By Jennifer Thompson
On May 26, exactly one year after the "stolen children" report was tabled in federal parliament, the first national "Sorry Day" will be held. The day's aims, reflected in many different activities, include publicly recognising the effects of child removal policies and preventing any repeat of the genocide.
For Aboriginal people, says one key organiser, Link-Up's Carol Kendall, the day means acknowledging that there were many people who died never making their way home, that there are many people out there still wanting to get home but not knowing how, "and to acknowledge the survival and the resilience of Aboriginal people who have been affected and who are survivors".
For non-Aboriginal people, says Kendall, it's about understanding how it would be if part of their family were taken away. "We're not asking for people to feel guilty, we're just asking for people to understand and make a commitment to ensure that this sort of thing never happens again."
Kendall emphasised that the day "isn't about continual apology". "The sorry books and the apology are a healing process that non-Aboriginal people have identified as their need. We will accept that, but I think it has been misinterpreted that we've asked for it."
The establishment of an official Sorry Day was one of more than 50 recommendations of the report, compiled after a two-year inquiry which collected submissions from those stolen, their families, governments and the community.
Submitted to the attorney-general on April 5, 1997, and publicly released on May 26, 1997, Bringing them Home: National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families estimated that more than 100,000 indigenous children were taken from their families under laws that were not abolished in all states until the early 1970s.
The inquiry was launched in August 1995 by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. It aimed to study the impact of laws, policies and practices that resulted in the forced removal of children in the past, including physical and sexual abuse of removed children, and examine needed changes to laws and services for people affected.
One of its findings was that the vast majority of the 300,000 Aboriginal people now living in Australia come from families which experienced the removal of children, in some cases over several generations. Many of these children never saw their parents again, and thousands are now searching for surviving relatives.
The inquiry suggested an association between the past experience of forced removal and abuse, and today's high rates of imprisonment and deaths in custody of young Aborigines.
The report concluded that the removal of the children was a crime against humanity that amounted to genocide. It recommended that governments, churches and police forces apologise, that a national "Sorry Day" be declared and that financial compensation be paid to the individuals and communities affected.
In its submission to the inquiry, the Coalition government ruled out compensation as "socially divisive".
The government's very disappointing response to the report's recommendations was described by Public Interest Advocacy Centre solicitor Melissa Abrahams in an article in the February Indigenous Law Bulletin:
"Firstly and most importantly, the response does not contain an official apology. Secondly, it does not deal with two thirds of the recommendations in the Report. And thirdly, the amount of money provided is not enough to create more than a ripple of change in a sea of despair."
The practical provisions — $63 million allocated to a number of programs — to alleviate the suffering and disadvantage of Aboriginal people affected, will have no lasting impact without an apology recognising the harm done, said Abrahams.
Of the report's 54 recommendations, only 17 were addressed by the government, and those related to mental health, counselling and family link-up services. Those about contemporary indigenous child welfare, and reparation and compensation, were ignored.
In spite of the 1967 referendum which gave it responsibility to make laws for Aboriginal people, the federal government said that many of the recommendations were "non-applicable" to it, but matters for the states and territories.
There has been no improvement in the government's position, said, Kendall told Green Left. "It has been very difficult even to get a meeting with them to talk about their response. It seems to be a closed door, and they seem pretty adamant that they are not going to change anything."
Some of the initiatives that came out of their response hadn't been fulfilled either, she said, citing the allocation of money for link-up services. "There is money that has been allocated for the oral histories, but unfortunately, for the people who really need assistance, that hasn't come down yet."
The government had come up with "so many reasons" not to make an apology or consider compensation, she said. "The minute one's refuted, they look at another reason to not want to do it. I just think it's like Lois O'Donoghue said: they are a very mean-spirited government and very contradictory in terms of acknowledging the pain and suffering in some quarters but not in others."
Some really innovative ideas had been suggested for Sorry Day activities, Kendall said. "In one state the AFL have been involved in acknowledging their Aboriginal players. In some states the judiciary are coming on board, and offering to take additional testimony. It can't be included in the Stolen Generations report, but there are a lot of people who still want their experience heard and to have the opportunity to be heard.
"There are also civic ceremonies and unity rallies, or concerts, theatrical productions. It's going a long way towards the reconciliation process."