What is wrong with the World? Are the young being given false history?

I personally talked (at age 16) to a survivor of the London blitz. Peices of bodies, unbelievable death and distruction, thousands of children orphaned and separated from their parents. Australia must have seemed the most safe place in the world to send them. They were rescued not stolen. I have to wonder at the motives of those seeking reparation after all this time.

Why not 10-30 years ago. Is it possible a free trip to England? The same applies to church "crimes"

I attended a Christian Bros College in 1949. It is true I might have been frightened ( the dicipline was superb) of raising a complaint whilst in the institution, Our letters home were cencored, but not prevented. I had no reason for complaint other than the severity of the dicipline, at that time, but for which I now thank them.

But rest assured had there been anything that disturbed me, that I had in anyway been assualted, I would have raised merry hell. So would have any of the students my friends at the college. There were no sooks in those days. If not at the college, (assuming oppression) then certainly at home. The family faith in the Church would be the issue.

The same applies to the stolen Aboriginals.

Any child in danger of neglect at home whether black or brindle was always in my memory rescued by the state.

I visited Alice Springs in the 60's from Mt Isa, and was horrified at the degeneration that existed in the aboriginal community due to the "white mans grog". No doubt there were equivalent white degenerates, most of whom would have had children who needed rescuing.

THEY WERE NOT STOLEN.

Finally to the young reader who has no experience of those times, which I remember clearly.

I opposed the racism of my parents, but that racism was NOT HATE, IT WAS TOLERANT. If there had been any intolerance, and I am talking about my State School and Christian Bros college experience I would have been PUNISHED , yes punished, the cane, (state) and the strap (church). I copped it for calling my best friend Algie Scarrabello a dago, and it really hurt, but I'm not suddenly discovering after 40 years, hidden subconscious trauma for which I might get paid. Apologise for giving them the grog without the education that should go with it. OK.

Philip Madsen

Dear Sir,

Somehow I feel like I have to write again.

I find it very annoying to see Australians accusing Asians as a whole for the deeds of a small bunch of crooked, especially when some insane comments were posted in your page like James Nguyen's. When I was living in Sydney some 10 years ago, I went to a church in Cabramatta with a congregation of mainly Vietnamese every Sunday to help out in playing organ for the afternoon service (though I don't speak Vietnamese at all). I don't claim to understand the community too well, but I share the same feelings with many of you about crimes and drugs in the area. It is indeed the government responsibility to deal with it.

Let me digress a little more by an example in Hong Kong. Similar to Australia, we used to have serious problems with the boat people from Vietnam. They don't speak Cantonese nor other Chinese dialects. Some of them post much hectics to the authorities in the refugee camps in terms of fightings, muggings, weapons possession.... When some incidentally got a chance to leave the camp, there were robbings, shootings, and even bombings on the streets. Some of them upon release from the camps never "assimilate". That's the reason why the majority in HK wants to get rid of them even at the expense of being blamed by the humanitarian organisations. Honestly, I myself never project the wrong doings of the minority to all Vietnamese as a whole. I never deduce that all people living to the south of Hong Kong are bad. Now, would you Aussies blame Hong Kong for refusing the Vietnamese rights of abode and failing to observe the human rights creed?

Australia is not the only country which faces the problems of illegal migrants, and refugees on humanitarian grounds, many Asian cities do. While we are tackling our own problems, we have to make absolutely sure that no innocent are persecuted for what they did not do. China was invaded by the Yanks, the Brits, the Ruskys and the Aussies (if you don't believe, go to the War Memorial in Canberra and find out the facts yourself) earlier in the century, whereupon hundreds of thousand of civilians were killed. Should I, along with billion of Chinese, project the wrong doings to all Caucasians today? Absolutely not! To Australians? G-d forbids! As a foreigner, I have no intention to interfere with Australian internal affairs. But if anyone keeps portraying all Asians (either within or without Australia) as living in ghettos, dealing with drugs, invading Australia, there will be a backfire. Can I deduce that because there are at least 1.5 people killed by gun shots every evening in Washington DC, Australia must have the same homicide rate, since it is a mainly Caucasian country?

No one on earth should be judged by the colour of one's skin, but the lawless. Cleanse Australia of crimes and drugs, the illegal immigrants and the law breakers, but not the Chinese or Asians.

Sincerely,
Dr Wan Kai Tak, Singapore.

Subject: Immigration