Australia to say sorry to abused British child migrants
Melissa Kite Deputy Political Editor
An apology is to be made to the victims of child migration schemes
who were shipped from Britain to Australia, where many suffered abuse
and neglect.
On Monday, the Australian Government said sorry to the thousands of
children deported there during the twentieth century.
Children being evacuated from the towns and cities of Britain
the Blitz: But their sacrifice now seems forgotten. |
A group of orphans from a Barnardo’s orphanage in London prepare
to emigrate to Australia in 1956. Photo: CORBIS |
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, will this week say he is
to look into what can be done to make amends to all the children who
were shipped to Australia, Canada and other former colonies, in schemes
undertaken by successive Governments up until 1967.
The children were separated from their families and told they were
orphans, while the parents were told that they had gone to a better
life. But most were brought up in institutions, or by farmers, and many
were treated as child slave labour.
A Hollywood film, starring the Oscar-nominated actress Emily Watson,
telling the story of the "orphans", is now in production. Although
ministers said they were rescuing children from deprivation, victims'
groups say the reality is that thousands of infants were sent to help
populate Australia and other countries with, what was called at the
time, "good white stock".
Not all of those deported after World War Two experienced hard times.
Some have done well for themselves. But the majority struggled after
suffering the loss of their family. In the worst cases, the migrants are
dead or still in institutions.
The Australian government will formally apologise at a special
remembrance event in Canberra.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (left) comforting an attendee at the
ceremony yesterday at which Rudd gave Australia’s apology. |
A ceremony will be held in Parliament House where the Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd will say sorry, on behalf of the nation, to those who
suffered abuse. Following the event, the apology will be tabled in the
House of Representatives and the Senate.
Mr Brown will say that a consultation in this country will talk to
groups representing the victims, with a view to an apology being made by
the British government and any other action which will help those
affected, a Downing Street source said.
Although estimates are unreliable, the Government has records of at
least 150,000 child migrants from Britain, aged three to 14, of whom
about 100,000 went to Canada, and the remainder to Australia, New
Zealand, Rhodesia and other British dominions or colonies.
Between 1922 and 1967 up to 10,000 children migrated from
Britain to Australia under officially-approved schemes. While
some remember the experience fondly, others became victims of
beatings and sexual abuse. And newly-discovered records show
that the authorities had been warned that the system had few
safeguards. |
It is thought that during the final period in which the migration
policy operated, from 1947 to 1967, between 7,000 and 10,000 children
were sent to Australia and more than 500 sent to New Zealand.
The policy, sanctioned and supported by a succession of governments,
has been described as "one of the most disgraceful episodes in post war
politics".
The migrated children were euphemistically told they would find an
idyllic lifestyle in a new country. In reality, they were often badly
cared for, counted as second-class citizens, arrived sick or without a
name, and put in over-crowded and run-down institutions.
Among those carers who have come in for particular criticism were the
homes of the Christian Brothers, in Australia, where several thousand
children were accommodated over the years and where physical and sexual
abuse and under-nourishment were reportedly rife.
According to the BBC documentary "Children of the Empire", aired in
2003, a number of leading charities and agencies such as Barnardos, the
Fairbridge Society and The National Children's Homes co-operated in
maintaining the policy for almost six decades despite warnings from
independent inspectors. |