Hey!
I'm a German student in 12th grade and I'm suppossed to write a skilled paper. I have chosen Englisch and my topic is
"The stolen generation of Australian Aborigines – Description and Evaluation of the Reconciliation process" I have chosen this topic because I have never heard anything about the stolen generation before and to me it is a very interesting topic. So but now why am I writing? I would like you to tell me what you think about the reconiciliation process, so that I have got more different opinions as I think many information and statements from the web are just one sided. So what do you think about it? Anything to tell me? I would be very happy, if you would answer me, whatever you have to say because I am very interested in getting to know othe rpoint of views than just the European point of view. Please feel free to answer me.

Greetings from Germany
Jule
P.S. I am sorry for my bad English, but I hope you can understand me.

Why don't you write about ALL the stolen generations of the world. Or even better, start with the stolen generations as of today ? Unless of course you're a budding US movie producer who wants to keep flogging a single issue & turn it into entertainment frivolity. You're onto a very, very serious subject which has been brought up many,many times & will just as many, many times be either denied or pontificated. In my opinion it is far more pressing to avoid these situations from happening again rather than simply using them for a thesis. It is my belief that future generations must be able to see the wounds but not keep tearing them open. Is the reconciliation process a success ? Well, maybe but meanwhile here in Queensland we got Council Amalgamation which is throwing Indigenous communities into a new chaos.

Jule,
Welcome, your English appears fine.

Are you aware of all the facts. Who did what and why? (*Considering the moral views at the time*).
Side note, some of the outback missions were German Lutheran .

Other relevant factors were;

The European attitude that the aboriginals were uncivilised, primitive rather than just different.).
They got the right to vote in the late 1960's *after* the stolen generation period.
During that period ,Aust had both a white Australia policy and an Assimilation policy, until the late 1970's...i.e. everyone were encouraged to adopt the White Anglo- Saxon culture. e.g. You as a German would have experienced discrimination and expected to adopt Australian Culture, at the expense of yours.

The government thought they knew what was best for the the indigenous and part indigenous children i.e. Be brought up as whites.

In many cases the prejudice meant, that they were seen as inferior to whites, only fit for menial work...housekeeping etc.

Eventually moderate Australians and the aboriginals launched the successful “Sorry program”.
John Howard, a conservative Prime Minister, (Liberal party), vehemently opposed it, calling it a "black armband view of history".
His successor Kevin Rudd , the new Labor government issued the apology.

In that context terms like 'failure' or 'success' belong to the excesses of both the media and the extremes of society. It is a positive step (part) of as yet incomplete process.
full acknowledgement/ recognition of the aboriginals as members of society and therefore
entitled to the *Nation's parliament's* apology, if not the current generation i.e. closure for those involved.

Also note: around WW2 time many poorer England children were sent here by some Churches. They too treated similarly to the “Stolen Generation” they were lied to about their parentage (i.e. existence of families in England).
They were often poorly treated, poorly educated, abused and exploited as free labour.

For me these are clear example of how unchecked religious and racial arrogance can lead to appalling cultural attitudes, truly shameful consequences.
It's a warning to be more vigilant against the slow corrosive effects of extremes

Julie

If you want good marks write about how evil all white people are and how the aboriginals were living in a paradise before the Europeans arrived. If you want to write the truth and risk failing do proper research and see how most kids taken from parents were half castes and often rejected by the full bloods. Look at how many young girls were given to uncles as gifts at a young age. Today predominantly the only aboriginals who work in good jobs were those who were 'stolen'. A more accurate description was aboriginals who were rescued. Much of history today has been revised to suite the political agenda of socialists and academics. I speak as one who has had a long association and friendship with aboriginal people.

Jule,

Like many stories, also that of the “stolen generation” of Australian Aborigines has two sides, two interpretations. Today it is mostly the “official” (called also “politically correct”) and the alternative: in the responses to your post you had examinator present you with the PC version, runner with the alternative, albeit in a nutshell. I think neither version is 100% right and the other 100% wrong.

The very title you chose for your paper, "The stolen generation of Australian Aborigines – Description and Evaluation of the Reconciliation process", seems to show that you a priori commit yourself to the PC version. I think you should look at both sides, both interpretations and evaluations, of the problem, and eventually change the title to indicate an a priori more balanced view.

You are probably too young to remember the German “Historikenstreit” in the 1980-s, however you perhaps learned about it at school. This can be seen as something similar. Actually, Wikipedia has a page called “History wars” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_wars) dedicated to the “ongoing public debate over the interpretation of the history of the British colonisation of Australia”. Here, I think, you can read about both sides of the story. As to the “politically incorrect” version perhaps Keith Windshuttle is the most outspoken historian among them, whereas Geoffrey Blaney is the most respectable professor of Australian history among those whose interpretations are not always accepted as “politically correct”. However, let me add, I am an old man who has been living in Germany (Köln) for the last 10 years, so my information is perhaps not that up to date.

When reading derogatory comments from one side or the other, keep always in mind Faust’s “wir sind gewöhnt dass die Menschen verhöhnen was is nicht verstehen”.

Sorry, Geoffrey Blainey
not
Geoffrey Blaney

Congratulations Julie on being prepared to tackle a subject so far from home. Best wishes.

You will have to forgive us our runner, he is possibly a little distressed as some of his brethren are languishing in a Haiti jail for trying to add to the 'stolen' generations.

Right-winger do-gooders can be quite problematic and mix a little Christianity of the fundamentalist kind and suddenly those black and white blinkers lead to all kinds of evils being done in the name of the Lord. Having said that left-wing do-gooders can be just as bad.

As to reconciliation. For starters I think you would find most Australians felt that it has been something well overdue and despite the very welcome apology by the federal government to our 'stolen generations' it is still very much unfinished business.

The waters have been muddied a little here with notions of practical vs symbolic reconciliation. To me practical reconciliation is a fancy name for justice but others may disagree. That justice needs to be delivered for any symbolic reconciliation to be complete is obvious.

I think there is a sense that some of the blockages have been removed and progress is being made but we are far from achieving true and lasting reconciliation.

Jule,

After that excellent mentoring by George all I can add is be sure to follow his advice.

Welcome, it will be a very big thread.
Every time we talk about it it has been.
If you go to all past threads you will find a whole history of this subject.
You will see racism, denial, attempts to judge todays Australia and its people by yesterdays Australia and its people.
Find Kevin Rudd's sorry speech he gave, look at the lost one our then leader of the federal opposition gave, understand the difference.
Look too at your country's history, in say our near neighbor, what ever its latest foreign invader calls western new Guinea.
Then watch your thread develop, you will find it interesting.
Some will tell you I am racist, yet my concern is while I openly cry do , even now at the Rudd speech, or include Keitings Redfern speech in your search that one.
I know deeply both sides MUST DO MORE.
I think stolen generation has become a dirt word, YES we took kids, from whites too, YES it was wrong.
But increasing numbers of people who were not there are claiming wrongly we did it out of pure spite.
SOME DID, but some would never have continued to live without that intervention.
People who CLAIM to want to help know not one single person of the Aboriginal race.
EVERY DAY of my life every single day, I am confronted with a poorly educated person in trouble, who unknowingly, innocently, knowing no better is acting as racist as any KKK member, blaming others for self inflicted wounds.
Reconciliation is a seed, it has been planted many times in this country, and failed to get the roots growing.
This time? if our only action is to continue to throw money at it it will fail.
IF both sides say enough, it will flower.
But your thread will be intense it will out grow most others insults will fly, if todays Australia is guilty of anything it has to be said it is ALL Australians who sit at the table for that humble pie not just whites, I doubt we need bake that pie.

There's good information, references and diverse views already so far in this thread so I think you did a good thing by coming to Online Opinions.

In addition to the information already put forth, my own comment as a third / fourth generation Australian of Irish / Scots / English ancestry (married to a lovely lady born in Germany by the way) and hiving LIVED for periods in excess of 12 months IN Far North and Western Australian Aboriginial communities - is that much progress has been made but true reconcilliation has not and never will get properly off the ground until it is divorced from the notion of RACE and examined and dealt with in terms of PREJUDICE - which yes in certain instances involved race, but also allows a broader context to be taken - ie. as others have touched on: the similar treatment applied to other ethnic groups - INCLUDING WHITES by the very same establishment that "stole" Aboriginal children.

There's a scab trying to form but the sore festers too much underneath for healing yet...

Sorry Day I totally ignored.... - if it had been the National Day Of SORROW - I would have been on the streets with I suspect pretty much the whole population of this Nation. My point being that Sorry Day was / is an instrument of RACISM whereas Sorrow allows all of us to acknowledge the wrongs of PREJUDICE - past, present and into the future.

Hi Jule,
While many of the stories about young children being forcefully taken from their Aboriginal families all those years ago were truly awful, I believe that some good did come out of the somewhat misguided policy of the Government of the day.

No doubt, there were many young 'half-caste' children who were not wanted in their Mother's community because they were 'different' to the other children. Often they had lighter coloured skin and hair to their relatives. Sometimes they were mistreated because of this.

Many of their white fathers wanted nothing to do with them either, so they were stuck between two cultures.

Mostly, these were the children the Government wanted removed from their Aboriginal communities. Unfortunately, the authorities also removed many much loved and wanted children too. This has left generations of people who did not know their own people or culture, leaving a deep sadness for all concerned.

However, many of the children removed from their families were placed in private homes or children's homes where they received a very good education. These children then grew up to move into positions in society where they could help their Aboriginal families and the Aboriginal people as a whole.

Many of today's Aboriginal leaders, including lawyers or judges or medical staff, were either part of the original stolen generation or were the descendants of them. Some good has come out of the sadness.

Hey!
First of all thanks for all of your answers. I did not expect so many answers.
Now some more information: I cannont change my topic or the title, as it is fixed now.
@george: im not pretty sure wether I understood it rightly what you have said about the two versions: I planned to write about how the politic tries to say sorry and what they do and on the other hand how social organisations try to say teh same; for example kimberley station, so I wanted to find a balance view and evaluate the whole situation critically and then I would compare it maybe to how it is done in other countries. I hope it is balanced and not too muc on one side? But i did not understand in which way my title is more PC??Could you please explain it to me once more? Thanks
@individual: Could you tell me what the Council Amalgamation is just doing in the moment to create a chaos?
@ Spinner: I did not quite understand why you critisized the Sorry Day? Is it the title, or the way it is "celebrated"?

Then: Does anyone of you, how this topic is taught at (Australian) school and how aware the public is about it? So for example museums, projects, ec. I did not learn anything about it at school,neither in history nor in English,(I did not learn anything about the Historikenstreit either) we just did very little on australia, but more in gerneral, that is why I would like to write about it.My friend, who was at another school, had learnt something about it and so I wuld like to know the contrats of how many of it is taught in germany in comparison to how it is done in Australia. Do you kno anything about it, special projets, etc?

We did, for exmaple, a lot on World War II especially the Jews persecution, and I think, I can say that we are aware of our history and use it as an example to never let it happen again. We comemmorate it every year on 27/01 and every year another school does a project about it (some of ours:http://sg-detmold.de/ (unterricht, fächer Kunst, wie war das damals..)
Thanks a lot!!
Jule

Hi again Jule - I disagree with the whole concept of Sorry Day.

In my opinion it is very racist because it carries an attachment of responsibilty that simply isn't fair or just. It suggests a certain segment of our society apologise for things we didn't do, didn't and DON'T support and can't change - BUT: we CAN and generally DO all agree that wrongs were done and can ALL feel SORROW for that REGARDLESS of the colour of our skin or ethnic background - as well as pledging a genuine determination not to allow the same kinds of things to happen TO ANYONE in Australia ever again.

In the same way, I don't think ALL Germans should say SORRY for the Holocaust - but you'd probably agree that EVERYONE can definitely feel SORROW for what happened.

Sorry Day lives in and looks to the past in a very negative way - Sorrow lives now and lets us look to the future with positive determination to move on.

Hi Spinner!
Thanks a lot. Now your point is clear to me;) And I think it is a very good point; I will think of it will writing and eypecially while judging!
Thank you very much!

I definitely think we SHOULD have a national day - but called SORROW Day - or Day of SORROW, not SORRY Day :-)

I'm back again :-)

- Just one last thing to add in direct answer to "The stolen generation - is the reconciliation process a success?"

My answer: All the politically correct things have been done and said and the process begun, but it's in limbo now because political correctness isn't reality and I don't think anyone is satisfied at this time with the outcome - except maybe some politicians.

Jule,
I am not going to suggest how you should call your paper, only repeat my advice to look at both sides of the story e.g. by reading the Wikipedia entry I suggested.

Let me just say this. In spite of me calling your attention to the Historikenstreit, there is one big difference between the Holocaust and the “stolen generation” (of Aboriginal children): You would not call a paper, say “The problem of ‘Holocaust’” (in quotation marks), because Holocaust is an accepted term to describe the undisputed historical fact about the mass murder of Jews during WWII (only the details are disputed by a few deviants).

On the other hand, “stolen generation” is by its very nature a pejorative term, describing an a priori bad intention on the part of the thief. Well, nobody in his/her right mind would suggests that the nazis - or even just some of them - thought they acted in the best interest of the Jews. However, many, if not all, of those who removed Aboriginal children from their mothers (and sometimes even from functioning families) had the best interest of the child in mind, as mistaken and wrong as that urge to “civilize” them might be when seen from our perspective.

As you know, in Germany even today the Jugendamt can remove a child from a family when it deems this to be in the child’s best interest. And you also know that sometimes they are wrong. Nevertheless, you would not call that practice steeling.

Also, as Suzeonline put it so aptly, “Many of today's Aboriginal leaders, including lawyers or judges or medical staff, were either part of the original stolen generation or were the descendants of them.” This, of course, holds more generally: only those who have learned (voluntarily or not) to live in our century (still West-dominated) can communicate with the rest of the world on the same eye level.

Hi Jule.

Your questions about the Stolen Generations and reconciliation are still controversial for many Australians. This is because racism towards Aborigines by the dominant European culture has been a strong element in Australian society since 1788, and continues to this day.

However, while many Australians have come to terms with the injustices of the past, just as many are still in denial about them, or are actively carrying their racist ideologies and practices into the 21st century.

For a good example of what I'm talking about, I suggest you read this recent article from Wednesday's OLO:

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9988

Also, the comments are very revealing:

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=9988&page=0

Good luck with your assignment! It's a very complex issue that is far from being resolved in Australia.

I never like disagreeing with C J Morgan, often I think as he does.
Yet I must go in print to support my early post against minority racism.
I rightly said it was bought about by no education, and wrong education, but it remains racist.
Only gave two Christmas presents this year.
One was very expensive, to my great niece her real good Aboriginal husband and their wonderful Aboriginal kids a complete computer set up every thing you can think of.
Two other nephews wed Aboriginal kids , and I happy to say am a work place mentor for about 80 young Aboriginals.
About ten not more than 20, will make it, every effort will be made to help.
The problem is not laziness, not unwillingness to learn, it is shyness it is family's waiting out the front on pay day, for some it is the understanding the day after every pay day is a no work day.
And if the rope runs out, if 50 days absent in 4 months 5 warnings sees the job lost?
uneducated and unwise hatred of us, me , white BS who did not give them a fair go.
no easy task, not quick fix but every success is a victory and a joy.
Wish some one had given me the chance to learn and live a better life by 16 I was working as hard as any adult lifting truck loads of spuds all day.
If it was easy we would have solved the problem years ago, racism white or black is hateful but exists, maybe education can change that.

Let us all know if Jules' 'assignment' makes the cover page of any German newspaper George.