Sorry Day 2004

At the University of Queensland, 500 people will sit down for the annual Sorry Day Dinner. At the Sydney Opera House, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser will give a keynote speech to launch an evening of song, story and poetry by the stolen generations of NSW. In Tasmania, Doris Pilkington, author of Rabbit-Proof Fence, will host showings of the film in venues around Hobart. In Canberra, Professor Judy Atkinson of Queensland’s Jiman people will lead a workshop on ‘Healing the Stolen Generations’. In Perth The West Australian will carry a half-page advertisement about the Journey of Healing.

These are some of the many ways in which Sorry Day will be commemorated – in every city, and in many towns, regional centres and universities. Many commemorations are listed on the website, www.journeyofhealing.com. Many more take place unannounced, particularly in Aboriginal communities, where people come together to remember the children they lost.

Sorry Day is a day to remember the stolen generations, and to help the healing process.

After the Sorry Day in 1998, the stolen generations met together. For the first time, they felt, the wider community understood. They decided to launch a Journey of Healing and invited all Australians to play a part.

Since then, hundreds of Journey of Healing events have brought Indigenous and non-Indigenous together. Stolen generations people who had felt alienated by their experiences began to feel welcome. Many who were isolated by frustration and hopelessness are today creatively involved in their local communities. Recently the ABC TV programme Compass focused on the work of men who, as children, were removed to the notorious Kinchela Boys' Home, but who today are helping people in need, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, in the Redfern area.

This year an event of great significance will take place – the unveiling of a memorial at Reconciliation Place, Canberra, which honours the stolen generations and ‘all those, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, whose genuine care softened the impact of what are now recognised as cruel and misguided policies.’ Through quotes from those involved, it describes the impact of these policies. The text came out of consultation with hundreds of the stolen generations and those who staffed the institutions or fostered or adopted removed children.

As South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has shown, the truth about what happened is a vital step on the road to reconciliation. This memorial takes that step. It will give new hope to all who long for genuine reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.