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Urgent steps towards healing - the NSDC view

Paper
National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

Following is an extract from a paper presented at a seminar entitled "Are We Bringing Them Home?" held in the Main Committee Room of Parliament House, Canberra, on 13 November 2002, prepared by Dr Peter O'Brien with the assistance of John Bond for the National Sorry Day Committee.

'Sorry' etched in the sky by a plane over Sydney Harbour Bridge, May 2000, when almost 250,000 marched for reconciliation in the first of a series of marches that have taken place across Australia. click image for full size (images may take some time to download) Photo from Black, White + Pink.

Valerie Linow, 61; the first member of the stolen generations to win monetary compensation after authorities removed her from her family.

Many stolen generations people are nearing the end of their lives. They need support now. The Federal Government has indicated its commitment to them by funding important support programs. Whilst the NSDC recognises the difficulty of tailoring resources to meet the needs of the stolen generations, we believe that, given goodwill, many improvements are possible. Cross government and cross-sectoral programs are difficult. However the public service, with its commitment to "whole of government" and "best practice" services, may be ready to accept the challenge of supporting people who are in need as a result of laws and regulations of the recent past.

The experience of being taken from family was traumatic. It delivered loneliness, dislocation, deprivation of affection and love, stress and grief. It resulted in deep depression, losses of identity, of culture, of language, of history, of family and of community and caused psychological harm, in many cases resulting in mental illness.

It has created a separate, though far from distinct, community, edging off into both the Aboriginal and the white community. That is why, administratively, it is difficult to target. Non-Indigenous organisations assume that the needs of the stolen generations should be met through Aboriginal organisations. Aboriginal organisations have their hands full dealing with the immense needs of Aboriginal people in general, and find it hard to give attention to the specific needs of the stolen generations.

New structures are needed. In recognition of this, the Victorian Government has assigned $2.1 million to create a stolen generations organisation. Something like this is needed widely across the country.

The journey towards healing for a stolen generations person can be lengthy. Many have not yet started, while others have only just begun upon their path. Val Linow tells of the sight of a large white "SORRY" created in the sky above the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the day in May, 2000 when 250,000 people joined in solidarity in walking across that bridge. Val's experience that day was the start of her personal journey of healing. That so many people cared overwhelmed her and diminished her feelings of anger for her past treatment to an extent that she could begin to forgive and, in doing so, to heal.

The crowds on the Sydney Harbour Bridge that day were matched by similar groups walking across bridges throughout Australia. The reaching out of the Australian nation to embrace the stolen generations can create conditions for healing and growth for all.

There is no mystery about what brings healing. It comes through people who care. Since Bringing Them Home was tabled, hundreds of thousands of Australians have shown that they care about the stolen generations. This has done much to commence the healing. The community and Government each have a role to play in continuing the process.

The National Sorry Day Committee is committed to encouraging the community contribution to healing. There is a vital role for ordinary citizens who get to know the stolen generations in their area, arrange events to hear from them, welcome them to local organisations. The NSDC will go on encouraging these community initiatives.

Churches have a significant role. Records of church-run institutions are increasingly becoming available, though more is still needed. The apologies of many churches have been appreciated. This gives them an opportunity to develop initiatives in cooperation with local stolen generations people to meet the particular needs they confront.

State and Territory Governments have all taken a vital step towards healing an apology. All have taken further steps. For instance, the NSW Government funds one case-worker with Link-Up NSW, and has brought together information on institutions to which removed children were taken. However, the response of the States has been piecemeal, and none has devoted funds commensurate to the Federal Government. Yet most children were removed under laws passed by State Governments.

The Federal Government's response to the needs of the stolen generations has been limited and, in important ways, flawed. There has not been an acceptable apology, nor any attempt to develop an alternative to litigation for those who seek compensation. The considerable funds set aside for programs to assist the stolen generations have been poorly monitored. Yet, the need for professional services to assist the healing of stolen generations people remains great and can only happen through Governmental support.

Perhaps the greatest flaw is the Federal Government's reluctance to consult the stolen generations. Healing will come through restoring the dignity ripped from the stolen generations by tragically misguided policies, and consultation is one way to do that. They best know the steps they must take for healing. The NSDC appreciates the Federal Government's decision to consult the stolen generations about their commemoration in the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra, and trusts that this will open the way for consultation on other important issues. The NSDC is ready to help facilitate this process.

The National Sorry Day Committee asks Federal and State Governments to recommit to healing the stolen generations.

To advance healing among the stolen generations the NSDC asks that:

• Australian Governments commit themselves afresh to healing. Governments and the Australian community each have a vital role.
• A national apology be offered to the stolen generations.
• A consultation process be developed, with stolen generations people speaking for themselves on the use of the Bringing Them Home funds. The NSDC is ready to help develop this process.
• A monitoring body be established, under the authority of COAG, MCATSIA or HREOC, with adequate resources and authority to evaluate the present responses to Bringing Them Home, determine the extent to which they are targeting the stolen generations,propose improvements, and monitor the ongoing programs.
• State and Territory Governments assess their response to Bringing Them Home, and develop methods of co-ordinating their programs with Federal programs, perhaps through MCATSIA, so that programs are available as widely as possible to the stolen generations.
• A survey be conducted to determine the extent to which family reunion services are needed, particularly in rural areas, and the services be resourced to meet this need. This will include improving facilities for training reunion workers in the many skills this task requires.

Source: National Sorry Day Committee

Further reading:

• Federal Government still needs to say sorry
  4 November 2002 - ATSIC NT Central Zone Commissioner, Ms Alison Anderson - Speaking on CAAMA (Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association) Radio in Alice Springs this morning, Mr Howard said he is "sorry as an individual" but he again ruled out a formal apology from his Federal CoalitionGovernment.
• First compensation win for the stolen generation
  October 18 2002 - Sydney woman Valerie Linow was shaking and overwhelmed yesterday after becoming the first member of the stolen generations to win monetary compensation for her cruel treatment after authorities removed her from her family.
• Restoring identity - achieving justice for the stolen generations
  27 September, 2002 - Media Release, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC); Media Release, Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
• Stolen generations fury at memorial `whitewash'
  May 27 2002 - Representatives of the stolen generations will ask the Federal Government for land in Canberra to build their own memorial because they consider references to their history at the new Reconciliation Place to be a whitewash.
• Only understanding will bring down the fence dividing a nation
  March 21, 2002 - Organisations that support members of the stolen generations are crying out for proper funding, writes Doris Pilkington Garimara.

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