Many of the Stolen Generations and their families were at
Redfern Community Centre to see the apology on a big screen. Redfern resident
Shireen Malamoo said she was proud to hear the Prime Minister say sorry and
that the next step was reparations.
“If you want to tell the truth about history then take
responsibility for it,” she said. “It’s unjust that Aboriginals haven’t been
compensated for what happened. It’s not that there isn’t money for it. The Government
makes billions of dollars from minerals pulled out of Aboriginal land.”
Glebe resident Leila Penrith, a member of the Stolen
Generations, travelled to Canberra
for the apology and was moved to tears by Mr Rudd’s speech. She said those who
were stolen deserved compensation.
“I was taken at six months old and moved from home to home,”
she said. “At 15, I ran away and they wouldn’t take me back because they
thought I was uncontrollable. They didn’t understand I had no family, no one to
love me, that’s why I acted up,” Ms Penrith said.
“They placed me on an Aboriginal Mission I’d never been to
and I was raped because I didn’t know anybody. It wasn’t where I was from, they
just put me there because to them every Aboriginal was the same.”
Ms Penrith said the Government’s refusal to pay compensation
demonstrated it still had a paternalistic approach to Aboriginals. “They
stereotype us and think we can’t be trusted with money or that we’ll drink it
all,” she said. “Well I don’t drink, and I was wronged by the Government.
Aren’t I entitled to something?”
Waterloo
resident Willie Gordon, 28, said the apology reached beyond the Stolen
Generations to other parts of the Aboriginal community. “It was a deadly day
and very emotional for a lot of people,” he said. “As a younger fella I thought
of my old uncles who suffered.
“They were pretty strong words that Kevin Rudd used so I
hope he backs it up. The things he said touched a lot of people. It’s not going
to heal them over night. Those scars are deep to the soul but hopefully things
will begin to change.”
Photos (x2): Jack Carnegie
– Caption: Scenes from the National Day of Apology in Redfern
Source:
South Sydney Herald March 2008 – www.southsydneyherald.com.au