I vaguely remember watching its movie adaptation at a teacher training program a decade or so ago. It was part of cultural exchange between the two countries. I had neither prior knowledge nor subtitles about the movie. The film looked gloomy and I wasn't quite interested.
For the past ten years, however, I've evolved into a person who is able to value diversity along with much better English proficiency.
The fence was built in southwest Australia in 1907 to keeep the rabbits out of the farmlands of white settlers.
It's an inspiring true story about three aboriginal girls' courage and determinition. The half-caste girls (aboriginal mom and white dad) were forcibly taken away from their families to a camp where mixed race children were educated. They escaped the prison-like place and walked to return to their home, following the fence which is about 2,000 kilometers long. They had to fight cold, hunger, and fear. Due to the oldest girl's wise decisions, they weren't caught by the trackers and eventually held in their moms' arms.
This story reminds me of the ordeal when my mom's generation had to endure under the Japanese colonial rule. Koreans were deprived of the Korean language and culture. We even had to change our names into Japanese ones. Linda Sue Park's book below is a good resource to learn more about what happened during the hard times. I hope Japan shows sincere penitence about their wrongdoings and cruelty and build a future-oriented relationship.
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