Too many still live in a state of denial about the harm done to aboriginal children through the policies of removal. When will we learn?
There can be no excuse for a government which harms children deliberately – even if it does so with the backing of misguided laws. The time has come for governments across the country to acknowledge that they have harmed generations of aboriginal children, that they knew removal was harmful, and that their reasons for the removals were wrong even if they were benevolent. It is time governments across the country set up compensation schemes which can quickly and efficiently deal with the just claims of children damaged by the State, who have grown up to be damaged adults ignored by the State. They hardly had a chance as children – give them a chance now.
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I am horrified to think of abused people being treated by the military and army. Apart from the issues of their land sovereignity threat, safety is the primary concern. In our white culture, there are waiting list for sexually abused people, they are given approximately 5 sessions, and often put on an overloaded waiting list, I’m angry that we are making our indigenous culture look more shabby than our own shabby system. Sexually abused at 9, examined by male doctors, with male detectives alongside, and I didn’t feel safe or cared about, and in fact, was given to understand that I had ‘done wrong’.
When I was later gang-raped at 13, the five boys threatened to tell the police that I had been sexually active with all their mates prior. I didn’t report it out of terror, and undertook my own treatment as an adult. Why do we insist we can do better with indigenous people when ‘our’ system is so inadequate?
Dear Julian;
Thank you for being part of Australians All, thank you for speaking up, thank you for being you.
This not about children’s welfare.
THIS ABOUT GETTING ABORIGINAL PEOPLE OFF THEIR LAND TO MINE URANIUM.
If a white child is abused, does Howard take the block of land that his parents own, and lease it back to them?
What is going on here? Howard has had ten years to deal with the problem of child abuse
Quite right Julian Burnside. The Howard government had better be setting aside an indecently large amount of money as a compensation fund for its current actions in central Australia. The courts will decide in favour of the victims again, and there will also be compensation payable for this current attempt to take more land away from them, again.
John Howard doesn’t seem to understand fairness and decency when it comes to Australia’s original owners, but perhaps he will understand the notion of economic collapse of our country due to compensation payments arising from his hasty, heartless decisions. The possibility is very real.
I must also confess to being very suspicious about John Howard’s actions. He has never demonstrated any altruism towards the aboriginal population before this.