Taken Away

Introduction :

This document is an excerpt from a novel « Following the Rabbit Poorf Fence » written by an aboriginal Australian Doris Pilkington and a film adapted from the novel in 2002 which deals with the Stolen Generation in Australia.
The book and the film tell the true story of Molly Graig a young Australian Aboriginal girl, her sister and her cousin who are taken away from their family by Constable Riggs to be educated in a white school. Indeed they are part of the official government policy which took half caste children from their family to train them as domestic workers and farmhands and to integrate them in the white society.
However, with strength and determination, Molly leads her sister Daisy and her cousin Gracie in an escape from the settlement, she guides the girls on a long journey over 1500 miles in the Australian outback, following the rabbit proof fence that will hopefully lead them back home.

3 parts stand out in this text : firstly the atmosphere of the text had the arrival of Constable Riggs. Secondly the kidnapping: the discrepancy of behaviour and finally the Stolen Generation.

1. The atmosphere of the text had the arrival of Constable Riggs:
First the text starts with an atmosphere of fear and anxiety ( “ dogs barky” “ terrible din” “ slent tears”). Indeed all the members of the family expected Constable Riggs to come and taken their children away. When Constable Riggs arrived they knew that the fateful day had come.
Futhermore, in 1905, Western Australia became the first state to pass an Aborigines Act which made the Chief Protector the legal guardian of every aboriginal and half cast child under sixteen.
Indeed, this polity of forced removal was aimed at making the race disappear. They officially removed the children from their family “ for their own good”. It continued until the early 1970’s and the parents of Molly, Daisy and Gracie were aware of this policy.
The all felt resigned, powerless and