It was not so long ago that the Australian Prime Minister stood before an expectant and silent crowd and uttered a word that many had longed to here, SORRY!
Yet a couple of months on the horrors that afflict our indigenous communities continue unabated and despite a last ditch intervention totalling some AUD 1.5 billion.
This is truly one of those WTF moments! Saying sorry is and was the easy part! Now it is time for the hard yards to be hoed and if we as a community are not prepared to do that then the uttering of an empty sorry should and must be derided for what it is a political gesture without the necessary testicular fortitude to make it real or to make it meaningful.
A story in The Sydney Morning Herald caught my eye for a number of reasons. Where is the 1.5 billion dollars going to? What was the government sorry for? And why isn't anyone doing anything about this.
The title of the news piece:
"Sordid sex trade thrives after $1.5b intervention"
And the opening couple of paragraphs go like this:
"ABORIGINAL girls as young as 13 have been given cash, drugs, alcohol and taxi rides in exchange for sex in the Northern Territory mining town of Nhulunbuy.
Indigenous elders have asked police to investigate a group of non-indigenous men in the town who they say have been sexually abusing Aboriginal teenagers for years.
A group of four young indigenous women gave the Herald details of abuse by men they were prepared to identify to police. They said at least three Aboriginal girls were sexually abused at the age of 13."
The "culture of silence" has to end! The sexual abuse of children (and adults) is wrong, plain and simple!
If we, as a community, are truly sorry then we cannot stand for this kind of treatment and abuse any longer in any community...
Showing posts with label Sorry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sorry. Show all posts
05 April 2008
13 February 2008
Australia Says "Sorry" to the Stolen Generations
Today hopefully marks a turning point in Indigenous relations in Australia with the Government finally recognizing the wrongs of the past and apologizing for them. What will become of these words in the future? Only time will tell but if you have to start somewhere then this is as good a place as any to start the journey to full reconciliation and healing.
The Apology:
"I give notice that, at the next sitting, I will move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."
The Apology:
"I give notice that, at the next sitting, I will move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."
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