Just Nicky

Sorry February 13, 2008

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.

(full text)

Like so many events the Prime Minister’s apology to the Stolen Generations crept up on me. I rarely watch the news and am so immersed in my day-to-day existence that I tend to be unaware of things like this. Events of national and historical significance tend to just slide on by. I am clueless.

So I hadn’t set aside the time to watch it. It just so happened that I’d had the TV on to amuse Leila (who has turned into super-clingy baby recently) when the ABC Kids’ programs were curtailed early for the apology.

I liked it. There was a little bit of political point scoring, but that’s understandable, given that the previous government were so obstinant and had used its fair share of emotive and divisive language about it. What I like most is that it is done. And it didn’t seem so hard in the end, did it?

Of course, the talk about compensation has begun and that was always going to be the case. Money going to individuals seems unlikely to me though, because it would be politically nasty and, even if it went forward, the hoops through which people would have to jump to get it would probably be pretty horrible. It would be better, I think, to plough funding in the name of the Stolen Generations into positive programs to address inequality as reparation for the damage which that policy has done and continues to do to indigenous families and communities.