Sorry

Australian Aboriginal Flag

This blog is about my photography but occasionally I will stray off-topic. Today is one of those days.

Today (Wednesday the 13th of Feb) is an important day, a landmark in the dark history of Australia. Today the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a broad national apology to all Aborigines and the Stolen Generation for the laws and policies that during the past 200 years have inflicted so much grief and pain on the Australian Aboriginals, the oldest living cultures on the planet.

The apology is important because it acknowledges that this actually happened (some people have questioned the Stolen Generation like some people question Holocaust) and it’s a long needed step towards making amends, moving on and making life better for the indigenous people. It’s just a small step, aboriginal culture is practically on the edge on being wiped out and they need so much more help. After declaring the entire country “Terra Nullis” – uninhabited – the first colony after the “discovery” (not so much, more like an invasion!) had an absolutely devastating effect on the aboriginals. The crimes against these people are impossible to fathom.

I am deeply interested in and feel connected to keepers-of-the-land cultures like the native Americans and the Australian Aborigines and I am part of western civilisation and feel responsible for the past actions of our culture. I am sorry.

Read more about this and watch the speech at News.com.au.

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