Sorry Mr Rudd, one word is not enough
Dear friend,
One year ago I was in Redfern to watch Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologise to the Indigenous people of Australia - and particularly the Stolen Generations - for past injustices and mistreatment.
I witnessed a country coming together - regardless of race, religion, creed or politics - to share a moment of sincere public reconciliation. But one year on, saying "sorry" is not enough.
Call on Prime Minister Rudd to develop a national plan for reparation
Between 1910 and 1970, children were torn from their mothers’ arms, placed in homes and forbidden from speaking their own language. This treatment has shaped the lives of Indigenous Australians - who today are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned for criminal offences and die on average 17 years earlier than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
We are not asking the impossible. We are asking for a detailed national strategy - produced in consultation with Indigenous groups - that addresses the real trauma of tens of thousands of Aboriginal people taken from their families as children. We need only look to Tasmania, who already has a plan and fund for compensating Stolen Generations.
Please let our PM know that you want full reparation for Indigenous Australians
History will not judge us simply on the apology to the Stolen Generations. It will judge us on real consultation with Indigenous communities, and on our genuine efforts to repair past injustices.
Please act now to urge Kevin Rudd to follow through on his historic apology - and continue the healing for the Stolen Generations.
Thank you,
Claire Mallinson
National Director
Amnesty International Australia
PS. Facebook groups around the country have kindly agreed to share our action with tens of thousands of their Australian members. If you are on Facebook, please join a group and continue to spread the word.
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