Australia apologises for child migrant abuse

[ludermor]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20091116/twl-australia-apologises-for-child-migra-41f21e0.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20091116/twl-tears-as-pm-apologises-to-forgotten-b910669.html

No more than ourselves there is a lot of shame attached to Australias history and treatment of the most vulnerable.

Some victims are still in prisons and mental health hospitals, while others suffer depression and feelings of worthlessness. Just days before the apology, one man who campaigned all his life for forgotten Australians killed himself.

[mylestheslasher]

What a terrible story and one I was not aware of. Clearly the catholic church is not alone in its appaling treatment of children. Question is why did these people have to wait this long for an apology?

[SLIGONIAN]

To be honest hadnt a clue of this before now. It is more than disapointing to think that this kind of tradegy could happen even. Just what goes through someones head at times. Why is it power greed and lets just add to human suffering is out there. It is good that an apology has been made but goes without saying its very late considering alot have took there lives. An apology is so easy to make. This was clearcut cruel acts, why so long after? Hope for the rest the survivors this helps the healing process and they can find some purpose to the rest of the lives. Its amazing the power of a apology and the admit of wrong doing can have on a victim.

[Zapatista]

To truely apologies for the abuse of these children Austraila should do more to prevent this abuse from continuing in other parts of the world.

[ludermor]

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/national/australia-says-sorry/main.html

I dont know Myles but it took them until last year to apologise to the aborogines for stealing their kids for generations and this would have been very well known and documented. I suppose when you compare it to the abuse here in the industrial schools it took long enough to get even an acknowlegment never mind an apology.
maybe the lads in Oz can answer this, is it just Rudd and his party who have pushed this or was had Howard planned on doing it?

[stephenite]

Howard refused to entertain the notion of an apology to the Indigenous population - it was and indeed still is his strongly held view that one generation should not be forced to compensate or apologise for mistakes by other generations.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/11/1205125911264.html

With regards to the most recent apology by Rudd to those that were child migrants - as Sligonian has pointed out - the mere fact that an apology was issued can be a source of great comfort to those that were mistreated, and that in itself is a good thing to do. It should also be noted that the Rudd government has ruled out any federal compensation to the victims.

Another important point to my mind, is that the majority of these children were sent from the UK under false pretences, and they were sent by the British government, Australia was not the only destination - others were sent to Canada and elsewhere and their fate was no different there.

In light of that, the sooner Gordon Brown apologises on behalf of the British government for being the instigators of this policy the better for the victims, all over the world.

[Aerlik]

Howard is a fcukin war criminal, and along with Bush and Blair should be in the hague with all other war criminal scum.  He is a clever bastard but has slithered away off the radar.  He has lied to the Aussie people for so long and yet there are those who still think he should be god.

He is the epitome of all that is rotten in Conservative politics - mind you anyone who admires Churchill and thatcher would only be of one persuasion.

Thankfully the Labour government here has had to balls to stand up and face the realities, but they are as conniving as the rest.  Rudd is the lesser of the two evils in my opinion.