Analyse af 'Anguish of the Stolen Generation'

In the article “Anguish of the Stolen Generation” (2008), the author Nick Bryant discusses the central aspects of why the Australian government should apologize and then find a raft of practical measures to grant the indigenous people of Australia a more ample and fair life. He introduces us to a victim of the Stolen Generation, Frank Byrne, and gives us a perspective of how the government six decades ago came to seize Frank. Later, the author notifies us about the historical perspective of the policy, which had the idea of “civilizing” the young aboriginal children and inculcate them with European values and “breed out their color”. Lastly Bryant informs us about the consequences of the indigenous Australians, which the policy has led to.

Analytical essay:

“Sorry is a word. It’s just a hollow word.” (Bryant 2008: l. 70) This is precisely the thought of many victims of the Stolen Generation. A hollow word could never make up for the devasting impacts for the victims, who were forcibly removed from their parents, families, and descendants at a very young age. The victims of the Stolen Generations are today living with lifelong traumas, drinking problems and higher rates of unemployment, which has also led to loss of their own identity and culture. How can the government ever make up for what also has been labelled as “The most shameful act of 20th century Australia”? This is exactly, what Nick Bryant’s article “Anguish of the Stolen Generation” (2008) is all about.