Oranges and Sunshine

[first lines]

Margaret Humphreys:
So right now your baby needs to be safe, and you need a bit of support, don't you? I know you care, of course you do. But this will give you a chance to sort yourself out.

Margaret Humphreys:
[provided with a small dingy room] I'm afraid this won't do. I'm here to give somebody some really important news. They're going to remember this day for the rest of their lives. Can you show me something else?

Bureaucrat:
You say you're speaking as a mother. But please, take consolation your own family wasn't meddling with all this. I mean, how could you possibly understand the real circumstances of these unfortunate children. They were living in slums. They were children of truants and degenerates.

Orphan:
All day, in blazing heat, no rest, no water. I was nine years old, and I was lifting rocks the size of my upper body. And he's yelling at us, "you weak, weak pitiful sons of whores". We built Stations of the Cross, but who was crucified, huh? Tell me that.

Len:
I had to stop crying when I was eight, I don't know how to start now.

Nicky:
So what are you going to give all us for Christmas, Ben?

Ben:
I gave you my mum.

Nicky:
So you did. So you did, darling, and we love you for it.

[last lines]

CM:
To all those former child migrants and families. To those here with us today, and those across the world, to each and every one. I say today we are truly sorry. We are sorry that instead of caring for them, this country turned its back. We are sorry that the voices of these children were not always heard. Their cries for help not always heeded. And we are sorry that it has taken so long for this important day to come, and for the full and unconditional apology that is justly deserved. We cannot change history, but I believe that by confronting the failings of the past, we can show we are determined to do all we can to heal the wounds.