apology to aborigines blog#

1.      What is the brief history of when aboriginal people and westerners began interacting in Australia?

When the British arrived in Australia they made the aborigines move elsewhere because they didn’t have government or “land ownership.” Also when the British came they brought disease with them and many aborigines died due to things such as small pox, influenza, and teburculosis. They also brought foreign animals such as sheep and cattle. The aborigines were at war with the settlers over land and water.

2.      What negative things did white Australians do to the Aboriginal people during these early times and through the mid 1900’s?

White Australians forced the aborigines out of their homes and put restrictions on the aborigines owning land. These restrictions were also on where they could live and who they could marry.

3.      What is the “stolen generation”?

The “stolen generation” was a generation of infants that were taken from their aboriginal parents to be brought up in white Australian homes. They wanted these children to eventually reject their aboriginal heritage. This child removal lasted until the late 1960’s.

4.      Explain the how being part of the stolen generation can affect you throughout your entire life.

Being part of the stolen generation affects the type of person you become. Many children from the stolen generation ended up in very cruel places and were physically and sexually abused. Things like this will scar a person for the rest of their life, many were led to alcoholism and violence. Also because these children were taken and deliberately separated from their siblings, the majority of these people never knew their families or were able to find them. Because this went on for so long many people in their thirties and forties still don’t know their families.

5.      How is the country of Australia still feeling the impact of the negative treatment of the Aboriginal people?

Australia still celebrates “sorry day” now known as Journey of Healing day. The parliament issued a statement of regret, but what current aborigines want is an apology from the heart.

6.      Explain to the prime minister the reasons why an official apology needs to be made.

Apologies need to be made because the “assimilation” of aborigine infants ruined lives and tore apart countless families. The cruelty that faced these children will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Even if it was in the past a true heartfelt apology is needed because the hurt that was caused can never be healed. From the very beginning the aborigines were treated as less than the white Australians. Because of what happened human lives were ruined how can any one nation not feel enough regret for such a horrible thing to apologize?