"We say sorry"

Apologies play a pivotal role in our life. Without apologies, a fog of anger, annoyance and pain will exist in between people, making it harder for both sides to see through the problems and understand each other. It will only deepen the pains, leaving the relationship between them filled with anger and annoyance, later on forcing a new conflict to arise before they even notice. But a short simple word like sorry can easily make the fog go away, or at least make it clearer so that there is some space for sunlight to shine through.

It took quite a time for the stolen generations to get a glimpse of sun light during the decades of their miserable, foggy years. The stolen generations refer to the Aboriginal children with white blood in them forced to be removed from their family and house so that the Australian government could ‘breed out’ the aboriginal culture and population. Although the Australian government said that the Aboriginal protection act (1869) was the best process for everyone, many half- Aboriginal children were physically and sexually abused, which led many of them to alcoholism, violation and early death.

However, seeking for the sunlight was not an easy thing to do for John Howard, a Prime Minister in 1997, when he had refused to make an official apology. He believed that "the current Australians should not be responsible for the mistakes of the past." He was fearful that an official apology would strengthen the case for compensation, and he only issued the statement of regret for the Stolen Generations when most of the members of the Stolen Generations were looking for a simple "sorry".

But on the 13th of February 2008, the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd made an official apology to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the government. He started off as "Today we honor the Indigenous peoples of this land,", which makes the Aborigines feel respected and accepted, equal to the rest of the Australians, which was not a very common thing in the past as they were treated poorly. "We reflect on their past mistreatment" and "this blemished chapter in our national's history", shows that they are aware of what they did wrong, admitting and being regretful for their mistakes. "The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page." This shows that the mistakes they have made will not be repeated ever again, and the problem will end right now. He also describes the Stolen Generation as "fellow Australians" which makes the Aborigines feel equal to others and accepted for who they are. He also repeats "we apologize" and "we say sorry" continuously to emphasize his apologies. It also shows that his apologies are sincere.

His apology had been supported by a vast majority of the Stolen Generations. The father of reconciliation, Pat Dodson described the apology as a "seminal moment of the nation's history." He said that considering the decade of denial by the government of John Howard, the apology was a courageous statement. The apology made the Aborigines feel accepted and respected for who they were. The apology also gave impact on the Australians. It gave them comfort for they now know that they have been forgiven, washing away the burdens of their sad, ugly past. It also made people aware of what was wrong and how they shouldn't make the same mistakes again.

Although an apology can not clear all the pains made in the past, although an apology can not undo the things that we have done wrong, it can bring a ray of sunlight through the thick layer of fogs, and eventually, when all the anger, annoyance and pain disappears in the sunlight, there you go- a new start full of happiness.