Thursday 21 July 2011

Sad reality of Adoption during the 40's to the late 70's

The senate inquiry when first announced late last year brought so much hope to adoptees and true parents around the country that at last there story may be told and the country would become aware of what had happened in the past in the name of Australian citizens.  In a democracy such as ours, the power rests with the people and governments of the day do the bidding of it's citizens. If the citizens do not agree with the actions of government, then the people have the power to change these actions.  The Vietnam war protest movement was instrumental in alerting Australian citizens as to the futility of that abhorrent war and government policy was changed.  However, no such movement ever eventuated to protect the rights of mothers and adoptees in this period so the wholesale movement of babies from their mothers to others continued unabated from  mid 1940's until the late 1970's.  In fact the traditional institutions of the period, the country women's association and religious orders encouraged this wholesale movement in babies.
Much has been said about the blame that should be slated home to the responsible persons at the baby factories where babies were traded. AND YES THEY HAVE MUCH TO ANSWER FOR.  but they were the same as the rest of this hypocritical society and as such believed in the flawed attitudes of the day.  For much of this time they would have also been working under the principals laid down by the UN/WHO report of 1952 into the needs of the child and the flawed interpretation of that report.  i have also found some links that indicate that they saw their client as the child not the mother which indicated a conflict of interest that no one ever thought to correct.  But from the submissions i have read i have seen so many which start with " my parents made' or " They took me'  Now one in all logic must ask themselves how could these parents of vulnerable pregnant girls not know what was going to happen.  Of course they did and agreed with it. we must remember in that period many single mothers did in fact go home with their babies and with the assistance of their parents raised their child.

Just as the so called pillars of society have tried to justify the actions that were taken in those days, today many mothers are also attempting to rewrite history by removing their parents culpability from the equations.  Yes many of these parents were influenced by the church (religion having played a major part in society in those dark ages) and the societal mores of the day. but they chose to ignore their daughters plight and must stand there at the bar along with all others involved in this shameful exercise.

However, the senate committee like many of the mothers are more interested in finding scapegoats instead of the real truth and that is the sad reality of this Inquiry. The inquiry must also condemn society as it was at that time to show that the reality of the so called good old days was in fact a cruel society who cared for nothing but their image. it is time to smash the myth of the " Good Old Days" and to show the citizens of today just how a flawed and cruel society it was and how it treated it good decent citizens as pawns.  I have always condemned the German people for not wanting to be aware what was being carried out in their name during the Nazi era. At least they had some minor excuse.  they feared for their own  lives.  The citizens of Australia had no such excuse. They were complicit in this tragedy done in their name

2 comments:

  1. It was a shocking era in history. And one we should all speak up and show it as such. No more saying. "Oh well it was the times....the social mores". It was wrong wrong wrong.
    Just like the burning of witches was wrong, just like Nazi Germany was wrong. No one says those there the days....

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  2. And just as the german people were held collectively responsible for the atrocities commiutted by the NAZI's so must the Australian nation be held responsible for what they did to us. But we shouild als reservre special mention of the willing staff and willing paents who assisted in these atocities. Muzz

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