Aboriginal Children Being Scarred by Process

The landmark ‘Bringing Them Home’ report on ‘The Stolen Generations’ was delivered in Federal Parliament in 1997. The Report detailed the damage caused to Indigenous Australia when their children were forcibly removed from their families by the government to be placed elsewhere for education.

Aboriginal Children living in ‘Out Of Home Care’ has risen significantly in the last 20 years.  Data from The Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census shows that 17,000 Aboriginal children lived in ‘out of home care’ during that year compared to the 2800 kids when the report came out 20 years go.

Aboriginal Elders report that when their children are forcibly removed from their families a huge change takes place in the children.  Their mental health is being impacted upon.   Laura Lyons, a leader from the Grandmothers Against Removal Group (GMAR) told ABC News that her own three kids were taken from her care by the NSW authorities. Her criticism is that there isn’t any focus on family preservation and says that if the authorities had been working with her that it could have prevented her kids being removed from her family home.  Stating, “My children are not the same, they are traumatised, they’ve got a lot of anger, hurt, even hate she said.”

In the Northern Territory

In other report by the ABC Northern Territory Aboriginal families believe they are becoming part of a Second Stolen Generation in the Northern Territory and they’re fighting back.  Despite laws In the NT requiring that all efforts be made to place kids within their own family before making the decision to place them in foster care.

Grandparents would like to be notified and be given the choice to keep children safe within their own families, land and cultural communities.

NT Families Ministers Dale Wakefield admits that some cases could have been better handled  and in her statement also admitted that the System is failing aboriginal families with a huge impact on their mental health,  “At the moment the system is set up to fail us. It’s traumatic, emotionally and mentally draining,” she said.

NT Statistics: Population 250K – Children in out of Home Care: 1020 = 35% of all Children.

Read the report From the Healing Foundation – Bringing them home 20 years on: an action plan for healing

Galatians 5:14 – For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Admin.

Sources:

Read the report From the Healing Foundation – Bringing them home 20 years on: an action plan for healing

The Second Stolen Generation ABC News

Bringing them Home – ABC News

Image: Image – Jermone Kemarr and Joseline Kemarr, used under Creative Commons licence.

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