English Assignment: Should Australia Apologize to the Aborigines? (Forced by English teacher to choose side - Sorry)

For decades there has been a concealed barrier between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous Australians. Everyday, most of the European-heritage Australians who was born during the 20^th Century masquerade the racism towards Aboriginals as nothing. This subject is often very sensitive, especially if it is discussed in public. The most sensitive topic would be the event of the ‘Stolen Generation’ and the general mistreatment of the Aboriginal population. The ‘Stolen Generation’ refers to Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and communities to learn the ways of the modern European Australians. In this essay I will discuss three points leading to the conclusion on whether Australia should apologize to the Aborigines. To apologize would mean ending the silent war between the two parties but to admit wrongdoing. On the other hand, to dismiss the thought of apologizing would mean continuing the peaceful way of Australia but further encourage ignorance.

There is serious inequality between the non-Indigenous and the Indigenous population. In Australia, the indigenous peoples, marginalized since white settlement, live a substandard existence among non-Indigenous Australians who are among the healthiest, wealthiest and best-educated populations in the world. As Ursula Stephens said: “A life where questions are valued more than acquiescence, where real difference is recognized as superior to superficial stereotypes, and where saying sorry for wrong actions, hard as it may be, is a necessary step righting the injustice and creating a better world”. Discrimination is a serious issue, without it Australia has a strong possibility of having a bright future for every one of her citizens including indigenous, migrants and descendants of settlers over generations. One example is parents in 1883 threatening to withdraw their children from school if 15 aboriginal students would not leave. In the end, as those times racism was very much alive in Australia, the Aboriginal children were ordered out of school. Combating this problem today would undoubtedly be very crucial; the only problem would be the willingness and heart of everyone. Many elder citizens and non-indigenous government officials still bear the white-supremacy belief. Especially as larger more powerful countries in the world do not first combat their own problems of racism to show an example for Australia to follow the footsteps of, the road to ending discrimination would still be far ahead.

In some aspects, Australia has already apologized to the Indigenous population by the historic ‘Sorry’ speech to the ‘Stolen Generation’ for their “Profound grief, suffering and loss” made by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on February 13^th, 2008. The motive of the speech is “To remove a great stain from the nation's soul and in the true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land Australia.”  This was a major event making headlines of newspapers across Australia about ‘Sorry Day’. Even in this speech, though made in the name of good intentions, there was evidence of lingering injustice. It can be seen in an exclusive interview about this historic speech with the Koori Mail Newspaper (National Aboriginal-owned newspaper) “…led him (Federal Opposition Leader of the Liberal Party Dr. Brendan Nelson) around the chamber to meet all the Aboriginal Elders and all those sort of folk”. Hurt and memories would never disappear but it had been beneficial for this apology to be made, touching hearts of many in Australia’s community. “The wording of Mr. Rudd’s apology goes a long, long way to end the distrust of the white man by generations of my people.” –Lloyd McDermott, Member of the NSW Bar Association. In another case, concerned Australians have for many years tried to slowly heal the scars of the injustice towards the Aboriginals by holding an Australia-wide ‘National Sorry Day’ on the 26^th of May every year. This event has been held since 1998, giving a day where people have a chance to come together and share the steps towards healing the Stolen Generation, their families and their communities.

This leads me to my next point, which is the Aborigine loss of children during the ‘Stolen Generation’ of history. This is a controversial topic as it was believed that children were taken with the intentions of breeding out the black in Australia’s future population. The ‘stolen generation’ act was done in the name of assimilation and “protection” policies by the late 19th century that had only just ended in the 1970s. The ‘Sorry Speech’ had prioritized the regrets towards the Aborigines for the Stolen Generation. There are many reactions towards the speech, mostly positive but yet there is also stark negativity about it. A member of the Stolen Generations, Mary Ferrell-Hooker, 50, said, “The apology will help to heal the scars but it will never heal my pain and hurt”. The Stolen Generation is the most controversial event that gives reason on why Australia should say sorry to the Aborigines. There are two ways to see the act of the Stolen Generation. To the non-Indigenous Australians, it was done with good intentions. They believed that they were doing the right thing by allowing mixed-race semi-aboriginal children to be taken to live modern lives, to have the same equal chances in life with the Caucasians, such as in education. However, to the Aboriginal Australians, suffering from loss of members of their families, communities and children, they see this act as evil. To them, they feel that the Europeans who came and stole their land are pushing further to steal their children, to tear away their futures and to erase the culture they have lived with for over a millennium.

Overall, my view is that Australia should apologize to the Aborigines for the hurt of the act with the Stolen Generation, slowly leading up to the awaited equality among human race not based on color of skin. A large portion of Aborigines such as Noel Tovey, an Aboriginal dancer and member of the Stolen Generations, who hoped that “No matter what our color and our creed, at our heart, from this day forward, we are all fundamentally Australian”. One suggestion I wish to point out is that if equality were to be gained in the future, not only does Australia need to give a sincere thorough apology; the Aboriginals should also contribute by acting well among the Australians. The Aborigines should give a good mannerism by reducing the temper flares, alcoholism and violence they are notorious for. A sincere apology would be hard to come by, and there will always be skeptics. It could be said, “The whole sorry thing is really to satisfy the white population, not the black population. Until whites give back to black their nationhood, they can never claim their own, no matter how many flags they fly.” As John Pilger, an expat Australian Journalist pointed out. In conclusion, I believe that all Australian race groups should contribute if Australia is to have a harmonious future, including an apology from Australia towards the Aborigines.