Feature Article

Media Pressure Wins Apology to Migrants

By Krista Meyer

This week, Australia’s Prime Minister apologized to the thousands of orphans and child migrants who suffered abuse and neglect under a Child Migrants Program designed to bring “white stock” to Australia from Britain over a century ago. This request for forgiveness demonstrates the power of the media to give status to international actors and force a government to deal with an issue it would prefer to ignore. Media can be a powerful catalyst for political change by bringing these issues to light.

The apology, supported by the Australian Parliament, came decades after relentless international media attention to the atrocities of the Child Migrants Program. Beginning in 1850, children as young as three were sent from Britain to New Zealand, Australia and Canada with promises of a better life only to suffer physical and sexual abuse at the hands of authorities. An estimated 130,000 children were taken from poor families or told their parents had died in order to provide Britain with “sturdy” white workers in the colonies. The program also relieved the financial burden of impoverished children supported by the government, especially during wartime. The program only ceased in 1967.

Media in the form of radio, television and print have been reporting the history of this program and the personal stories of those affected for years. Attention from the media and persistent efforts of victim organizations have kept enough pressure on the Australian government to recognize the survivors. In the last few years, efforts from these organizations to expose the stories have increased. News outlets in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, key players in the events, provided a steady backlog of print stories over the last two decades. Other news outlets embraced the story and reported on the Child Migrants Program, giving further attention to the topic. In addition, personal stories through documentaries airing in America and across the UK lent faces and names to the victims of abuse at the hands of care givers, personalizing the stories for viewers. The personalized nature of the coverage contributed to the pressure lawmakers in Australia experienced, ultimately — finally — leading to action.

After a four-part series on BBC Radio 4, Australia formed a commons health committee to address the Child Migrants Program, citing a “moral legal duty” to do so. The television program "60 Minutes" has run a program interviewing survivors multiple times. Another documentary aired in 2007 on the BBC and “catalogued six decades of suffering.”

Child migration advocates have been pushing for government acknowledgment and restitution for decades. The apology was deemed a “real welcome” by Margaret Humphries, director of the Child Migrants' Trust. PM Kevin Rudd recognized the history as a “great evil,” hoping Australians would now begin to "heal the pain" caused by these events. Victims have tried to rebuild their own family histories and connect with long-lost relatives overseas. The full impact of the program is still being determined.

Britain is scheduled to apologize next year for their contributions to the Child Migrants Program.