[Lightstalkers] Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:57:09 +0000

> http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1713701,00.html

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:50:38 +0000

great work Lisa... congratulations!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:41:26 +0000

Really a great photo-story from our friend Lisa. Congrats and all the best wishes to her!!!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:50:43 +0000

Great pictures! Ruediger

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:58:26 +0000

Fantastic reflections Lisa, I know how dear this is to your heart and its wonderful you could be there at this historic event! BRAVO girl!!! Wonderful emotive shots! Kloie

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:01:56 +0000

nice one sistah! the beeb coverage of it last night dragged some pond-life out of the outback to say "we shouldn't be saying sorry, they should be thanking us for giving them an education and good christian values and getting them out of the bush etc etc etc." truly shameful... a lot of the worst crimes against the aboriginals was as much british as it was australian. if the aussies are apologizing, so should the brits. but instead, the bbc finds some racist thug and gives him airtime in the name of 'a balanced report'. a bit rich to my ears...

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:26:37 +0000

Nice one Hoggers!! Keep it up! :))

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:43:27 +0000

David - you don't have to scratch the surface very hard to find contrary opinion on this in Australia, and the BBC was definitely right to show it. The Far North is our Deep South. To be honest, there are a lot of people outside of the cities who (whether they say it openly or not) don't agree one bit. So much so that during the last election campaign, talk of reconciliation was kept to a very low hush by Labor, when you consider it was important enough to be at the top of their agenda and that they actually enacted it on the second sitting day of the new Parliament. Also, the very worst crimes against Aborigines were very much committed by the British, such as massacring almost every single one of them in Tasmania. A very savage era. "Check this out":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_of_Indigenous_Australians

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:02:45 +0000

very nice work indeed!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:48:27 +0000

Nice Job Sister L! :))).. funny, when i saw the story and speech on the CBC (Canada's BBC), I thought immediately: "DAMN LISA IS GONNA BE THRILLED AND I BET SHE'S THERE and maybe she kicked the PM into overdrive to get this done!" :))).. 12 Canoes sister, 12 Canoes :))) CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU and also to Aussie, let's hope language burns into life, not just speeches :))... cheers hugs b

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:04:31 +0000

But will they pay reparations for the lives they destroyed? Probably not. "Sorry about mucking up your life, mate, but apologies are one thing, but money's something else again."

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:21:44 +0000

Handing out cash is pretty stupid, it will just disappear in less than a generation, so before we all jump the gun, maybe it may be worthwhile to ask how that process should be tackled and enacted upon. Things will have to be sorted out on a society level, whether we Australians are willing to work on that level is another matter, somehow I doubt if we have the maturity or drive to do it at this stage, which is a real tragedy in this country. But one thing is that this is a milestone in Australia and has changed the country, Lisa has done a great job and thank you Lisa for all your efforts and concerns with our indigenous people over a very long period of time

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:57:43 +0000

Akaky - up until now all they have been doing is throwing money at it and this evidently solves nothing. Now that we've gotten rid of our conservative government which was utterly unwilling to go down this road, it's the first time we've ever had a chance to find some remedy. But God knows what comes next.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:00:22 +0000

Lisa, I found your images very moving, especially the use you made of glass which lent a poignant air of fragmentation so akin to identity issues. I had to remember Rabbit Proof Fence, a wonderful film I recommend to you all. These issues are very much alive, here in the Sierra Tarahumara where the struggle to maintain cultural traditions, language and native corn are paramount. Actually, the same could be said for most of Mexico. Successful community work and empowerment campaigns are necessarily slow and painstaking. The struggle is always how to move forward from the here and now toward something truly better, especially when the battle is so uneven and so uphill. Good on ya, Lisa.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:27:52 +0000

Nice job, lisa. Great photographs. Great story. Thanks for telling it!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:50:18 +0000

Great work, Lisa.... really feel the immense importance of the day in your pics... well done.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:57:03 +0000

Very happy that you could be there and record the moments. Lisa, did you ever see rabbit Proof Fence? Curious as to your thoughts, the 'making of' is really interesting, as the kids involved hadn't acted prior to the film. A synopsis: This is the true story of Molly Craig, a young black Australian girl who leads her younger sister and cousin in an escape from an official government camp, set up as part of an official government policy to train them as domestic workers and integrate them into white society. With grit and determination Molly guides the girls on an epic journey, one step ahead of the authorities, over 1,500 miles of Australia's outback in search of the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the continent and will lead them home. These three girls are part of what is referred to today as the 'Stolen Generations.'

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:25:41 +0000

Hey guys thanks so much for all your kind words. The slow and delicate process of real reconciliation is able to begin now and this is the most important aspect of this historic time. Thankyou all for taking the time to look, listen and learn. It is tremendously touching... PS I also work with one helluva Art Director Michelle Turcsanyi who really sweated blood on this one and made me look good!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:56:17 +0000

Lisa, still am getting the chills from your images and the story. This is truly a significant time. I'm glad, relieved and touched. Two words, "I'm Sorry," and a historic difference is made touching all of us on this planet. Now healing and reconciliation can proceed -- as it did in South Africa, in Germany.. now. when will the U.S. step forward and say, 'I'm Sorry," to the Native American genocide? This is overdue. and yes Erica.. Rabbit Proof Fence (getting the chills again) was gripping. I applaud you Lisa.. I applaud Australia. Time mag too!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:33:22 +0000

wade - you are absolutely right, i know there was huge opposition to this and if i had seen the same report on german tv (for example) it would have looked like an attempt at 'neutral reporting'. what i meant was that in the context of a gross lack of anything like a british apology, that particular interview looked a bit dodgy to me. because he was echoing a broadly held attitude in the uk that although french or spanish colonialism may have been very very bad, the great british empire (uniquely) did 'more good than harm'. people largely hold that era as a cause of pride instead of shame shame shame. so giving voice to it on the beeb sounded very different (to me at least) than it would have elsewhere... why is it that the americans and australians can apoligize to their native peoples, but the old world colonialists cannot - when they have so much more to apologize for?

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:00:29 +0000

'why is it that the americans and australians can apoligize to their native peoples, but the old world colonialists cannot?' i am not going to defend the actions of the british colonialists.i would like to point one fact out though.the british eventually returned the colonies to their rightful owners. i don't see the americans or the australians doing the same!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:07:07 +0000

David, I do not know that the U.S.governement has really ever apologized to Native Americans. Being part Native American myself, I do not recall an offering or reconciliation. In some tribal areas, stripping away of land rights and/or invasions of one kind or another still occur. In my view, the offering of an apology is a realization that harm was done and underscoring this, a commitment not to create the same harm?

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:20:54 +0000

Is that the dude from Midnight Oil in image 8?:))

Excellent job Lisa. You should be proud. Next round is on you.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:25:58 +0000

sorry ana elisa - i remembered that a resolution of apology was proposed to congress some years ago and confused it with the actual thing ... still waiting for that one.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:45:32 +0000

David - understood. Michael - do you suggest everyone packs up and moves back to Britain? Lots of the most spiritually significant land has been returned to Aboriginal ownership and there is a legal avenue being pursued every day of the week where further claims are being tested to hand over more. And the success rate will only improve now that Howard is gone. The British saling to Australia wasn't the problem. The reality the world over is colonial expansion happens mostly by force. The shame in Australia's history is not that we colonised the country, but how we dealt with Aborigines as we did it. We often killed them whether they posed a threat or not. And we made them our slaves, and we automatically assumed their society was inferior to ours because they didn't wear shirts.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:48:06 +0000

Jethro - yep, Peter Garrett. Lots of rhetoric during his musical career, not a lot of action since he joined the Parliament in 2004 though.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:54:59 +0000

'do you suggest everyone packs up and moves back to Britain?' i have no idea how you arrived at that conclusion from my words!

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:00:40 +0000

beautiful work Lisa. emotive issue. it's about time. well done you.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:29:20 +0000

_i have no idea how you arrived at that conclusion from my words_ From this part: "...the british eventually returned the colonies to their rightful owners. i donâ€™t see the americans or the australians doing the same!" I must have misunderstood you.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:19:41 +0000

wade, i can never tell whether you are just winding people up,imitating 'mr angry',talking bollocks or generally being a bit thick. in this case you are going for the full set,well done.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:30:38 +0000

good job, Lisa... keep rockin' I echo you, Aytac... clear thoughts....

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:26:03 +0000

Thanks Michael. You have a nice day.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:55:36 +0000

the British eventually returned the colonies to their rightful owners...... no just transferred the control to the descendants of those they placed in control of the colonies. Michael you are naive and extremely misinformed if you believe that the aboriginal population was given their land back by the British. Please inform us when this event occurred

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:10:22 +0000

Nice work Lisa! I came out of the Tasmanian bush after photographing tree-sitters, albino wallabies and devils to read this story last week - it's all the talk here! In fairness to Garrett, he seems to have been stuck in a bit of a political no mans land within the cabinet, which in effect is a bit like a muzzle. May be a bit out of his depth.

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:57:43 +0000

Great stuff, Lisa. I filmed some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa in the 90's, and really saw the power of saying "I'm sorry". I really felt some echoes here and it's really great that you could be there to cover this subject, which is clearly so close to your heart. Next time I'm in Sydney I'd like to buy you a beverage of your choice and salute you on a job done well, done with empathy and done with understanding. Tobie

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:18:22 +0000

Lisa ,many thanks .. great work surrounding an important moment when a country has the maturity and strength to recognise some of its bad history and move it towards a positive change. Jh

Re: Australia Says Sorry: Nice work Lisa Hogben

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:30:23 +0000

Hey guys thanks so very much for all of your comments. I would have gotten back to you much sooner but the week that the story was published was the week my darling mate Alan Dargin was admitted to hospital. Some of you may have known him but for those that didn't here is some information about him. http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/master-of-the-didge-and-mentor-to-thousands/2008/02/26/1203788342521.html and http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23294235-2702,00.html If anyone has any images of him I would really love it if I could get copies because I am going to put together a "Memento" book for his daughter Maddie Rose who is just eleven. I have been very upset 'cos he did a great deal to bring Aboriginal culture to the world, he was only 40 and he was my dear friend. Anyone that would like to make a donation to his Funeral Fund I can give the details of the bank account. He like many Aboriginal artists has made no money from his albums even though they are still being sold on the internet so we still have to pay for his funeral costs. Anyone that has information on who is selling his albums that could help me track them down I'd love to hear from you. Any money from the upcoming release of his new album and anything else we can find will go to Madds, who is his spitting image. (I am just downloading the shots of her I did on Saturday) Anyway thanks again everyone, I appreciate it greatly. UPDATE: We are planning on doing a booklet for his final album cover so if anyone has any images to contribute we will work something out. Cheers Lisa