Australia's aborigines

澳洲原住民

Stolen birthrights

被偷走的一代

Jan 31st 2008 | SYDNEY
From The Economist print edition

An apology but nocompensation

愿意道歉但是拒绝赔偿

SINCE he was elected Australia'sprime minister in November, Kevin Rudd has moved swiftly to set his Laborgovernment apart from the former conservative coalition's more controversialstands. In December, he went to Bali to declare that Australia,at last, would ratify the Kyotoprotocol on climate change. In January, he sent his foreign minister to Washington to advise that Australiawould pull its combat troops out of Iraq this year. But none of MrRudd's changes matches the historical resonance of a statement he plans to makeon February 13th: a formal apology to Australia's indigenous people forpast injustices under European settlement.

自去年11月份当选澳大利亚首相以来，陆克文就迅速率领工党政府与前保守联盟划清界线，后者的立场显然会引起更多的争议。他于12月赴巴厘岛宣布澳大利亚最终愿意签署旨在减少温室气体排放的《京都议定书》。1月，他派外交部长访问华盛顿，宣称澳大利亚将于今年撤回撤回驻伊军队。但是陆克文所做的这些变化都比上他将在2月13日对曾遭受欧洲殖民统治不公正待遇的澳大利亚原住民做出“历史性”道歉的计划意义重大。

Mr Rudd is making sure theapology is heard far and wide: he has listed it as the first item of businessin Parliament's new session in Canberra.Strictly speaking, it will apply to the so-called “stolen generations” ofmixed-race people, whom authorities removed from their families as children andput in foster homes, many run by churches. A 1997 report by Australia'shuman-rights and equal-opportunity commission found that between one-tenth andone-third of aboriginal children were taken in this way from 1910 until thepolicy was abandoned in 1970. Estimates put the number at around 55,000. Somesurviving victims of the policy told the commission they were physically andsexually abused. Aborigines now comprise about 2% of Australia's population.

陆克文很清楚，这次道歉的影响非常深远：他已将此列为澳大利亚在堪培拉召开的新一届国会的头等大事。严格地说来，这次道歉的对象，是澳大利亚历史上“被偷的一代”——当局推行同化政策，将原住民的儿童强行带走，交给白人家庭或教会抚养。澳大利亚人权及平等待遇委员会在1997年的报告中称，从1910年至1970年政策废除，期间有十分之一到三分之一的原住民儿童以此种方式被带走，估计有5万5千名左右。一些这项政策的幸存者告诉委员会他们当时受到了身体虐待和性倾犯。现在原住民占澳大利亚总人口的2％。

Theapology will carry much broader symbolic meaning for a people whose forebearsoccupied Australiafor tens of thousands of years before the British claimed it in 1788. Thestolen-generation removals were based partly on welfare, but more blatantly onrace. Officials in the early 20th century talked of “breeding out the colour”.These and other upheavals, including losses of traditional lands, have left alegacy of trauma, poor health and high prison-custody rates among aborigines.Mr Rudd says he hopes to close a 17-year gap in life-expectancy betweenindigenous people and other Australians.

英国在1788年宣布对澳大利亚的所有权，而原住民的祖先早已在此居住了几千年了。因此对原住民来说，道歉具有象征意义。与其说是社会安全原因造成了“被偷的一代”，不如说是因为种族问题，政府在20世纪初曾提出要“消除肤色”。包括失去世代相传的土地在内的种种原因，给原住民带来了历史遗留的创伤，低下的健康状态以及居高不下的犯罪率。澳大利亚原住民的平均寿命要比其他澳大利亚白人短17年左右，陆克文称他希望这个平均寿命的差别能够消失。

The1997 report recommended both that an apology be offered and that compensationbe paid for the stolen generations. During his 11 years in power, John Howard,the former prime minister, refused to offer either. This only compounded publicdivision and aboriginal bitterness. All six state governments have since madeapologies. Tasmaniahas also paid A$5m ($4.5m) compensation for 106 aborigines. But a nationalapology is what aboriginal leaders have been waiting for.

1997年的报告建议政府对“被偷的一代”道歉并给予赔偿。但在前任首相霍华德在任的11年间，他没有作出任何相关举措，使得民众分歧加大，原住民的苦难加重。迄今为止已有6个州进行了道歉。塔斯马尼亚州还对106名原住民支付了5百万澳元（约450万美元）的赔偿。但是原住民首领们仍在盼望澳洲政府能作出道歉。

MrRudd himself has ruled out paying compensation. But, he says, saying sorry is acrucial symbol in “building a bridge of respect”. He says he will say it onbehalf of the national government, not the present generation of Australians.This may calm misgivings among some about being held accountable for themisdeeds of others. Recent newspaper opinion polls show two-thirds ofAustralians support the apology. Even while its wording is being finalised,outback aborigines are preparing their journeys to Canberra for the historic day. ChristineKing, co-chair of the Stolen Generations Alliance, whose own mother was astolen child, says: “There is a sense of relief that Australia will finally take thisstep that has been so long in coming.”

陆克文个人表示已排除了支付赔偿的可能。但他指出，道歉是“建立尊重之桥”的重要象征。他声称将代表澳洲政府进行道歉，但并不代表目前这一代的澳洲人有任 何的过错。这一声明也许打消了一些曾经对原住民犯过此类错误的人的担忧。最近由报纸举办的民意测验显示三分之二的澳大利亚人支持向原住民道歉。即使道歉的 措辞还在斟酌之中，住在偏远地区的原住民已在准备他们的堪培拉之旅，要亲身见证那历史性的一天。Christine King是“被偷一代”联盟主席，她的母亲也是“被偷一代”中的一员。她说：“令人感到欣慰的是，澳洲政府终于迈出了这一步，尽管等待是如此的漫长。”