QuickWrite of the Day #48: Writing from a song: Took the Children Away
"Writing can be used as a vehicle to express ourselves as we negotiate the journey through our lives” (Gallagher, 2011: p. 24)
QuickWrite of the Day:
Sometimes we can find inspiration for writing if we pay attention to what is happening around us and tune in to our history, songs and stories. Today, the 26th May, marks National Sorry Day. In the words of Reconciliation Australia, National Sorry Day “remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations.’”
North-West Queensland teenager Wayne Burke says that National Sorry Day is about recognition for him and his family: “It means to me that my people are finally recognised and acknowledged by a government, showing they care.” Thomas Mullins, another young indigenous man, says that it “means a lot” to him and his family, because he had “grandparents on both sides being in the Stolen Generations, getting taken away from their families and being taught the white people way. Being taught to be their servants.”
Below, we have some excerpts from Archie Roach’s song about the Stolen Generations, Took the Children Away. Have a read of these lyrics and select a line that you find striking, moving or thought-provoking. What does it make you think about, feel, or wonder? What does today mean to you?
