World Report: February 8, 2008 Vol. #13 Iss. #18
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- Table of Contents
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Grades 4-6
A Long-Awaited Apology
On January 30, Australian leaders announced that they would issue a formal apology to the country's native people, the Aborigines (ab-uh-ridge-uh-nees). The apology, set for February 13, is an attempt to ease tensions over an injustice that has long divided the nation.
From 1910 to the early 1970s, the government forcibly removed thousands of Aboriginal children, mostly of mixed descent, from their homes. They became known as the "stolen generation."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, whose party won elections in November, pledged to apologize. But he has refused demands from some Aboriginal leaders to pay the group money for their suffering. "Older people thought they would never see this day," says Christine King of the Stolen Generations Alliance. "It's very emotional for me."
