The forgotten victims

[... the pain of the victim]

When the Royal Commission delivered its findings
and the National Redress Scheme was established
the nation heaved a sigh of relief.....

"Those poor victims.... society is doing
something for them."   The nation felt good....
It's part was done. It's conscience cleared.

But few people gave a thought
to the role that the victim must play
in this whitewashing exercise....

Oh why.... why didn't they just leave us alone?

The victim must claim....
they must state in great detail
the nature of the injustices they endured
a lifetime ago.....
and this in itself is a ghastly experience.
To relive the abuses....
to stir up the emotional damage done...
Few people understand what that is like.

Oh why.... why didn't they just leave us alone?

To a certain extent the damage had been
covered with a thick scab....
Daily life could sometimes be ok....
.... but now the wound has been opened
and it's bleeding again....
Daily life is so much harder.....

Oh why.... why didn't they just leave us alone?

..... and then.... after all that prodding and poking
      .... stirring the pain....
they have the gall to prolong the decision process.
Taking months and months to decide an issue
that causes such pain to the victims.....
.... and to hide the process behind a cloak
of bureaucratic secrecy....

Oh why.... why didn't they just leave us alone?

© Ian Croft June 2019