Sorry...

Prime Minister:
          I personally feel that the Aborigine people deserve an apology for all that us foreigners have done to them and their land, since they were the first people to settle here. They came rougly 70,000 years ago, and have developed into over 500 different tribes since then. They mastered cultivation of the Australian land and even conquered the dingoes for use as loyal hunting dogs. They established an inter-tribal trading system and had extravagant trade ceremonies, complete with music and dancing.
          The English arrived in 1788 and quickly began to settle on the land, forcing Aborigines out of house and home. This was easily justified by the foreigners because there was no Aborigine government and the people moved around often anyways, with no true land ownership. With the foreigners came foreign illnesses, such as smallpox, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. These now spread like wildfire among the Aborigines, usually resulting in death. The English also brought with them sheep and cattle which ultimately destroyed Aborigine water holes, causing war for water as well as land.
          Laws were passed throughout the 1900s to benefit and protect the Aborigines in Australia. Early on, the laws told them where to live and even who to marry, but by 1967, these laws changed and Aborigines were declared to be citizens, with equal rights and opportunities.
          Not only should an apology be made for these reasons, but especially because of the "stolen generation." Surely you recall it? From 1909-1969, one tenth of all Aborigine children were taken from their homes by white settlers in an attempt to "civilize" them. Most children taken had traces of white blood in them, stolen with hopes that the color could be "bred out of them." They were placed in instiutions and/or white households in an attempt to make them a part of white society. The children were found to have been subjected to physical and sexual abuse, child labor, and social "dislocation." These factors affected the children greatly, leading to violence and alcoholism, which made it difficult to hold down a steady job. Early death was also common. Because they were taken at such a young age, many Aborigine people to this day still do not know who their relatives are or where their families live. It is common for these stolen children, now adults, to be depressed, suicidal, and to have extreme anxiety.
          The entire country of Australia is still paying for the costs of the stolen generation today. There are many organizations that seek to put the past behind them by making an official apology to the Aborigine people for the way they were treated during the grave time. Many others are ashamed of what can easily be classified as a genocide, because the intentions were to "breed out" the Aborigine culture until it eventually was no more. They would like to start fresh and feel that all tensions have been set aside. An apology to the Aborigine people must be made in order to relieve these tensions once and for all. What was done in the pass was not morally right, and the entire world deserves to know that we as Australians are not proud of what took place and that we would like to finally live in peace. The Aborigines deserve to know that we do not continue to put down their culture and ways of life, and instead we should embrace these rituals and practices. An apology must be made so that we can stand united as one country despite race or background. It is time to put history behind us and to move forward as a nation.