard should act like the good leader that he is expected to be, and really address this issue of Aborigninal Reconciliaton.

2004-05-10T12:09:00.000+10:00

My thoughts on whether we should say sorry in Reconciliation are varied. There are good strong points on both the affirmative and the negative argument. Reconciliation ought to be a positive aim for any nation, we should all as human beings want to be unified. There are some aspects of reconciliation which can be questioned or disagreed with.

Positive Reconcilaiton: Yes or No?

- Reconciliation helps to acheive unity between different cultures. It signifies that we are willing to change our old racist ways. The Aboriginal people officially as part of our society should be treated with the respect they deserve.
- By saying sorry for what our ancestors have wrongly done - colonised, killed, tortured and excluded, we have shown that we accept our history and can show that we want to put things right. By saying sorry, it can be sign of maturity.
- The Aboriginal people have made the effort to forgive and look positivley to the future, why can't we apologise if they who have suffered so much through our ancestors are willing to forgive?
- Apologising as part of the reconciliation process does not cost us anything! It doesn't harm us to say sorry, but rather moves our society forward for future peace.

Negative Reconciliation: Yes or No?

Although there are many positive aspects of saying sorry there are some strong points against apologising which are justifiable. People who do not agree, such as the prime minister of Australia, John Howard, question points like these:

- What will an apology do? What real long lasting affect will it have on the Aborginal people and the white population? Will an apology make everything all right? Will it be enough? Wouldn't actions in parliment, councils and communities be more fruitful in reconciling Australia?
- Why are we, the people of Australia in the 21st century, being blamed for what our ancestors have done? Is it fair to blame a race, not the people of the offending time?
- Where do we draw the line for blame? If everybody apologises will it really be the end of rivalry between Aboriginal Australians and White Australians? Will the Aboriginies forgive and forget? Will generations to come still be blamed?
- Reconciliation is not new. How long will reconciliation take to be accomplished? Should the bad treatment towards Aborignies really be blamed on us or on the course of history?

There is a case for both sides of the debate, but I think we should swallow our pride and move to the future. If saying sorry is going to promote peace for the people of Australia then I think we should make the effort.

2004-05-10T12:06:00.000+10:00

Hello, our group has thoroughly researched Reconciliation, Stolen Generation and a variety of opinions on these two topics including our own. Our thoughts on these topics are induvidual and varied, and consider all the facts involved. We will be posting our opinions on whether we should say 'sorry' to the Aboriginal people of Australia and whether John Howard's apology will make a difference.
In our group, Lauren and Mel will be researching facts on the internet, while Julia will be researching written material such as books, magazines and newspapers and Beth is our typer and editor. We will briefly recount the events of the Stolen Generation and define
what reconciliation actually is. From this information we will post our opinions, and you can make yours!