Warners Bay High School students were privileged to have Jodie Stewart, the Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer and Relieving President of Kumaridha Local AECG, speak to them about the significance of National Sorry Day.
Jodie spoke from the heart about the Stolen Generation and the impact it has had, and is still having, on Aboriginal families and communities. The Junior AECG members then held a morning tea, lighting a candle of remembrance and reflecting on the importance of this day.
Junior AECG: What Sorry Day Means To Us…….
Sorry Day is a day where the Government says sorry for the way they treated the Aboriginal community.
Sorry Day is about more than just saying “sorry”.
For the Stolen Generation.
History of Sorry Day
The leader of the Labor Party Kevin Rudd became the Prime Minister of Australia on the 3rd of December 2007. At 9 am on the 13th February 2008, the second sitting day of the New Parliament, he delivered an apology to the Stolen Generations. Seventeen representatives of the Stolen Generations and four former Prime Ministers sat within Parliament listening to the apology. He pledged that Australia would never again allow such injustice to occur.
Then he encouraged both sides of the house to work together to ‘close the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The speech received a standing ovation, both from those within the Parliament, and from the crowds watching the broadcast on large screens in every capital city.
Many of those present during that historical moment reacted with strong emotions; remorse, happiness and relief. Christine King of the Stolen Generations Alliance stated, ‘Sorry is the most important word because it has great meaning in our community; it means having empathy and compassion and understanding’.
