The Fight Against Imperialist Child Stealing: From Australia to Ukraine
Bob Gould, The Stolen Generations, and Russia's Genocide
Bob Gould was a prominent figure on the Australian Left, known for his sharp critiques of historical revisionism and his advocacy for Indigenous rights, until his death in 2011. Convinced by Trotskyism in the late 50s, he became a central leader of the Australian section of the Fourth International, the International Marxist League. Despite separating from the Australian section over his commitment to the Australian labour party, he remained an anti-Stalinist Marxist. His writings, such as "Fabricating history on the colonial frontier in Australia" and "Indigenous Rights and Australian Racism," strongly condemned the historical forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, policies often referred to as the "Stolen Generations." Gould viewed these policies and the broader history of colonial conquest as rooted in imperialism and racism, involving techniques that he argued constituted genocide.
Decades after the peak of Australia's forced removal policies, the world is witnessing accusations of strikingly similar actions in Ukraine, where Russia stands accused of forcibly transferring and adopting Ukrainian children into Russian families. Like the Australian experience Gould documented, this contemporary crisis is framed by campaigners as a calculated strategy of cultural destruction, assimilation, and imperialism, bearing characteristics of genocide.
Australia's Stolen Generations and Bob Gould's Stand
The "Stolen Generations" refers specifically to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families by government agencies and church missions,1 often under acts of parliament, with assimilation as a key goal. While these removals began in the mid-1800s, the peak of forced adoptions occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, with the peak year for adoptions overall being 1971-72. The period of forced removal is broadly considered to have taken place between approximately 1910 and the 1970s.
Bob Gould vigorously campaigned against historical revisionists, notably Keith Windschuttle and P.P. McGuiness, who he argued attempted to deny or downplay the magnitude of atrocities against Indigenous Australians, including challenging the proposition that there was a stolen generation of Aboriginal children. Gould saw this revisionism as part of a "wide-ranging neoconservative attack on leftism and liberalism" and a defence of British imperialism. He cited extensive historical evidence and scholarly work, such as Anna Haebich's book Broken Circles, Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, as a "systematic and total refutation" of the revisionist thesis that there were no generations of stolen children or that removals were "for their own good."
Gould highlighted that the forced removal and assimilation policy was indeed a matter of state policy, citing figures like Auber Octavius Neville, a powerful Protector of Aborigines in Western Australia, who advocated for "breeding the colour out" through family break-up and assimilation. He noted the 1937 Conference of Protectors resolution recommending the ultimate absorption of those of Aboriginal origin, but not of the full-blood, into the Commonwealth population. The policy was also influenced by views prevalent at the time, some of which were associated with anthropologist T.G. Strehlow, that mixed-blood people were "degenerate" and "not authentic Aboriginals," leading to the state project of stealing mixed-blood children. Gould estimated that over the past 150 years, nearly 50,000 Aboriginal or mixed-race children were stolen. He asserted that the Stolen Children issue "sharply embodies the brutal history and the unacknowledged guilt of white racism in Australia," and that the problems faced by Aboriginal society were products of the "imperialist British conquest."
Ukraine's Stolen Children: A Contemporary Crisis
Since Russia's invasion, Ukrainian children have reportedly been at the centre of a "calculated genocidal strategy aimed at destroying Ukraine’s future as a nation." Since the war began in 2014 and escalated in 2022, an estimated 1.6 million Ukrainian children have been affected. Ukrainian authorities documented 19,546 cases of forced abduction in the early months of the full-scale invasion, though some Russian statements suggest over 700,000 Ukrainian children have been relocated to Russia.
Campaigners describe Russia's actions as "forcibly transferring" or "forcibly kidnapping" children, giving them Russian citizenship, and "forcibly adopting them into Russian families." This process involves systematically erasing their citizenship, identity, and familial ties. The methods employed include indoctrination and ethnic cleansing through overhauling education, rewriting history, and replacing Ukrainian materials. Boys as young as 12 are reportedly subjected to militarisation, sent to military academies and trained to fight against Ukraine. Altering names and birthdates makes children vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation within Russia.
These actions are widely condemned as a "barbaric war crime," blatant breaches of international humanitarian law, specifically the Geneva Conventions, and classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Targeting children is seen as exhibiting "genocidal intent," aimed at erasing Ukraine's cultural identity and undermining its sovereignty. The strategy is also linked to Russia's declining birth rate and aging population, suggesting a demographic motivation that is "eerily reminiscent of colonial practices."
International campaigns are actively working to address this crisis, demanding action to bring the children home. Events like the "Justice for Ukraine – Bring the Stolen Children Home" demonstration in Dublin and the "March for the Children of Ukraine" in London involve various groups, including the Irish Left With Ukraine, the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, and trade unions. These campaigns explicitly frame the issue as a fight against Russian imperialism.
Similarities and Differences: Imperialism, Assimilation, Genocide
The historical experience of Australia's Stolen Generations and the current crisis of Ukrainian children removed by Russia share striking similarities rooted in imperialist dynamics and policies aimed at cultural destruction. In both cases, a dominant power has removed children from their families and cultural environments. A central goal, explicitly stated or clearly implied, has been the assimilation of these children into the culture of the dominant power, thereby severing their connection to their original heritage. Both situations have been described by critics and campaigners as having characteristics of genocide, aiming to destroy a national or cultural group by targeting its future generation. Both are seen as direct outcomes of imperialist ambition and conquest. Justifications, such as the spurious claim of acting "for their own good" in Australia or addressing demographic needs and destroying Ukraine's future in Russia, have been offered to legitimise these actions.
However, there are differences. The Australian policy was a long-standing, systemic state practice carried out over many decades, whereas the Ukrainian removals are a mass abduction happening within the context of an ongoing war and occupation, particularly escalating since 2022. While assimilation into white society was the goal in Australia, the aim in Ukraine involves not only assimilation into Russian society but also militarisation and potentially addressing Russia's demographic decline. Furthermore, the actions in Ukraine are being contemporaneously condemned under specific international legal frameworks, including war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, whereas the classification of Australia's Stolen Generations as genocide or racial engineering has largely been a later historical and legal assessment.
Anticipating Russian Revisionism
Based on the historical experience of confronting revisionism regarding atrocities against Indigenous Australians, as documented by Bob Gould, campaigners for Ukrainian children can likely anticipate similar patterns of denial and deflection from Russia and its supporters. Gould detailed how figures like Keith Windschuttle and P.P. McGuiness attempted to deny the scale of massacres and the existence of the Stolen Generations.
Likely Russian responses might include:
Denial or Downplaying: Accusations that the numbers of removed children are exaggerated, similar to Windschuttle challenging estimates of Aboriginal deaths or the numbers of stolen children. Russian officials have already provided figures that differ significantly from Ukrainian estimates.
Justification: Claims that the removals are for the children's safety, welfare, or "own good," echoing the historical Australian justification.
Questioning Motivations: Attempting to discredit witnesses, campaigners, or organisations, perhaps suggesting they are politically motivated, fabricating accounts, or exaggerating the situation for their own purposes, akin to Windschuttle's critique of missionaries or historians.
Legalistic Deflections: Insisting on narrow, perhaps impossible-to-meet, standards of proof to dismiss accounts, much like Windschuttle's insistence on the criminal standard of proof for historical events.
Attacks on Critics: Accusing those raising concerns of bias, prejudice, or being part of a conspiracy against Russia, mirroring the personal and ideological attacks Gould documented against historians and activists in Australia.
Claims of Lawfulness/Civilisation: Asserting that their actions are legally sound, morally justifiable, or part of a civilising mission, reminiscent of Windschuttle's defence of British conquest based on law, morality, and Christian values.
Just as Bob Gould saw the Australian revisionism as part of a broader ideological agenda, campaigners for Ukrainian children may see Russian denials as integral to their broader political and imperial goals (Of course these are not the revisionists only arguments: I’ve heard one Putin-loving ‘socialist’ simply claim that these children are Russian).
Gould's Legacy and the Continuing Struggle
Bob Gould's extensive work in documenting and critiquing the historical injustices faced by Indigenous Australians, particularly the Stolen Generations and frontier massacres, underscores the importance of confronting uncomfortable historical truths and challenging attempts to whitewash the past. His political perspective was firmly rooted in the Left, characterised by a strong anti-imperialist stance and a commitment to social justice.
The current campaigns to bring Ukrainian children home are also being taken up by groups and individuals identified with the Left, including those explicitly organising under banners like "Irish Left With Ukraine" and involving trade unions. This reflects a continuing historical thread where groups on the Left challenge state power and expose injustices rooted in imperialism and the oppression of national or cultural groups. Gould's fight against the denial of the Stolen Generations and the broader history of colonial violence serves as a powerful precedent for the necessary vigilance and persistent activism required when confronting state-sponsored actions that target children for cultural or demographic ends.
The comparison between these two historical moments, separated by time and geography, highlights the enduring nature of imperialist strategies and the consistent need for solidarity and action to defend the rights of the vulnerable against those who would erase their identities and futures. Gould's legacy encourages confronting difficult truths and standing in solidarity with those whose histories and present experiences are under attack.