Rabbit-Proof Fence

In Rabbit-Proof Fence, it is demonstrated how badly the Aboriginal people were treated. They were not given equal treatment as the white population in Australia and suffered from many injustices. Their land was destroyed, families were broken apart, and basic laws were disregarded when applied to the Aboriginal people. As white settlers expanded into Aboriginal lands, the land and property was confiscated. The "white people would take [their] land from [them]", which is a direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration states that all people have the right to own property, a right that was being denied to the the Aborigines. Furthermore, the white settlers would come into Aborigines land and take the children from their families and send them to special communities for half-caste children. This again violated policies in the United Nations' Declaration, which stated that all people have a freedom from interference with privacy, family, home, and correspondence. By taking children from their families, the white settlers were not violating laws that had been established. Finally, the white people would accuse the Aborigines of crimes, such as stealing sheep for necessary food, and then send them to penal colonies as a result of the "misdeeds" that they were doing. The Aborigines were put on trial under English law, which limited their right to a fair trial. Again, the white settlers were in violation of the United Nations Policy in the fact that they denied equality before the law, freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile, and the right to remain innocent until proven guilty. The white settlers proved that they had no conscience when dealing with the Aborigines, dealing injustice after injustice to the people.

The "civilizing" of Australia had similarities to events that happened in the history of the United States. In Australia, the white people expanded throughout the country, civilizing colonies and displacing the native peoples that had already been living there. A similar event happened regarding the Native Americans in the United States. As Americans over-populated the east coast of the country, they soon developed a new found desire to spread as far west as they possibly could, inhabiting territory along the way (Manifest Destiny). As American settlers did this, they expelled Native American tribes from their homelands as a way to benefit no one other than themselves. This mirrors the events that were occurring in Australia. The white settlers in Australia were continually expanding throughout the country, seizing the natives' land and resources and displacing them from their traditional homes. The injustices that were done to both the Native Americans as well as the Aborigines people of Australia had many similarities in that both native tribes were treated unfairly and forced to adapt to completely new lifestyles.

The actions of the Australian government to relocate children of mixed descent were not morally justified in the "civilizing" of Australia. The government issued a policy that stated that children that were "half-caste" were to be taken from their native families and sent to special colonies to live with other children of mixed heritage. These actions were not justified morally by any means. Multiple rights, freedoms, and laws of moral conduct were violated when the government elected to start a policy that broke apart families and moved them hundreds of miles from each other. The government thought that they were doing good by moving these children to new areas to provide for a "better" lifestyle and a more productive future. On the contrary, the government did much more harm than good in their establishment of this law. Families were destroyed, laws were violated, and sorrow swept over tribes that had to endure the loss of family. By relocating children of mixed descent the Australian government tore apart and scarred an entire generation of Aborigines children. This not only caused the families to be distraught beyond imagine; it caused an entire generation of these tribes to be destroyed.