WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Hundreds of survivors of abuse in state, foster and faith-based care showed up at the New Zealand Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday, representing thousands of people each.

They came to hear the government formally apologize for the “unimaginable” horrors they suffered as children and vulnerable adults after a long-running investigation delivered its final report into the extent of abuse in July.

“You deserved so much better, and I’m very sorry that New Zealand couldn’t do better than you,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told them in Parliament hours later.

Many had custom printed t-shirts. Some used canes or wheelchairs because of the abuse they suffered in hospitals, institutions and nursing homes after being taken from their families. A few of these were familiar faces from decades of advocacy and campaigning and were mostly ignored until recent years. The public gallery at the New Zealand Parliament is small – seating fewer than 200 people – and a total of 500 people were selected to attend without voting.

Many were disappointed that details of financial compensation for their suffering were not released on Tuesday. Luxon promised that a compensation system “will be operational next year.”

Survivors described that day in their own words:

Tu Chapman, a survivor advising the investigation

“I feel alone and in complete despair right now as this government takes on the task of accepting survivors. As in our decades-long struggle, we are once again forced to affirm our experiences of care and our existence.

“We continue to live with the destruction of our identities, the rape and plunder of our cultures through incompetent decision-making, and deliberate moves to invalidate our experiences. The blatant and utter destruction of lives cannot be minimized or swept under the rug as the state, churches, and faith-based organizations have done for decades.

“I think this is a hollow and limited apology. It feels like they’re only thinking of things they can keep tinkering with. Stop fooling around and get on with your work.”

Helen Beauchamp, who lived in 20 foster homes from the age of 4

“In my files, when I was 4 years old, it was written ‘not smart enough’. My mother was in a hospital institution where her father put her when she was 12. So this is something that is passed down from generation to generation.

“Survival has been a rollercoaster and we still don’t have a picture of the outcome. It’s a shame that our system is so slow. That makes it really hard for most of us, we’re waiting for some closure, some light. It’s a long and tiring thing to keep enduring is a timeline.

“189 survivors of the vote were chosen to sit in the public gallery today and I was one of them, so I was pretty lucky in that regard. “Coming here is a broader and more meaningful way of apologizing to our children, to our own families.”

Jazmine Te Hiwi is one of the survivors of two camps for troubled youth

“Being accepted is the hardest part of being here. How do you accept it after being rejected for 40 years of your life? It almost feels like you’re being forced to accept the apology.”

“What really upsets me is that we still have people in high places who belittle us, they have no real understanding of why we are the way we are. There is a reason why some of our young people commit crimes. I see myself in that situation. We were innocent children who were taken advantage of.”

“When I hear about these young people getting into trouble, the only thing they’re looking for is some kind of attention, some kind of love. But no one sees this, especially these people. They think ‘the way to fix them is to send them to boot camp.’ But they did this to us. That’s why we’re here today. “It’s like it went in one ear and came out the other.”