On National Sorry Day, we acknowledged and remembered the mistreatment of our First Nation’s Stolen Generations who were forcibly removed from their families and Country.
TASC staff attended USQ’s National Sorry Day Ceremony, where they joined together with other attendees to commemorate, have a yarn and enjoy the activities on offer.
TASC’s Social Justice Advocate Aunty Sharron Jackson reflected on the strength of the Stolen Generations.
“I always reflect on the resilience of our Stolen Generations to pull through the unknown times of their destiny. Tragically, many have not been able to reconnect back to family and country further intensifying their intergenerational trauma.” Aunty Sharron said.
Aunty Kathleen Wincen, Solicitor also attended and reflected on her experiences of Sorry Day.
“Over twenty years ago I was one of the more than 250,000 people that walked over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for Reconciliation. I stood with pride in my heart as a young Budjiti woman, that so many people were making a stand for a way forward for Australia as a nation. To heal the wrongs of the past and to make a difference to the future. It was a historical moment. One of the greatest things to come from this stand for me and my family was the apology to the Stolen Generation in 2008,” Aunty Kathleen said.
“On National Sorry Day, I got to feel that sense of wanting to make a difference again, when I visited the University of Southern Queensland with my work colleagues, as the University marked the occasions of National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week in the courtyard of the Toowoomba’s campus. We’ve seen movements for change over the last twenty years, and at its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians and this is what I witnessed today at the University of Southern Queensland.”