PM Rudd apologises to 'Forgotten Australians' for abuse in state care

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made an emotional apology to half-a-million "Forgotten Australians", including British child migrants, who faced abuse and neglect in care homes over decades.

AFP - Many came alone, a legacy of loveless childhoods which make it difficult to form relationships. But they were united in their tears Monday as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised for their pain.

Many wept, while others cheered as Rudd said sorry on behalf of the government for removing the so-called "Forgotten Australians" from their families and placing them in orphanages and foster homes until 1970.

"There were lots of people in and around me who were tearful, as I was, surprisingly," said Frank Golding, who spent a decade in an orphanage in Victoria and was among about 1,000 who attended the apology in Parliament House in Canberra.

"It gets to you. There were lots and lots of people whose noses and eyes were streaming."

Rudd apologised to the 500,000 who were institutionalised as children, including some 7,000 child migrants from Britain, and said the country "looked back in shame" that so many were assaulted, abused and neglected in care.

Golding said an apology delivered by the prime minister was a "powerful thing" for those who grew up feeling they were unimportant, worthless individuals whose own parents had abandoned them.

"There are people who wouldn't believe five years ago that they would have the prime minister of the country standing up and saying that we believe you," said Golding, who is vice-president of the National Care Leavers Association.

Lily Arthur, who was forced into care as a pregnant teenager and then had her baby taken away from her, said many Forgotten Australians still had problems forming relationships and had attended the apology alone.

"You can expect that. A lot of people have difficulty having relationships. It is difficult for Forgotten Australians to have that sort of thing because that sense of trust has gone.

"But I think most people that attended, we sort of feel like one big family anyway."

She said many of those who had endured physical, sexual and emotional abuses as children were visibly moved.

"But I think there are a lot of people there who felt actions speak louder than words. So they are waiting to see what could come from all of this," the 60-year-old told AFP.

"I think there is always going to be some sense of injustice if apologies like this are not followed up with some kind of redress. We can't keep going through the rest of our life with that feeling of intense loss and grief."

The nation's human rights watchdog said the apology marked a significant part of the healing process for those placed in institutions last century.

"Saying sorry on behalf of the nation will assist many individuals and their families to look to the future and to put behind them this dark chapter in Australia's history," Australian Human Rights Commission head Cathy Branson said.

"Acknowledging the trauma, damage and lost life chances that many of these children suffered is an important reflection of our maturity as a compassionate nation with a conscience."
 

Date created : 2009-11-16