Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Kevin Rudd has offered an apology to all Aborigines and the Stolen Generations for their "profound grief, suffering and loss" through and after the invasion, consistent by the British government. Most of the government reversed the president and the apology, while the Aborigines were crying under the speech. Outside 1000 of Aborigines were standing crying for happiness or anger. Some began clapping and yelling "shame", and started to walk away.
A father of reconciliation, Pat Dodson, described the apology as a "seminal moment in the nation's history". Mr. Dodson said the apology was a courageous statement after a decade of denial by the government of John Howard and went "beyond what I thought they might say".




 The first apology should have come from Mr. Howard, but it came from his succeed, which was Kevin Rudd, who said sorry in the video to “The Stolen Generatioin”.*

There have been a lot of protest:
Those who argue against apologizing ask questions such as: What practical effect does an apology have? Wouldn't it be better to face up to current injustices? How can people now be made responsible for what happened in the past? How can there be a “collective” guilt, when there should only be an individual one? How can suffering be measured?
“We should not forget the past but we have to overcome all the difficulties and then move on to the future.”

It took very long time for the government and the people to say sorry to the aboriginals, because they knew that it would have consequences. And also because it was very hard to say sorry for someone else, when it was such a big and terrible thing there happened.

Why is the word ‘sorry’ important as part of the apology?

In many Aboriginal communities, sorry is an adapted English word used to describe the rituals surrounding death (Sorry Business). Sorry, in these contexts, is also often used to express empathy or sympathy rather than responsibility.

Why is the word ‘sorry’ important as part of the apology?

In many Aboriginal communities, sorry is an adapted English word used to describe the rituals surrounding death (Sorry Business). Sorry, in these contexts, is also often used to express empathy or sympathy rather than responsibility.

Why apology means so much?

For Australia, the issue of an apology is most strongly argued by those who feel like indigenous people. They have suffered from European settlement, and an apology is an important part of a reconciliation process. There is widespread opposition to this gesture, most notably from Prime Minister John Howard.

National sorry- day:
national sorry - day is an Australia -wide held on 26 May each year. This day gives the people the chance to come together and share steps healing the stolen generations, their families and communities.

Many activities and events take place on national sorry-day, it include:

·         Concerts and barbecues.

·         Reconciliation walks or street marches.

·         Sorry Day flag raising events.

·         Morning teas or lunches.

·         Speeches from community leaders, including Indigenous Australian elders, as well as educators.

·         Media statements from politicians within federal, state and local governments.

National sorry-day also gives people the chance, to write a massage and sign “sorry books” 
“sorry books” are written by many people, some pages are covered with signatures without massage, some have simply written “I am sorry” while others have written extensive apologies. The “sorry books” started since 1998. Many school children also take part in national sorry day activities.

Why did they say “sorry”?

The first national sorry day was held on 26 May, 1998. People wanted to say sorry for what happened to the stolen generations, Many Indigenous children were forcibly taken away from their families in the name of integration during the 1950s and 1960s. These children are known as the “Stolen Generations”. They were brought up in institutions or fostered to non-Indigenous families. This removal was official government policy in Australia until 1969.
In 13 February 2008, the Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to Australia’s indigenous people, particularly the stolen generations and their families and communities, for suffering and loss.

 

In 1997 the Australian Government told their inhabitants, that they not were going to give an apology or make a compensation scheme. But after some years, they did change that. In 2006, the Government set up their first Stolen Generations compensation scheme, and in 2008 the inhabitants of Australia got their official apology.

But even that doesn’t change the scars. Today many Aboriginal people, who wasn’t treated fair, fight in cases to get compensation for the damage they had going through.

Here you can read a story from a couple who fights for compensation:

Donald Colland (one-quarter Aboriginal) and Sylvia Colland (native Aboriginal) felt in love with each other in a very young age, and even when people looked strange at them, they had so much love to each other that they decided to get married in a young age. When they were the age of 17 and 18, they got the first of their 14 kids, and unfortunately did their baby died very young. One other baby was stillborn, but it didn´t stop them, and then came the happy children to them.

Their home was situated on Sylvia's mother's property near an Aboriginal reserve and here did they use the washroom facilities and toilets. The family find their home very comfortable and were pleased. Donald Colland tells: "Our kids were always clean and loved and were never neglected and we shared our lives with them."

But one day their daughter Ellen got sick, and they had to go to the Beverley Hospital. Ellen had to be their alone, because her parents had 8 more kids at home. Then Donald and Sylvia came two weeks later to see their daughter, they were told, that she was gone. First they thought that Ellen was dead, but then people told them, that "Ellen will be better off where she's gone." Donald and Sylvia felt like they couldn’t breathe. They didn’t understand, that somebody could take their baby away from them - but it got worse. From the 1958 to 1961 got all of the other kids taken away from them too.  Donald Collard described it as ”very traumatic” and “a nightmare”.

Donald Collard didn’t want to give up. He tried to get his children back. He brought a house, so the children would have a safe place to live in - but it didn’t helped. Then he tried to get some information’s about where the children were, but it didn’t helped either. The only thing he got to knew was that the children were split up, and with different families.

Now, many years later, the 79 years old Donald Collard has been giving evidence in court to support his claim. He, Sylvia and seven of their kids try to get compensation of their removal. They hope for the best, but know it will be hard. It wasn’t only their kids there got a groove for life. Donald and Sylvia Collard life have been hard too. When they couldn’t have their kids back, Donald used all his money drinking.

So even if they had seven of their kids back right now and had got an apology for their removal, they still have scars. Now they hope for the best in the case, so they hopefully after that, and get a “normal” life back.