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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-a-slave-state-how-blackbirding-in-colonial-australia-created-a-legacy-of-racism-187782>
"In July 2021, Jack Dempsey, the mayor of Bundaberg, delivered an official
apology for Northern Queensland’s past reliance on the indentured labour of
Pacific Islanders, many of whom were kidnapped (or “blackbirded”) and forced to
work on the state’s cane plantations. “To say sorry,” explained Dempsey, “is a
start in the healing and the hope for a better relationship going forward.”
The emotional response – equal parts sorrow and relief – from the local
Islander community confirmed the gesture’s importance. “I’m thinking about my
mother and my brother and my aunties who have all passed on,” said Aunty Coral
Walker, the president of the Bundaberg South Sea Islanders Heritage
Association. “It would have meant a lot to them because they were a part of
that era where they knew about blackbirding.”
But if the Bundaberg apology began a healing, it by no means completed it. On
the contrary, the statement highlighted the inadequacy of Australia’s reckoning
with its past."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
