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‘It’s Not About the Money—Stop the Trauma’: Victims’ Responses to Reparations in Argentina and Australia

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Abstract

In this paper, we compare reparation policies in Australia and Argentina. We analyse the difference between the reparations given by their respective governments to the Argentinian victims of the ‘Dirty War’ and to the ‘Stolen Generations’ in Australia. The aim of this paper is to compare the experience of victims in Argentina and Australia in relation to reparations to demonstrate that using only one type of reparations, either material or symbolic, is unsatisfactory for victims and does not repair the harm done. We also argue that the timing and the context in which reparations are offered can play a role in the victims’ satisfaction with the governments’ reparation policies.

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Notes

  1. Restoration to the prior state may not even be desirable without challenging pre-existing uneven gender power relationships. Social and gender inequalities that often sparked the violence in the first place must be addressed otherwise restoring women to pre-war circumstances may mean returning them into the situation of gender inequalities and violence. See, for example: Democratic Progress Institute, Addressing Gender in Transitional Justice Mechanisms (DPI, 2015), 27 and 28. Women should not be restored to their previous dependence and subordination but rather to a transformed and improved social structure that would grant them social justice and empowerment. See, Roslyn Warren et al., “Inclusive Justice: How Women Shape Transitional Justice in Tunisia and Columbia” (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security), 10.

  2. “Blood money” refers to money that is paid to the victim’s family by the offender, usually of violent crimes such as murder and was practiced in many cultures, such as the Anglo-Saxons and some Native American tribes.

  3. It should be noted that, despite the removal policies that created the Stolen Generation ending, Aboriginal children are still removed from their homes in other ways. Examples include the over-representation of Indigenous youth in Australian gaols and in foster care. See: McGrath, Andrew (2016) Intersections of Indigenous status, sex and age in sentencing decisions in the New South Wales Children’s Court. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 49(1): 90–112; and Funston, Leticia and Herring, Sigrid (2016) When will the stolen generations end?: A qualitative critical exploration of contemporary ‘child protection’ practices in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand 7(1): 51–58.

  4. See: Nunca Más (Never Again): A Report by Argentina’s National Commission on Disappeared People, Faber & Faber, London, 1986, at Part VI Recommendation C; along with guarantees of non-repetition such as human rights training for the military, strengthen investigations of human rights violations and the adherence to such rights.

  5. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are one of the most prominent victim rights groups in Argentina. They formed in 1977 when a group of women began gathering in the central plaza of Buenos Aires weekly to demand that the Junta regime tell the truth about what happened to their disappeared sons and daughters. See, Bosco 2004, 383.

  6. There was a divide in the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, partially over responses to reparations. Some leaders were less confrontational over the issue and were of the opinion that individual families should be allowed to decide if they will receive reparations or not. See: Armstrong (2006) 12–13.

  7. ‘Beds are burning’ by Midnight Oil’ is a political song which raises the issue of aboriginal land rights.

  8. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was created by an Act of Parliament passed in September of 1991 whose purpose was to “guide the reconciliation process over the rest of the decade”. See, National Museum of Australia: Walk for Reconciliation. https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/walk-for-reconciliation

  9. The Mabo v Queensland [No. 2] High Court case in 1992 was a landmark case in regards to the land rights of Indigenous communities. The decision rejected the 18th concept of terra nullius (land belonging to nobody) which was used by colonialist to claim Australian land. The High Court decision also established the concept of ‘native title’. See: Crommelin, Prof. Michael: (1994) Mabo: The Decision and The Debate. In: Papers on Parliament https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~/~/link.aspx?_id=AD279BCE00DE41188423F1BBCE32E740&_z=z.

  10. This speech by then Prime Minister Keating is historically significant as it was the first time an Australian Prime Minister had acknowledged the prejudice, violence, and dispossession experienced by Aboriginal Australians. See: City of Sydney: (2018) The Legacy of Paul Keating’s Redfern speech. In: City of Sydney News https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/articles/the-legacy-of-paul-keatings-redfern-speech.

  11. In 2008, the National Indigenous Reform Agreement was approved by the Council of Australian Governments. This Agreement had six Closing the Gap targets which include: close the life expectancy gap within a generation, halve mortality rates of Indigenous children under within 10 years, ensure early childhood education access for 4-year-old Indigenous children in remote areas, halve literacy gap within 10 years, halve attainment gap for Indigenous year 12 students, and to halve the employment outcome gap for Indigenous Australians with 10 years. There has been a Closing the Gap Report tabled in Parliament every year since. See: Closing the Gap.: History of Closing the Gap. In: Closing the Gap https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/history.

  12. The three requirements under this Act are (a) Aboriginal ancestry, (b) self-identification, and (c) community recognition by members of the Aboriginal community. See Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 (Tas) s 3(1).

  13. The Forde Inquiry investigated the treatment of children in state institutions in Queensland that concluded in 1999. It made 42 recommendations at the conclusion of the inquiry, which included financial compensation to victims of abuse within these institutions. See: Commissions of Inquiry Order (No. 1) 1998.

  14. See: Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Cotton Field v. Mexico, November 16, 2009, preliminary objections, merits, reparations, and costs, para. 450.

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  1. Griffith Law School, Brisbane, SEQ, Australia

    Keziah Colsell & Olivera Simić

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  1. Keziah Colsell
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  2. Olivera Simić
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Wellington, Shahni Stolen Generations Survivors are dying without ever being compensated. In: ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019–02-17/stolen-generations-eileen-cummings-compensation-nt-aboriginal/10819830. Accessed 8 January 2021.

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Colsell, K., Simić, O. ‘It’s Not About the Money—Stop the Trauma’: Victims’ Responses to Reparations in Argentina and Australia. Hum Rights Rev 23, 163–181 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-021-00633-1

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