By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Tis true.

If you fall off the wagon of regularly updating your blog, even if it's a short note, time just whizzes by before you ever make another entry.

Ah well...

Rabbit Proof Fence - The Stolen Generations

Allan and I "pak tored" on Monday and were going to watch "The Last Samurai." It turned out, of course, that the only seats available were in the front row of the cinema. So we cast around for another movie to watch.

We chose "Rabbit Proof Fence."

I'd heard of it before but neither of us really knew the story.

When we left the cinema however, I think we were as shell shocked as the rest of the cinema going crowd.

"Rabbit Proof Fence" was a true story of the "Stolen Generations."

"The Stolen Generations" refers to a period in Australia's VERY recent history when the government of the day enacted the Aborigines Act which basically authorised a "Protector" of the Aborigines to forcibly remove aboriginal children from their families and integrate them into white society with white mores and values.

It was shocking.

Words cannot describe the cruelty inflicted on a people whose sin it was to be different.

The absolute worst thing was that the "Protector" played by Kenneth Branagh (who was his usual best) was actually not what you would call a bad person. He was motivated by good intentions and believed, chillingly, that he was doing right by these people.

There was one line in the movie that summed it all up. "We've got to help them despite themselves."

After seeing that, I now fully believe that the Australian Government owes the Aboriginal people a full and unequivocal apology.

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