viernes, 30 de abril de 2010

Is it enough to say sorry to the Stolen Generation?



First of all, I have to say that I consider the Australian aboriginal state policy a total mistake. The policy could have had a benevolent motivation: to insert aboriginals into the civil society in order to contribute to solve their marginality problem. However, the remedy resulted much worse than the disease and two great mistakes were made, from my point of view:
1. The aboriginal insertion to the white civilization should have been an option and not an obligation, as it actually was
2. The insertion should have been an option for the whole family and not just for children, because family disintegration provoked great pain.
Anyway, it is kind of absurd to talk about what could have been, but wasn´t.
I think that to say sorry is, by no means, enough to fix all the pain that state policy generated for aboriginal people. It is a good thing that the Australian government recognizes such a great mistake, but aboriginals need structural programs that help them to leave poverty or at least to live in a more proper condition.
Firstly, it is vital that the Australian government establishes different policies that aim to preserve aboriginals´ cultural expressions, since that culture was weakened during the stolen generation. The fact that aboriginals constitute a low develop society, doesn´t mean that their culture isn´t a valuable one.
The Australian nation has a great debt with aborigines and it has to offers them tangible and beneficial reparation measures
Aboriginals should be given the option to migrate to the city, but after an educational process that teach them about the benefits that it would represent for them. That option should be available for all members of the family, in order to avoid family separation.
For those who don´t want to move from their isolated territories, the government should provide them with not only basic needs covering staff, such as food and clothes; but also with structural long-terms policies, that allowed aboriginals to change their sad fate. Basically, the government should educate those people so that avoid social issues such as alcoholism, sexual abuse and violence; which are so common within aboriginal communities. Moreover, the government ought to create any labor source that absorbs those aborigines that can work, since that policy would represent several benefits: in the way that people find something to do, some social problems like alcoholism will decrease; they would feel productive and they would be able to earn some money that could help them to solve their problems. That labor sources could be related with agricultural activities

Bibliography
Appleton, J. (n.d.). Australia´s "stolen generation" and the extinction of aboriginality. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from Culture Wars: http://www.culturewars.org.uk/2002-12/stolengeneration.htm

4 comentarios:

  1. HEY U!!
    you never limit your words!!!! you write what you want!!!! (in a very good way.... )

    :D

    ResponderEliminar
  2. I agree with you, that just say sorry is not enough to fix all the pain that they caused.
    They need goverment policies to fix that and help them advance, nice work.

    ResponderEliminar
  3. I agree with you too saying sorry wont erase all the bad things

    ResponderEliminar
  4. I find what you write very interesting!!!! you did a very good job with your blog
    congrats

    ResponderEliminar