Sorry is not just a word, it is an attitude. When that attitude is felt widely enough across the Australian community, it will take hold of our Government too.
In Australia, every 26 May since 1998, there has been a unique commemoration – Sorry Day. It began with the publication of the report of a national inquiry into the ‘stolen generations’ – the Aboriginal people removed from their families as children, and placed in institutions and with white Australian families, in an attempt to assimilate them into the predominant Western culture.
The Australian Government tried to ignore this report. But many Australians were shocked by it, and refused to let them. Commmunity organisations came together to organise a day to say sorry to the Aboriginal people, and hundreds of thousands took part. A million individuals apologised through writing messages in specially-created ‘Sorry Books’, which were then handed to representatives of the Aboriginal people. All State Governments and most churches held formal ceremonies of apology.
The stolen generations were deeply moved by this expression of empathy, and they responded by launching a Journey of Healing, inviting all Australians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, to join them in community initiatives to help heal the wounds resulting from these policies.
Those of us who helped organise Sorry Day expected that the day would fade into history. But it hasn’t. Every 26 May, in cities and towns, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians come together on that day. This year at the University of Queensland, 500 people sat down to the annual Sorry Day Dinner. At the Sydney Opera House, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser gave a keynote speech to launch an evening of song, story and poetry by the stolen generations of New South Wales. In Adelaide, several thousand people visited a city centre square for a barbecue and displays hosted by the stolen generations.
These events are not primarily political. When an Aboriginal person speaks of ‘sorry business’, he means a time when people come together to grieve, usually a funeral. At gatherings on Sorry Day, many remember the parents, children or siblings that they lost.
To other Australians, ‘sorry’ means sorrow and apology. Many feel that Sorry Day is still needed because, as a nation, we are not yet genuinely sorry.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, exemplifies this. He has expressed his deep sorrow, personally, ‘for those who suffered injustices under the practices of past generations towards indigenous people.’ He has agreed to the creation of a Government-funded memorial to the stolen generations, which describes the removal policies as ‘cruel and misguided’. But he refuses to say sorry on behalf of the nation. And there is little commitment to put things right; the Government’s response to the recommendations of the report has been half-hearted, almost tokenistic.
There is a huge amount to put right. Children were removed up to the 1970s. Today thousands of Aboriginal people struggle because their removal left them vulnerable to despair within themselves and abuse by others. They need help in many ways. Several thousand are still at the first step on the journey towards healing – trying to find family members from whom they were taken.
Perhaps this is what prompts people to organise Sorry Day gatherings. These gatherings help to put things right. Many stolen generations people don’t know how to make something of their lives. They have high rates of addiction, imprisonment, suicide. It takes immense courage and determination to break out of this hopelessness. In many cases, an expression of empathy from their local community, such as a Sorry Day event, has helped a person find that courage.
Today I know many stolen generations people who have overcome despair, and are contributing creatively to their local community. A recent national TV programme told of some who are helping people in need, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, in one of the most depressed areas of our largest city, Sydney.
But there is a further step which we, as a nation, still need to take. Putting things right must include our Government sitting down with representatives of the stolen generations, and reaching agreement on what needs to be done to end their grievance. This has yet to happen.
Until it does, I suspect many Australians will feel the need for Sorry Day. Our sorrow means little unless it results in a serious determination to heal the wounds and address the continuing injustices. Sorry is not just a word, it is an attitude. When that attitude is felt widely enough across the Australian community, it will take hold of our Government too. Then we expect that Sorry Day will fade away, or find another name. Sorry will have been said, in word and in deed.
NOTE: Individuals of many cultures, nationalities, religions, and beliefs are actively involved with Initiatives of Change. These commentaries represent the views of the writer and not necessarily those of Initiatives of Change as a whole.
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