Stolen Generations In Australia

The Stolen Generations refer to a large number of children that were taken away from their families in a large government sanctioned abduction scheme. The half-caste children were taken away from mothers who were deemed unfit simply because of their Aboriginal race. The children were taken to schools to receive a European education. However, at those schools the children were severely abused and were not permitted to speak in their native language. Many of the children did not see their families for decades and some not ever again. The schools were designed to take the Aboriginal culture away from these children and assimilate them into white culture. This resulted in an entire generation of Aborigines losing their true identity.
To some, it seemed that the assimilation of Maori children was a success. “People probably see on the surface that we’ve led successful lives. But that’s on the surface.” Many of those who were taken as children suffered from depression and other psychological disorders as adults due to their experiences as children. Those affected by such disorders may seem as though they are thriving when in fact they are severely damaged emotionally. One cannot remove a person’s entire culture from their life

The discrimination that the indigenous group in Australia faces has detrimental effects on its young population. “The latest statistics show that our 15-24 year olds are dying by suicide at four times the non-Indigenous rate; and our 1-14 year olds at nine times the non-indigenous rate.” The high suicide rates in young Aboriginal people shows that there is a serious problem happening with the Aboriginal population and that it needs to be addressed. Suicide rates among the young Maori population in New Zealand is much less prevalent. Perhaps if there was a better sense of community in Australia between the white population and the Aboriginal people, suicide rates would