The Bali Nine
Posted by the shadow at 04:54, 12 May 2007This is the story of eight men and one women who attempted to smuggle cocaine into Indonesia and the price they are to pay for being caught.
Because as I think Anthony North wrote, it is only a sin if you are found out.
For those of you who don't know about it, that is if you are not Australian, it would pay to find out, because not only are Australians in custody in Indonesia and other Asian countries facing the death sentence and life in prison, but many people from the US and Britain and I am sure other countries are represented there as well.The sentences for carrying and smuggling drugs are much higher there than in European countries.
I had my own opinions on this story but after reading One Way Ticket by Cindy Wockner and Madonna King, my opinions are now shaded with the facts.
On 17th April 2005 police at Garuda Airport arrested a number of people with cocaine strapped to their bodies and later arrested others who were charged with master-minding the crime.
To everyone's amazement this occurred only about 6 months after Schapelle Corby was sentenced to life imprisonment for trying to bring marihuana into the country.
Had they not learnt a lesson?
How stupied were they to go ahead with such a flagrant case of civil disobedience?
No one will ever know of course why people do what they do, but one factor in the case that is pointed out in the book struck me as very confusing.
Every single member of the Bali 9 as they came to be called, had at least one parent who loved them dearly.
This strikes me as very odd.
We are led to believe that it is the unloved, the indigent, the shabbily treated who commit these sort of crimes.
But no-where did I see any evidence of this sort of treatment for these young criminals.
Some went to private schools,some didn't, some appeared to be getting on with their lives, some were obviously struggling, but all of them had someone in their lives who loved them and whom they could love.
This is a very important factor.I know this from personal experience.
So I will never understand why they all chose to follow this path and on the part of the drug mules, for what I consider chicken-feed.
It would take a hell of a lot more money than $5000 for me to even consider smuggling drugs and everyone knows I think drug taking should be de-criminalised.
I am very sad that in the case of Scott Rush his life sentence was up-graded to a death sentence when he appealed which does happen in Indonesia.
Scott was a drug addict and had a number of convictions for theft.A warrant was issued for his arrest for his non-appearance in court on the day he left Australia.He had already decided the road he would follow.And it was his father who notified a friend who called the AFP that he was going to Bali.
The AFP already knew that there was a drug-smuggling ring operating out of Bali and even knew who some of them were, and I suppose it suited their purpose to allow Scott to continue to carry out the crime rather than stop him leaving the country as his father had asked.
I am not prepared to blame the AFP as others have,and as I did previously that they targeted Scott.Had Scott been stopped that time from leaving the country it appears with his record that he would have made another attempt another time.
My pity though is all for the parents.I abhor the death penalty and have worked for many years against it.I also abhor life imprisonment and believe in second chances.
I believe that with education these people could serve a useful purpose in the community.I am not advocating that they be released back into it, just that they be allowed to serve it.
I do not believe that the Indonesian Government will see fit to allow these Australians to work for society in payment for their crime,which means the death sentences will be carried out.
But I would ask them to re-consider on the grounds of the abject stupidity of the people concerned.
I would also like to beg the pardon of the Indonesian Government for the rudeness of the Australians in question when being dealt with in court.
When you are caught with pounds of powdered cocaine strapped to your body and photographs are taken and given to the media and you appear in court I think it is just too cute to say that you didn't know what you were carrying.
It is also rude and disparaging to the judges and court officials for you to say that you had no idea why you were in Bali.
If that were my child in that situation, I would be more ashamed of the attitude he had to the officials in Indonesia, implying that they had no idea of what a proper country was like, than I would have been of the crime itself.
I feel like saying....How dare you go to another country and embarrass me like that!
Yes I think Indonesian laws are harsh on drug traffickers but it isn't as if they don't let you know about them.Huge warnings are posted everywhere to tell tourists what awaits them if they are found with drugs or smuggling drugs.
Not only did these nine young people take the decision to smuggle drugs, their attitude to the court was one of contempt for those in whose country they had done the deed.
Asians are inherently polite, and these Australians showed them very plainly that Australians aren't.
Australians should appeal to their members of Parliament to force the Federal Government to ask for clemency for these young idiots.
Idiots who not only ruined their own lives, but took any chance of happiness away from their parents.
shadows
Bookmark/Search this post with
- the shadow's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Comments
12 February 2007
4 years 35 weeks
you said you got it as an undesirable, and were sentenced to a convent, why should some moron on the same mentality of creeps who do the jackass stunts get off with a slap on the wrist.
Indonesia could enforce sharia law if they felt like it, complete with whippings, toss them into fetid rat infested dungeons, the whole bit. If they don't do their penance, how will they learn?
I believe in love thy child, but I also believe in the idea after attaining age of reason, suggested by Acquinas as age 7, each child shall be held accountable for upholding the 10 Commandments. its up to the parents to ensure their kids get this moral, ethical training. These same 10 Commandments are the basis of legal systems all over the world, so blame it all on Moses, if you have to play the blame game.
I forgot you ain't Christian, so moral and ethical principles don't apply to gnostics, how un-thoughtful of me. how un-gnostic, how un-enlightened of me to suggest such a thing.
I go out from 'Consider the Source* and on this one Shadows yer ripping farts into a huuricane to stop it from blowing you away. It'll take more than you raising a stink to convince the Indonesians they are unfair.
24 June 2004
4 years 35 weeks
Jaako jaako jaako, what are we going to do with you?????
Indonesians have every right to enforce whatever law they want, and I have every right to tell them that I think their laws do not consider every person's right to life.
And I'll rip my farts where I want thank you.Mainly in bed and the dogs get up and leave the room.
shadows
12 February 2007
4 years 35 weeks
wouldn't it help to ignite them. Now, can that be considered cruelty to animals, when our cat rips one, we have to leave the house and air it out. Cats are stupid, they can't be trained like a dog can.
My bro-in-law did submarine duty in the navy as an officer, He told me the new equivalent to being keel-hauled if you know what that barbarity meant was to bust any sailor who forgot to burn his fart, down to no rank, with no pay and have to serve out his term of duty. A second infraction meant a court martial and brig time once that sub hit port. It took weeks to get a lingering fart eradicated on a sub due to high pressure oxygen system that recycled air and released pollutants thru pre-timed jettisons when they could snorkel replacement fresh air, that was 50 years ago, maybe things got better.
I made a serendipitous discovery as a result of yer last thread, yer tongue gets in front of yer eye tooth and you can't see what yer saying. Do I need to send you a better set of quadrifocals, 3 to see the type, the 4th to interpret it for ya.
I am 1 of 7 only kids my parents had. I say only children 'cuz ma said no 2 of us were alike. She had total control til the day she died age 78. My older brother was the token black sheep, it seems every family has someone who steps one toe over the line. Mom never gave up on him, she diapered him for 60 years til the day she died, he lasted til age 70.
Why did she do that you may ask, Her attitude was I brought him into the world its my job to control him. She was a better cop than my dad, who was one for 25 years. She laid down the law and we loved it. I don't know how I would have turned out if she didn't love us all like she did. My older brother worshipped the ground she walked even though he had difficulty staying away from the bottle. He took jobs that got him out of Dodge so that he could hit the sauce, but he always ran out of money and mom dried him out everytime he came back.
Why didn't she succeed in stopping his drinking you may ask, she did when he was around, but he was a true gnostic, things had to be his way, just like the way you post.
24 June 2004
4 years 35 weeks
I know them well.
Irish Catholic cops.I know them better.
Try and stay on the thread altho I know I segued.
Its MOthers Day today and I hope that the mothers of those people who constitute the Bali 9 take some little comfort from the fact that other mothers are out there thinking of them with love and sympathy.
You and the fathers of these people are all heros to my way of thinking, as you did not desert your children, you have stuck with them and will continue to do so.
shadows
1 May 2004
1 day 22 hours
.....the first three lines. That was enough for me. Cats are wiley and free. It takes trust and love to train a cat. When trained cats are great. All my cats I have had I trained. They sit when asked and leave when asked. Eat when told to, come when called and many other things dogs are known for. But it is free will on their part.
As far as the Baily nine go, like the Shapelle Corby thing, I will not enter debate on this. I don't believe we should take life as punishment but I do think the punishment should match the crime. Better to prevent the crime in the first place.
"While contemplating on their life, anyone who says they have no regrets and would do it all the same again, have not learn't anything."
LRF.
10 August 2004
21 hours 29 min
They behave as if they are trained because they love and respect you. A cat will only do what a cat wants to do - they are very much free spirits. They are extremely smart, that's why they usually have their owners (slaves) under their soft little paws! Even though she loves me, my cat has me totally under control at all times!
Regards, Kathrinn