Between the 1920’s and the 1970’s, more than 130 000 children, aged between three and 14, were sent from Britain to former British colonies. Around 7000 of them were sent to Australia. Many experienced terrible hardship, including physical, mental and sexual abuse, and hard labour.
The British government is now offering compensation in recognition of this “shameful episode of history.”
Following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse interim report recommending financial compensation to Former Child Migrants, the British government has announced that $36 000 (£20 000) will be paid to eligible applicants. The scheme, to be managed by the Child Migrants Trust, will start accepting applications from 1 March 2019 and remain open for two years.
More information on Child Migrants here: www.findandconnect.gov.au/resources/former-child-migrants.
Statement from the British government below, and to download (pdf) here: www.findandconnect.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UK-Ex-Gratia-Pmt-INFORMATION-31-Jan-2019.pdf
Frank Golding
February 14, 2019 11:08 amIt’s interesting the way the British Government is offering this redress (albeit a modest sum as ex-gratia payments) to all child migrants.
– No elaborate administrative apparatus and no heavy reliance on documentation
– A common rate of payment to all survivors without setting up a hierarchy of suffering or using a matrix of pain
– No deductions because of previous payments from other redress schemes
– No reliance on other non-government or religious institutions to opt in and share the payments.
What a contrast to the Australian National Redress Scheme which is a fiasco of complicated rules and procedures.