The thing about Australian hibiscus flowers

 

Image credit: photograph of Australian native hibiscus flowers from here.

Next week there is going to be a very special day, a day that will make you feel overwhelmed with emotion. No, not Valentines Day. I’m talking about Wednesday 13 February. It will be a national day of apology for Australia, because the Australian Government under its newly elected Prime Minister intends to apologise to the Aboriginal people f.i.n.a.l.l.y for the way they have been treated under government policies of the past, namely the Stolen Generation. From Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR):     

It will be “a great day of healing. It will send a message to Indigenous Australians that the government, on behalf of the nation, understands the suffering that was caused and wants to make amends. It will have a similar effect on Indigenous Australians that a similar apology had when it was made to Vietnam veterans.”

The national apology will be on behalf of the government, but ANTaR also has a list of suggestions for how you can be personally involved:

* Wear some Sea of Hands pins. You can buy them from ANTaR.
*If you have a social networking account such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, change your status to say “is sorry” and encourage others to do the same. If you have a Flickr or Picasa account, put an image of the Aboriginal flag online and write about the apology.
* Talk about the national apology to friends, family, colleagues, clients, or your class! This sounds like an insignificant action, however you’ll get people thinking about things, and might even debunk a few myths that are going around!
* The National Sorry Day Committee has requested that the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flown together on the day as a symbol of moving forward in unity. Please
contact your Local Councils, libraries, and schools and suggest they hold flag-raising ceremonies on the morning of the apology.
* The apology will be televised on ABC and SBS television from 9am. Organise a BBQ or morning tea at work, in a public park or community centre, and watch the live televised apology.
* Add your name to the Seven Steps for Justice pledge (http://www.antar.org.au/sevensteps).
* Ask your MP to support the apology. You might like to use the form on GetUp’s website.
* Start a pledge book . This is a great way to talk to people about the recommendations in the Bringing Them Home report, get them thinking, and pledge their support for the recommendations.
* For teachers: talk to your class about the stolen generations. Both HREOC and the Stolen Generations Alliance  have education kits.

This apology will be special for all of us in Australia, we will be able to go forward, at last. Even those who are still mean enough to be opposed to this apology will benefit from the new-found dignity Australia will acquire from facing up to its past, admitting the terrible hurt it has inflicted on Aboriginal mothers and their children, and starting a long and incredible healing process with its Indigenous populations. This has been such a very long wait for those mothers and children.

But you see, the thing about Australian hibiscus flowers is that they grow widely across Australia and they’re survivors. For these reasons they were chosen as the national emblem for the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation, and were subsequently endorsed by the National Sorry Day Committee as a commemorative flower.