Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday led the nation in apologising to the 460,000 Aborigines (that comprise 2% of country’s population) for “past injustices” towards them, including the forced assimilation of tens of thousands of Aborigines known as the ‘Stolen Generations’. Mr Rudd received a standing ovation from MPs and onlookers in parliament, and cheers from the thousands of Australians watching outside, when he said this step would help “remove a great stain from the nation’s soul”.
An official commission, which reported to Parliament in 1997, said that the assimilation policy amounted, under international law, to genocide and demanded a national apology, reports The Times. “The apology was directed especially at Aborigines forcibly taken from their families as children in assimilation policies that lasted from the mid-1800s until 1970, during which time up to a third of Aboriginal children were ‘stolen’.
“The moment was followed live around the country, in cities, towns and Outback settlements, and brought an outpouring of relief. Thousands of Aborigines had travelled to Canberra, the national capital, for the event and the public gallery in Parliament was packed.” More here…
“Australia has no Aboriginal members in parliament, but 100 leaders of the community and members of the Stolen Generations were present for the historic apology, ” says the BBC.
“Former Prime Minister John Howard refused for over a decade to apologise to the Stolen Generations – a stance supported, polls suggest, by about 30% of Australians.”
In 1995 the aboriginal flag, its golden sun and black and red background representing Australia’s sunburnt land and aboriginal people, becomes an official flag in Australia. For more interesting facts please click here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.