Protest March for an Apology in Parliament in England.

Protest Demonstration for Movement for an Adoption Apology at ‘Philomena’ premier,

Odeon Leicester Sq. October 16^th  2013

 

Some of you will know that a Green Party Conference about two years ago gave an overwhelming vote of agreement  to the motion, proposed by Jean Robertson-Molloy and seconded by Natalie Bennett,  for the Green Party to support the campaign by the Movement for an Adoption Apology .  We are  seeking a cross-party Parliamentary apology for past adoption practices.

 We intend to stand outside the Odeon cinema on the 16^th of October at the premier of the film ‘Philomena’ with placards demanding justice for the birth parents of the past ( many of us are still alive but getting older all the time).   Thousands of women of our generation, were pressured by the authorities into giving up our babies just because we were not married.  ‘Philomena ‘ which stars Steve Coogan and Judi Dench, is about a woman who lost her son to adoption in Ireland, and spent fifty years searching for him.

Since MAA started our campaign, we have received precious little attention from the powers that be.  We have written to every MP in Parliament and to lots of other people too, but most people just don’t want to know.  That includes both high-powered politicians and some well-known women who still find talking about it too shameful and embarrassing. 

What good would an apology do?  It would be an acknowledgement, a recognition, of what so many women suffered.  Many of us never had any more children and many suffered serious mental health problems for years afterwards.

An apology in Parliament, such as that given in March this year to Australian women by their premier Julia Gillard, would go a long way towards helping birth parents to feel acknowledged and able to speak out, instead of ashamed and scared to speak, even to close family and friends.

So we plan to gather asking for justice on that day , 16^th October. We want a large group of supporters to be outside the cinema waving their placards. 

Please get in touch with maanpn@gmail.com or phone

 Jean on 0208-882-7275 or Veronica on 01323-491417 if you would like to join us that day.    More details of what to wording to put on placards to follow.

Thanks Evelyn for the information. 

 ALAS  sends our good luck wishes to MAA .