Is Australia apologizing to the aboriginals now a bit like asking a German high school student to …….?
The stolen generation Between 1910 and 1970 up to 100,000 Aboriginal children were taken forcibly or under duress from their families by police or welfare officers. Most were under 5 years old. There was rarely any judicial process. To be Aboriginal was enough. They are known as the ‘Stolen Generations’. What happened to them? Most were raised in Church or state institutions. Some were fostered or adopted by white families. Many suffered physical and sexual abuse. Food and living conditions were poor. They received little education, and were expected to go into low grade domestic and farming work. Why were they taken? They were taken because it was Federal and State Government policy that Aboriginal children – especially those of mixed Aboriginal and European descent should be removed from their parents. Between 10 and 30% of all Aboriginal children were removed, and in some places these policies continued into the 1970s. The main motive was to ‘assimilate’ Aboriginal children into Eur
