Aboriginal mothers in Australia are having their children snatched right from under their noses. Child welfare officers come inside the mothers’ houses and take their children; they don’t tell the mothers why they’re taking them or even where they’re taking them. These children are “removed” and given to “indigenous caregivers,” but, allegedly, the real reason is that there is a white market for these babies. This also happened in the 1970s, when thousands of mixed-race children were stolen and given to institutions as cheap labor. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized, and the Australian people assumed it wouldn’t happen again.
The New South Wales parliament is soon to debate legislation, John Pilger reports, that introduces forced adoption and “guardianship.” Children under the age of two will be liable—without their mothers’ consent—if “removed” for more than six months. Since it often takes Aboriginal mothers that just to make contact with their children, the proposed law is especially problematic. “It’s setting up Aboriginal families to fail,” one MP told Pilger.
Source: John Pilger, “Australia Is Again Stealing Its Indigenous Children”, Truthout, March 25, 2014, http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/22659-australia-is-again-stealing-its-indigenous-children.
Student Researcher: Cierra Pinkins (Indian River State College)
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen (Indian River State College)