The Healing Foundation recently released the first demographic study of the stolen generations and their descendants. The report, collated by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), is the first time we’ve had comprehensive data to prove that the stolen generations are sicker and poorer than their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, who are already at a disadvantage compared to non-Indigenous Australians.
But we can’t forget the people behind the data who have been telling their stories for more than two decades. Behind the brave men and women who have told their story to countless commissions, hearings, reports and researchers is the devastating story of colonisation, including dispossession of land, disruption of communities, the suppression of our great and ancient culture and the forced removal of children. The report has measured the impact of this unresolved trauma, collectively experienced. Sadly, the toll was too great for many of our people, who have not lived to tell their story. For those that remain, a sense of urgency has surfaced to stop the trauma cycle once and for all.
Since the AIHW report hit the public arena, the Healing Foundation has received many calls, emails and social media posts from people reaching out to say that the report is talking about them. Stolen generations members told us about their relief in reading the report, hoping that others might finally see the reality that intergenerational trauma has had on the 17,150 survivors and their families and communities that still suffer today.
[For more on this story by Richard Weston, go to https://www.theguardian.com/co...ons-once-and-for-all]
Comments (0)