Comments on: Saying sorry and …so when did you know?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:51:00 +0000

I originally thought the same as you Glenda. I thought that the stolen children would receive a good education and stay in contact with their parents.
The bubble burst when I saw a documentary that revolved around four (now adult) indigenous peoples who had been stolen as young children.
This group were housed in spartan, crowded dormitories and controlled and educated by nuns. Many were brutalised for minor infractions and lived a life of hell.

The Sorry day in parliament was a great step forward towards reconciliation.

By: Jo

Jo — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:33:00 +0000

Another group was the thousands of kids taken out of Greece to Albania at the end of the second world war, and that didn’t have the veneer of “doing right”. However, it would appear that religious fervour of one kind or another has a myriad of crimes committed in its name, this being one of them, witches another. Must be your theme lately “religious atrocities”. I wish I thought apologies could make a difference. There have been apologies made in this part of the world to various ethnic segments who were mistreated, as far as I am aware, it hasn’t made one damned bit of difference.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:14:00 +0000

One hopes it is a new beginning. Trouble is, the damage was so widespread and so deep – generations of children raised by people who thought doing God’s work meant splitting up families and destroying cultures and raising kids in an institution – one wonders how you repair the damage.

By: hrugaar

hrugaar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:08:00 +0000

I take your point about the legitimising by formal reocgnition, yes. Whether it helps in lessening the bitterness, I don’t know. What concerns me in such cases is ‘where do we go from here?’

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:27:00 +0000

Certainly it is rare to have it happen if it is not politically expedient at the same time. However, I still think it should be said, because it gives legitimacy to the rights of those who suffered, and recognition of their trauma.

Without that acknowledgment, bitterness can never be lessened, let alone disappear. Look at the Armenians re Turkey.

By: hrugaar

hrugaar — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:12:00 +0000

I have problems with these public apologies by governments … but maybe that’s because they’re political statements made by politicians, and I’m always wary of those. :