Australia Says Sorry
By Robyn Logan
Yesterday will forever be known as “Apology Day” in Australian history. On this day, Wednesday 15th of February 2008, the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia stood up in parliament and delivered a public apology to the indigenous people of this country. Much of the content of Kevin Rudd’s apology was directed towards acknowledging the wrongs done to the “stolen generation” by previous governments. These are people who were affected by various government policies and laws that saw up to 100,000 Aboriginal children taken forcibly from their families between 1910 and 1975 and placed in Church or state institutions. Most were under 5 years old and many went on to experience terrible abuse in their new homes.
The indigenous people of Australia have requested an apology for a long time. For many Australians it represents the first crucial step to real reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and a fresh opportunity to work together towards finding pragmatic solutions for the material disparities currently experienced by indigenous communities. Yet former Prime Minister John Howard steadfastly refused to issue a formal apology during his more than 11 years at the helm. The closest he ever came was to express “deep and sincere regret that indigenous Australians suffered injustices under the practices of past generations”.
Yesterday’s apology went much much further than that. Kevin Rudd did two key things. First, he acknowledged that atrocious events actually took place and that the physical and emotional damage to those involved was profound and lasting, not just to them but to the wider indigenous community. The second thing he did was to repeatedly and clearly say three simple words “I am sorry”.
Here is an excerpt from his speech:
“We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians,” the apology read.
“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.”
The effect of these words has been profound. Indigenous Australians across the nation are talking about their sense of release and many are saying that they feel, for the first time, that they can try and move on. Archie Roach, a famous indigenous singer and songwriter, said yesterday that he felt he could walk down the street with his head held a little bit higher since for him his dignity has somehow been restored.
The events of yesterday raise many questions but particularly for me I wonder why - given that the public apology has had such immediate and profound and positive repercussions - why is it so hard to say sorry? The ex-Prime Minister John Howard’s difficulties seem to stem from confusing the act of saying sorry with feelings of personal responsibility. His *logic* went something like this:
1. He did not personally take any children away
2. His government did not make any laws or policies that took any children away,
3. Therefore neither he nor his government were responsible
4. Therefore neither he nor his government was under any obligation to say sorry.
However what Kevin Rudd was able to do was to simply acknowledge past wrongs and say sorry.
As a coach I know how powerful acknowledgment can be. Simply acknowledging a person’s pain or acknowledging a certain event, or feeling can make a huge difference. Sometimes in a coaching session I find that the hour has gone past and I have done little more than listen deeply and acknowledge my client. Sometimes I am acknowledging a success or an action taken, sometimes I am acknowledging personal courage or bravery and sometimes I am acknowledging pain and suffering. The effect this has on clients is extraordinary. They are more empowered; feel stronger in themselves and more able to take on challenges.
When do you use acknowledgement? When was the last time you felt truly acknowledged? When was the last time you acknowledged someone what effect did it have?
***
Read a summary of the transcript here
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/apology/text.htm
Watch a video of the speech in full
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtfMIJqQwPk
***