What happened to the Aussie Kids?

Former child migrants who spent their formative years living in Christian Brothers Childcare Institutions will be aware that many Australian born children were also raised in the same institutions with similar experiences to those who came from overseas. Yet, it seems that very few of the Aussie kids either know about or have taken up the support services that C-BERS offers to ALL ex-residents of Christian Brothers institutions. In asking the question "what happened to the Aussie Kids", this edition of C-BERS Express features several items of interest to this group of men.

While ex-residents who were born in Australia were spared some of the special challenges faced by former child migrants, many had also experienced trauma in their early lives. As C-BERS Chairperson, Dr Maria Harries writes — “Many of these residents were wards of the State, which means that life had already dealt them some major blows. We know that institutional life itself is often very hard on children and, like the former child migrants, many of the Australian born children embarked on a life outside with insufficient preparation and no family support”.

Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care

Dr Harries has welcomed the current Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care in Australia which will focus specifically on the experiences and longer term implications for children growing up in an institutional setting. Two related inquiries have previously reported on the removal of Aboriginal Children and the experiences of British and Maltese Child Migrants.

“This final part of the trilogy will not only provide an opportunity to investigate the events of the past and their present day consequences in the lives of former residents, but it will also enable us to learn from past mistakes in planning for the care needs of children in the future.

“There are many thousands of children in Australia who, for any of a number of reasons such as abuse, death, substance abuse, illness, forced migration, are unable to live in their own family home. These children are already vulnerable due to the upheaval and trauma that such events can cause in their lives. The enormous challenge in providing care for children in such circumstances is to ensure that, in doing so, we help to heal their anguish rather than exacerbate it. Current policies of placing refugee children in detention centres only serve to demonstrate how much there is still to learn from the lessons of the past.”

Making a Submission to the Senate Inquiry

If you wish to make a submission, C-BERS can provide a copy of the Inquiry Terms of Reference or they can be downloaded from the Senate Committee website at:

http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/inquiries/index.htm

Submissions close on 31 July 2003 with the Inquiry Report due by 3 December 2003.

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