The vast majority were sent to far-flung parts of Australia, siblings separated by inhumane policies known as ‘split the litter.’ Frequently they were exploited as domestic servants and manual labourers bullied, humiliated, under-nourished, abused, often denied the promised education while stripped of their own language and cultural knowledge. This is a deeply sorrowful story of the mental anguish of a people, of broken despairing mothers and fathers who lost their children forever and of the emptiness felt by the children who were told their parents were dead or had rejected them. And we learn, the trans-generational grief continues today when families are re-united but not always re-integrated as a result of the loss of tribal knowledge, family history and language.
This is an important, unforgettable book for spreading awareness of the terrible human cost of misguided racist policies and attitudes and for giving voice to those who suffered irreparably. It will make you weep at the perpetration of abuses and gasp at the courage and quiet magnanimity of those who survived.
This was first published for New Zealand Book Month 2011,