Truth behind Aboriginal scandal

Just over a month ago, the word "Sorry" appeared in large white sky-written letters above Sydney harbour. A quarter of a million people streamed across the harbour bridge, in protest at Australian Prime Minister John Howard's refusal to apologise for the "stolen" generations of Aborigines.

Anger over the policy, which involved forcibly removing tens of thousands of Aboriginal children from their parents, inspired the creation of Stolen, now on at the Tricycle, Kilburn, as part of Heads Up, the Australian Arts festival.

It is one of those foul secrets that was covered up by successive generations. For Aboriginals, there was shame in being "stolen", while older people never talked about it. Most whites were either unaware of the policy or agreed to keep quiet for the welfare of the children.

From 1910 to the mid-1970s, the Australian government adopted a policy of forced integration. Babies and young children were taken from their parents and put in children's homes. They were allowed no further contact with their families. Letters and gifts were withheld, children were often told that their mothers were dead, and all connection with their past was severed.

Stolen is the story of five young Aboriginal children living in a home, and draws on the stories and experiences of the "stolen" generations. The disruption of their lives is seen through the eyes of the children, as they try to make sense of the world.

Jane Harrison, the writer who worked with the Aboriginal cast and director on the play, knew nothing about forced integration until she was approached by the Ilbijerri Theatre Co-operative, despite being Aboriginal herself.

"I was shocked at the extent of the practice," she says. "The Government admitted that one in 10 children was taken from their parents. What impressed me was the stoicism and lack of bitterness in many of the survivors. The play is not about blame, but about understanding and accepting."

Harrison's grandmother was English. Her mother was Aboriginal, and left northern New South Wales for Victoria at the age of 15 because she was hissed at for being of mixed race. Harrison has a pale skin and is married to a white Australian. This has given rise to a more subtle form of prejudice - people saying, "You don't look Aboriginal. You don't have to be."

The children who were paler than their parents were most at risk of being taken. If their skin was light enough, they were expected to forget their Aboriginal blood relatives and integrate. Darker children were put into domestic service.

Wesley Enoch, the director of Stolen, remembers his grandmother's fear of the police. If a police car pulled up across the road, she would pray that they weren't coming to her house.