National convergence of Grandmothers Against Removals - rally at Perth Department of Child Protection - more children removed now than during any year of the Stolen Generations - Photo, Alex Bainbridge, GreenLeft Weekly

National convergence of Grandmothers Against Removals – rally at Perth Department of Child Protection – more children removed now than during any year of the Stolen Generations – Photo, Alex Bainbridge, GreenLeft Weekly

More children of the First Peoples of this continent are removed now than in any year of the Stolen Generations – 1903 to 1970. From a racialised lens the removal of Aboriginal children from their families by Government agencies appears to be the highest child removal rate in the world. I cannot find a statistic anywhere in the world that is worse than Australia’s removal rate of Aboriginal children from their families. Only the Lakota First Nation people appear to suffer a comparative high child removal rate but this still a long way behind what is happening to this continent’s First Peoples.

If more children are being taken today from their families than were in any year of the Stolen Generations then it must be argued that Australia is the mother of all racism. This is not a throwaway line but one where the proposition must be examined and unveiled. Why is Australia taking the children of the First Peoples of this continent, why? I asked this question recently of a potential Prime Minister, the leader of the Australian Labor Party, Bill Shorten.

In NSW, one in nine to one in ten of the State’s Aboriginal children have been removed from their families. I asked Mr Shorten if he believes it possible that one in nine of all the State’s Aboriginal children are neglected and maltreated by their parents, families. Mr Shorten said, “No.”

Mr Shorten did not know how further to respond and changed topic.

The interview with Mr Shorten https://vimeo.com/119340524

We cannot change topic. One’s family, one’s children are the dearest spirit that is true to them.

Recently, the coalface giant, Grandmothers Against Removals, converged to Perth for a national gathering. They have been predominant in highlighting the extensiveness of the child removal crises and of the many cruel wrongs. On May 26, they rallied outside Perth’s Department of Child Protection and called a spade a spade.

This is what they had to say.

Wiradjuri social justice stalwart Les Coe said that the removal of children from their families is the issue of our times.

“We just want to live.”

“We just want to raise and nurture our children.”

“We are all guilty of a crime. We are guilty of being born Aboriginal in our own Country.”

Listen to Les Coe’s speech. In my view it is a must-do listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ_6bC6H5DY&feature=youtu.be

Here are some of the other speeches at the rally (special thanks to filmmaker Fee Plumley):

Paddy Gibson – senior researcher at Jumbunna House, University of Technology and helping hand to Grandmothers Against Removals (GMAR) https://youtu.be/1CDGkVPrPM0

Jenny Munro – Wiradjuri Elder, social justice stalwart, founder of Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy – one of the original founding members of SNAICC https://youtu.be/JqKC3ZUnhGM

GMAR stalwarts, Debbie Swan (former Department of Family Services whistleblower) and Sue Ellen Tighe http://youtu.be/AinBoN6KBKQ

Gerry Georgatos – suicide prevention researcher http://youtu.be/JDxAn8W65w0

On February 13, the Prime Ministerial Apology for the Stolen Generations was celebrated seven years old but in each of those seven years since the Apology more children have been removed than in any year of the Stolen Generations.

On that day, I was in Canberra and at a rally outside Federal Parliament with Grandmother Hazel Collins who eighteen months ago from her hometown of Gunnedah set up the Grandmothers Against Removals group, said, “More than 15,000 of our children in the last year alone have been taken from us. This is worse than ever before. No-one else is standing up in the ways that matter to bring this all to a head so it stops, so we are. We will continue to do what we do and have this cruelty to our people come to an end.”

On that day, Western Australia’s Vanessa Culbong said, “We want our babies back. They take them from us at every chance, from the hospitals at birth, from our homes, while we are playing with them in the parks.”

On that day, Walpiri Elder, Audrey Martin, who spoke in language, said that it took more than two years to find a lawyer who could help her reclaim her two grandchildren. Ms Martin was an actor in Rabbit Proof Fence but soon after bringing attention to the world of what is happening in Australia then herself endured this personal nightmare.

“They said I smoked and that I drank. They said the children were not going to school. They said they were neglected, they said many things. But these things were not true. But we had no one to turn to. It took a long time to find a lawyer.”

Ms Martin said by the time the children were won back through the courts much damage had been done. They were losing their first language, their cultural identity and their self-esteem.

Mr Gibson who has dedicated himself to supporting the Grandmothers and to raising awareness of the horrific child removal rates has advocated for many families.

“Audrey’s predicament was a classic case of the persecution that goes on. The same old classic assumptions were made of her family, the same old racist judgments.”

“She was accused in the child protection application that Audrey was a drinker, she was assumed as a drinker when in fact she has never drunk in her life.”

“The children were accused of having chronic school attendance problems but when we got hold of their school attendance records, their attendance was actually perfect, right up there with the best of the kids in any class,” said Mr Gibson.

“These racist assumptions are made without any evidence to back them up and are then taken for granted by magistrates and are taken for granted by the rest of the system.”

“To compound matters further, unfortunately the state of legal services in her community are that the legal services are so stretched that they told her that they could not represent her for whatever reason.”

“There are two components in child removals, that racist assumptions are made, and where cultural practices and ways of living are being counted against them. Also there are poverty related issues where instead of assisting families Governments have come in with an assimilation agenda of punitive measures to punish the families out of existence.”

On that day, Mr Coe said that a National Restoration program is needed “to bring our children home.”

“We have met with Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and he has promised he will help us. We will hold him to these promises and need to see immediate action in this regard.”

“In the last year 15,000 of our children have been taken, tens of thousands since Rudd made the Apology and nothing has been said or done. We don’t hear boo from anyone. This is state-sponsored terrorism.”

“All their crimes are crimes against humanity. They are committing these crimes against us. It is genocide all over again in stealing our children. Sorry means nothing. I say, ‘fuck sorry’.”

Mr Rudd was at a breakfast to mark the seven year celebration of the Apology but he stated that the never-before-seen removal numbers need “more to be done”. He said that the crisis is translating to “an Indigenous incarceration epidemic.”

Many Grandmothers and child protection whistleblowers such as Deborah Swan gave accounts of removals that were searingly tragic, moving the crowd to tears. The crowd heard from Brisbane’s Karen Fusi who is contemplating moving her grandchildren overseas. Ms Fusi’s daughter took her life after her baby was forcibly taken from her. Ms Fusi won her grandchildren back but the cruelties are there to haunt her lifelong.

How is it possible one of the world’s wealthiest nations destroys families ever so easily? Listening to the Grandmothers and the many accounts I have heard over a long time, listening to the dogged Mr Gibson, I have come to tears again and again. To the Grandmothers, there can only be the utmost respect for them, for they have highlighted in a way what few others have.

May the children be brought home – the actual bringing them home is still to occur.

I have forwarded this article and the speeches from the rally to Mr Shorten, so next time he may have something more to say than just one word.

 

–       Special credit to filmmaker Fee Plumley