oneplanetmikey

I have been profoundly moved by today’s apology to the Stolen Generations.  This is because I am sorry too. 

I cried as Kevin Rudd stood at the dispatch box on the floor of the House and uttered these words;

“We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

“For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

“To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

“And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.”

And unlike his predecessor John Howard, Kevin Rudd didn’t struggle with the word sorry.  He shone. 

And by looking at the faces of the Ministers and Backbenchers in the photograph below, you can tell how powerful the 361 word apology was.   It easily beats John Winston Howard’s ‘practical reconcilation’ and is perhaps the most powerful symbolic gesture I have ever witnessed. 

And while gestures will not heal the hurt and right past wrongs, they can change the landscape in which we live.  And today, the landscape in which we live, changed.   

But for the apology to really work and for us to live this reconciliation, we need to make our actions meet with our words. We need to continue to embrace our Indigenous brothers and sisters. 

Finally, and on a personal note; my desire to be invited to John Howard’s house was never stronger than it was this morning.  This is because I really wanted to watch the mean man choke on his corn flakes.  And it would have been simply lovely because I do not have a first aid certificate.