1.) In chapter 3, the Aboriginal peoples' land was taken as well as their "natural food source." They were mistreated and sent to prison without a trial and often times for a very minor infraction of the law. This is not right, as it violates the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Rule number 11: "right to be considered innocent until proven guilty." The article did not mention that the Aboriginals were given a fair trial before they were sent to the prison island, so the government obviously should not have done that. The Australian government also violated the Aboriginals' rights to own property, which is Rule number 17. As soon as the white men came in, they began to take over the Aboriginals' land, which also restricted the choice of food for these people that they were already stealing so much from. The Aboriginal people could only watch "the dispossession of their lands." Unfortunately, the mistreatment didn't stop there. The white men also took away the Aboriginals' "Freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile." If the Aboriginals did so much as one small thing wrong, they were sent out to a prison island where they sometimes didn't ever return from. This was devastating not only to the prisoners, but also to their families as they never saw their exiled loved ones again. The government did a lot of wrong to the Aboriginal people, and no amount of apologizing or money could ever fix that.
2.) The "civilizing" of Australia is very similar to when the white settlers first came to America and began pushing out the Native Americans, forcing them to move to other parts of the land with which they were not familiar. The white government simply would uproot a tribe and make them walk the entire way (hundreds to thousands of miles), which became major historical events such as the Trail of Tears. Similar to the Australian Aboriginals, many Native Americans were separated from their families on these long and grueling journeys, never to see their parents, children, brothers, or sisters again. Tragically, the mistreatment of Native Americans and Aboriginals continued for way too long because there was no government intervention; in fact, the government intervention was against these groups. These stories of persecution of native people are heartbreaking but true, and these two examples illustrate how destructive a new population can really be.
3.) In taking children away from their families, the government was definitely wrong. These children were defenseless against the men who separated them from their loved ones. If I was taken from my parents, I would be scared out of my mind no matter what anybody tried to tell me. In addition, these people were no different except in ethnicity, which shouldn't matter in the first place. The government also didn't give any warning; they just showed up. In my opinion, these children could be going to the best schools in the world but without their parents, they aren't benefitting from it. I think that family values are sometimes way more important and powerful than any education, and the only way to gain these values is to be a part of a family and spend time with the people that you love and that love you. Family teaches one patience, love, forgiveness, and respect, and it is near impossible to teach these things in a classroom where everybody just knows everybody's name and their favorite sport. Taking children away from their parents, siblings, or any other family members is immoral because that is all they know. And it's not just traumatic for the kids; parents are deeply affected and scarred as well. In conclusion, no matter where children are being taken to by the government, it is wrong to take them from their families unless abuse is present.
