UK prime minister apologizes to British child migrants sent to Australia and elsewhere

UK prime minister apologizes to child migrants

LONDON — Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologized Wednesday to the tens of thousands of poor British children shipped to former colonies such as Australia, where instead of a better life many were treated to harsh conditions, neglect and abuse.

Brown said the country was sorry for the “shameful” and “misguided” child migrant program of the 1920 to 1960s, in which an estimated 150,000 British children were sent to distant colonies.

The programs were intended to ease pressure on British social services, provide the children with a fresh start and supply the empire with a sturdy supply of white workers. But many children ended up in institutions where they were physically and sexually abused, or were sent to work as farm laborers.

“We are sorry they were allowed to be sent away when at their most vulnerable. We are sorry that instead of caring for them, this country turned its back,” he told the House of Commons.

Ceremonies were planned across Australia Thursday to mark the apology.

At a gathering attended by several tearful former child migrants in Sydney, British High Commissioner Valerie Amos reread Brown’s formal apology, which was made while most Australians were sleeping.

Amos also offered her own apology.

“Talking to you this morning, there are many of you who have said to me, ‘Today is important, the apology is important, but why has it taken so long?’” she said. “I can only apologize for that.”

Former child migrant George Walden, 82, said the apology had come “50 or 60 years too late,” adding “As children, we were a commodity.”

Brown’s statement came months after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a similar apology at a November gathering in Canberra attended by tearful former child migrants. About 7,000 survivors of the migration program still live in Australia.

The migrants were sent off when they were as young as 3 to foster homes, state-run orphanages and religious institutions in Australia and Canada. Many were falsely told they were orphans and sent without the consent of their parents, Brown said.

The leader said he would create a 6 million pound ($9.2 million) fund aimed at reuniting families torn apart by the program.

Brown later met with a group of around 60 former child migrants in central London, where he was greeted with cheers and applause.

“Welcome home, you are with friends … We will support you all of your lives,” he told the gathering.

Harold Haig, of the International Association of Former Child Migrants and their Families, said many migrants had been waiting for a long time for a formal apology.

“We have all been waiting for this day for a lifetime … for us the apology is a moment in history where there can be reconciliation between the government, the nation and the child migrants,” he said.

Associated Press Writer Kristen Gelineau contributed to this report from Sydney.