Following
an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and
children of mixed marriages were gathered up by whites and taken to
settlements to be assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-winning
author Doris Pilkington traces the captivating story of her mother,
Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from her community in
Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement.
At the settlement, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were
forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their
aboriginal heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular
stays in solitary confinement, the three girls -- scared and homesick --
planned and executed a daring escape from the grim camp, with its harsh
life of padlocks, barred windows, and hard cold beds. The girls headed
for the nearby rabbit-proof fence that stretched over 1000 miles through
the desert toward their home. Their journey lasted over a month, and
they survived on everything from emus to feral cats, while narrowly
avoiding the police, professional trackers, and hostile white settlers.
Their story is a truly moving tale of defiance and resilience. Book
jacket.
