Child migration
Encyclopedia
Child migration is the migration of children, without their parents, to another country or region. In many cases this has involved the forced migration
of children in care, to be used as child labour.
Over 7000 children migrated to Australia under assisted child migration schemes
. The vast majority of children were migrated from the UK, with a small number from Malta. Child migrants were adopted or brought up in children's homes, institutions, orphanages or foster care. Many of these children experienced neglect
and abuse
while in institutional care.
In November 2009 Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd
formally apologized to "Forgotten Australians
" and child migrants on behalf of the nation. "Forgotten Australians" is a term the Australian Senate has used to describe children who were brought up in orphanages, children's homes, institutions or foster care in Australia. Child migrants are a specific group of "Forgotten Australians".
into European-Canadian society. The last residential school was closed in 1996. On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
apologized, on behalf of the sitting Cabinet
, in front of an audience of Aboriginal delegates, and in an address that was broadcast nationally on the CBC
, for the past governments' policies of assimilation.
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI
expressed his sorrow at "the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church" and offered his "sympathy and prayerful solidarity".
ed children to British settler colonies, to help alleviate the shortage of labour, began in England
in 1618, with the rounding-up and transportation of 100 vagrant
children to the Virginia Colony. Prior to the second half of the twentieth century, the Home Children programme was seen as a way to move impoverished children to a "better life" in Australia, Canada and elsewhere, also providing good "white stock" to former colonies. Unfortunately. the children and parents were not consulted, and often siblings were separated. In total 130,000 children were sent from the UK to Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) and Australia. Often children were lied to about their parents being dead and many faced abuse in their new homes.
In February 2010 British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
issued an official apology for the 'shameful' child resettlement programme and announced a £6 million fund designed to compensate the families affected by the "misguided" programme.
During World War II
some 3.5 million children were evacuated from areas at risk of aerial bombing to rural locations. (see Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
)
movement. Additionally Native American children were separated from their families & sent to boarding schools to force them into assimilating western culture.
Forced migration
Forced migration refers to the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region...
of children in care, to be used as child labour.
Australia
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Aboriginal Australian children were removed from their families and placed in institutions and foster homes, in what became known as the Stolen Generations.Over 7000 children migrated to Australia under assisted child migration schemes
Home children
Home Children is a common term used to refer to the child migration scheme founded by Annie MacPherson in 1869, under which more than 100,000 children were sent to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa from the United Kingdom....
. The vast majority of children were migrated from the UK, with a small number from Malta. Child migrants were adopted or brought up in children's homes, institutions, orphanages or foster care. Many of these children experienced neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
and abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
while in institutional care.
In November 2009 Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
formally apologized to "Forgotten Australians
Forgotten Australians
Forgotten Australians is a term applied to the more than 500,000 non-indigenous, child migrants and indigenous children who experienced care in institutions or outside a home setting during the 20th century. Many of these children were abused physically, emotionally, or sexually while in care...
" and child migrants on behalf of the nation. "Forgotten Australians" is a term the Australian Senate has used to describe children who were brought up in orphanages, children's homes, institutions or foster care in Australia. Child migrants are a specific group of "Forgotten Australians".
Canada
The Canadian Indian residential school system, founded in the 19th century, was intended to force the assimilation of the Aboriginal peoples in CanadaAboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
into European-Canadian society. The last residential school was closed in 1996. On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
apologized, on behalf of the sitting Cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
, in front of an audience of Aboriginal delegates, and in an address that was broadcast nationally on the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
, for the past governments' policies of assimilation.
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
expressed his sorrow at "the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church" and offered his "sympathy and prayerful solidarity".
Malta
310 children were emigrated from Malta to Australia between 1950 and 1965 under the ‘Child Migration to Australia Scheme’ following an agreement between the Australian Catholic Immigration committee and the Emigration and Labour Minister on 9 December 1949. Most of the Maltese children sent to Australia under this scheme came either from government orphanages or Church children’s homes and all were said to have left with their parents’ consent. The Australian government had offered to welcome Maltese boys, aged between eight and 11, and girls aged between five and 10 years into Catholic institutions and promised to offer them employment supervised by the responsible Catholic authorities. One of these children became a priest and many others embarked on a career though many grew up hurt knowing that their parents had consented to their departure from home. The Maltese emigrants were included in the Australian Prime Minister,s 2009 apology public apology to those who suffered abuse at the hands of their carers in institutions, orphanages and foster care.United Kingdom
The practice of sending poor or orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed children to British settler colonies, to help alleviate the shortage of labour, began in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1618, with the rounding-up and transportation of 100 vagrant
Vagrancy (people)
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
children to the Virginia Colony. Prior to the second half of the twentieth century, the Home Children programme was seen as a way to move impoverished children to a "better life" in Australia, Canada and elsewhere, also providing good "white stock" to former colonies. Unfortunately. the children and parents were not consulted, and often siblings were separated. In total 130,000 children were sent from the UK to Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) and Australia. Often children were lied to about their parents being dead and many faced abuse in their new homes.
In February 2010 British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
issued an official apology for the 'shameful' child resettlement programme and announced a £6 million fund designed to compensate the families affected by the "misguided" programme.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
some 3.5 million children were evacuated from areas at risk of aerial bombing to rural locations. (see Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
)
United States
During the 19th century there were a number of attempts to move children from crowded east coast cities to midwestern and western rural families & orphanages. Most famous was the orphan trainOrphan Train
The Orphan Train was a social experiment that transported children from crowded coastal cities of the United States to the country's Midwest for adoption. The orphan trains ran between 1854 and 1929, relocating an estimated 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children...
movement. Additionally Native American children were separated from their families & sent to boarding schools to force them into assimilating western culture.