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Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to half a million citizens on November the 16th. The 500,000 people are the so-called “Forgotten Australians”. These are children who found themselves in Australian orphanages between 1930 and 1970. Included in them were 7,000 child migrants from Britain. Institutions changed the children’s names and told them their parents were dead. This erased their personal history and created a loss of identity. There are thousands of stories of how the children suffered abuse, sexual assault, poor health care and poor education. Children were told they were bad and worthless. They grew up without any kind of love, which makes it difficult for them to form relationships today.
Mr. Rudd said his country "looked back in shame" that so many children were assaulted, abused and neglected. He apologized for their decades of pain. Rudd added that the “Forgotten Australians” were now the “Remembered Australians”. Frank Golding, who spent ten years growing up in care homes, applauded Mr. Rudd. He said the apology was a “powerful thing” for those who grew up frightened and alone. Australia’s Human Rights Commission agreed that the Prime Minister’s words were healing. Spokeswoman Cathy Branson said: “Saying sorry on behalf of the nation will assist many individuals and their families to look to the future, and to put behind them this dark chapter in Australia's history.”
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