THE AGE History dictates that we say sorry MALCOM FRASER Friday 5 May 2000 The removal of Aboriginal children from their families was one of the most painful acts in Australia's history, and the purpose for which that removal took place was not an honorable one. There have been attempts to say that the removal of children from their families was for the same basic reasons as happens in today's world - if parents are patently unable to look after their children for one reason or another. But we know that's by no means the full truth. That might have been true in some cases, but in so many cases - as the Bringing Them Home report repeatedly documents - it was not true, and there were other purposes that were not honorable and I find, as a non-indigenous Australian, painful to accept ever happened. And they happened across many generations. One of the hardest things for non-indigenous Australians to understand, especially the older generation, is that the history - if we were taught any history about early settlement days in the early centuries in this country - was not particularly accurate. The history we were taught, that we were led to believe, is not what happened. It's very hard to understand that the realities were in almost total contrast to what people were told. So people of my generation have to turn around and say, "All right, we believe this was the early history of the settlement of Australia, but it wasn't like that, it was quite different." Now for a lot of people that change, to jump back from one view, the old view of Australia, to what is the reality of Australia, is very difficult. Therefore, it is enormously important for those who are in a position to influence opinions to advise Australians as to what has happened, and what ought to happen now as a consequence. We need a much greater national determination to address past wrongs and, symbolically, the most important element of that may be to address past wrongs in relation to the stolen generation. If these aspects could be redressed, it would obviously represent a giant step towards full reconciliation. In speaking directly to non-indigenous Australians, it's important to understand that it is not just material matters - housing, jobs, education - that are important. Important as they are, there are also matters of the heart and matters of the spirit. We have to understand that unless these are addressed, full reconciliation will never be achieved. Clearly in relation to such matters, a full apology is very significant. What is being asked for here is not something unique, not something that has not occurred in other places. We also need to understand that saying sorry for something does not imply guilt. It says something happened that should not have happened, and we're sorry it happened. When my mother died a lot of people told me they were very sorry she had died. But that doesn't mean they were responsible for it. They were expressing an attitude of mind that I found comforting because they were her friends. An apology does not imply guilt. It implies a recognition that an injustice occurred. It also implies we have a will and a determination to try to do something about the fact that many people suffered as a result of that injustice. Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1983 and is co-patron of the Journey of Healing. These are edited extracts of his comments yesterday at a media briefing on plans for this year's journey. -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
