The lost children of the Empire and the attempted Aboriginal genocide

by Guest on Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:28 pm

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has concluded that British children who suffered abuse when they were forcibly sent abroad should now be paid compensation from the government. The inquiry has looked into the cases of children who were sent to Australia and parts of the British Empire from 1945 to 1970 by charities and the Catholic church. Its findings are damning.

But if society is looking for a fuller social and historical account of child abuse linked to the actions of the British Empire it will not be found in this sort of inquiry as it skirts around the fact that the parallel abuse of Aboriginal children was part of a larger eugenic effort to eliminate their race entirely.

For decades either side of the World War II, the British government supported a policy of transporting children from poor backgrounds to colonies or former colonies dominated by white settlement: Australia, Canada and Southern Rhodesia.

This transportation of poor children to key imperial outposts began in the 17th century, when the US state of Virginia was the destination. However, the most extensive activity of enforced child export – with the blessing of the British state – was between 1920 and 1970.

A child put to work in Manitoba, Canada. Child Migrants Trust

The findings of the report, based on unequivocal evidence, draw four main conclusions. The British government failed to ensure that the transported children were protected from harm. When reports of abuse emerged no response was forthcoming. A sensitivity about upsetting the receiving governments in large part drove that inaction. And, finally, the British government did not want to jeopardise its relationship with the voluntary sector and religious bodies, which had facilitated transport and had run the receiving institutions abroad. With a weak welfare state in the early 20th century, the British state relied heavily upon the role of those bodies.

Abuse in a loveless world

The story of these “lost children of Empire” did not emerge until the 1980s – but then more and more accounts were offered by survivors of abuse in a loveless world. The children were used as slave labour on farms. They were told that their parents did not want them or were dead. Parents trying to retrieve them were blocked in their efforts or fobbed off with empty promises of later reconciliations.

Many children were denied benign parental care – but there were those who fared much worse. They were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, often affecting their long-term mental health. Reports of the abuse were ignored by the charities ostensibly “caring” for these children. Because of their low social class and sometimes wayward behaviour, they were treated like scum or “moral dirt”.

When eventually the British Parliamentary Health Select Committee in 1998 began to make serious inquiries into the investigatory negligence of the charities implicated, they denied that any abuse was known to them. This was simply untrue, as their own excavated records showed.

Political responsibility

In 2009, on behalf of the Australian government, the then prime minster Kevin Rudd issued an apology for the harm created by the UK policy of sending children to isolated facilities abroad. In 2010, Gordon Brown also issued his apology for what he described as a “disgraceful episode in Britain’s history” and “an ugly stain that would never be repeated”.

These apologies have now been followed up by this [url=https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/935/view/IICSA Review Report_Final_alt_v4_ACCESS.pdf]report from the IICSA[/url] with its recommendation that the ageing survivors should now be offered compensation. We will see if that happens. With all of the named abusers in the report now deceased, there are no legal prosecutions pending.

Protesters gather for a march in Sydney, Australia, in 2017. EPA/JOEL CARRETT

Aboriginal cultural genocide

This report is robust in its recommendations and credible in its investigatory method. However, it shares a weakness of any historical inquiry, which focuses primarily on the legal and social administrative aspects of wrongdoing. This leaves important political silences. For example, British colonialism with its eugenic character did not only export white “stock” to extend the racial reach of Empire, it also stole aboriginal children and placed them in white Christian families in a process of cultural genocide.

These stolen children were denied their birth names (which were permitted for the British children). The intention was to assimilate Aboriginal children and thereby eventually erase the existence of their race and culture.

A fuller social and historical account of child abuse linked to the actions of the British government is needed. One that contrasts the cases of the “forgotten children” who were white and the “stolen children” who were black. Both groups were neglected and abused by so called “civilised” adults on behalf of the British Empire and then by successive Australian governments until the 1970s.

But the fact is the post-colonial reckoning for these crimes is being played out unevenly, in terms of political responsibility. For example, with resonances of the attitude of the BBC about “drawing a line” under the case of abuse by Jimmy Savile on their premises, a former prime minister of Australia, John Howard, considers that the Australian state has no reason to apologise for its past treatment of Aboriginal children.

What happened to British and Aboriginal children was appalling. Both scandals need full and frank exposure and discussion. The extensive political challenge of ensuring justice for the indigenous people of ex-British colonies can be ignored but it will still remain.

https://theconversation.com/the-lost-children-of-the-empire-and-the-attempted-aboriginal-genocide-93380

by veya_victaous on Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:48 am

And John Howard is Considered a Complete geranium for it too!!! he was a Queen ass licker and did the typical Old White man bullshit (a.k.a what fred posts) and refused to make an apology on behalf of the nation.
And it was one of the Policies of Kevin Rudd that allowed him to Beat John Howard in the election. and Kevin Rudd did go through with a full unreserved apology for the Evil of the Empire committed toward Aboriginals.

the British Kids(and the aboriginals too) were largely sent to Religious schools/homes, and that has of course been a recipe for abuse all over the world.

by WhoseYourWolfie on Wed Mar 28, 2018 10:57 am

John Howard's guvmn't has a lot to answer for...

Delayed reparations and apology for Aborigines by eleven years;

Increased Oz's long term national debt by more than 160% during his term of government;

Took Oz into "Gulf War II" with full support of GWB's invasion of Iraq;

Managed to "balance" the last two budgets for his former gov't by pushing some long term/'recurrent' expenses onto future budgets;

Began downward pressure on wages; increased attacks against trade unions; and accelerated the "casualisation" of employment, by making it easier to "hire and fire" workers while decreasing security and protections for those workers..

by WhoseYourWolfie on Wed Mar 28, 2018 11:05 am

Furthermore, Winston Churchill supported the institutionalised abuse and export of British children; while every British Leader since, along with the unelected/undemocratic House of Perverts and many "establishment" figures have been instrumental in coverups, obfuscations and delays..

Just a few weeks ago, the British guvm'nt agreed that more had to be done over this issue -- before once again kicking the subject "back onto the backburner".

Maybe hoping that more of those past victims may still die off yet, before it has to consider reparations..

by nicko on Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:56 pm

Will the British children who were treated as Slaves and sexually abused by some Australian Pedo's get any compensation?

by veya_victaous on Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:20 am

nicko wrote:Will the British children who were treated as Slaves and sexually abused by some Australian Pedo's get any compensation?

they have from the Australian Gov't institutions
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-04/government-announces-redress-for-abuse-victims/7996092

the British and Religious institutions are fighting tooth and nail to not pay them though
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-28/greens-urge-uk-to-contribute-to-child-sex-abuse-compensation/8064400

by WhoseYourWolfie on Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:34 am

The British guvment ran out of money years ago, and has been borrowing ever since...

As they allowed the aristocracy (including the Royals..) and the "establishment"/merchant class to pocket much of their booty from 400 years+ of looting foreign countries, and more recently have allowed British-based corporations and millionaires to largely avoid paying their dues, they certainly won't want to admit openly to all of their cumulative wrogdoings over the past few centuries..

As a nation, the British guvm'nt knows that these cumulative debts would cripple them -- that's the natural result of having a worthless and largely parasitic "upper class" routinely gaming and rorting the system, wherever it happens.

by nicko on Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:46 am

I just wanted to remind you Aussie's that you are not blameless. When this subject is brought up you always try to put all the blame on the Brits "

Methinks you complain too much.
Feel a bit guilty do you?

by veya_victaous on Thu Mar 29, 2018 1:07 pm

nicko wrote:I just wanted to remind you Aussie's that you are not blameless. When this subject is brought up you always try to put all the blame on the Brits "

Methinks you complain too much.
Feel a bit guilty do you?

We are trying to guilt you guys into doing the right thing Wink

Like we're doing G'Day

by WhoseYourWolfie on Fri Mar 30, 2018 9:59 am

nicko wrote:I just wanted to remind you Aussie's that you are not blameless. When this subject is brought up you always try to put all the blame on the Brits "

Methinks you complain too much.
Feel a bit guilty do you?

Australia only became an independent "federated" country in 1901...

Britain had a few hundred years lead on us..

Australia has already started paying reparations to both our own indigenous folk and Britain's stolen children.

Meanwhile, every spineless and apologist British PM since Churchill has repeatedly denied any wrongdoings on Britain's part; while their governments keep on sending the issues back for even more future debate..

The lost children of the Empire and the attempted Aboriginal genocide