Our hearts go out to Corby

Our hearts go out to Corby

Our hearts go out to Schapelle Corby, the Australian sentenced
to 20 years in an Indonesian jail for drug trafficking. Who
among us does not feel grieved by the ordeal she is facing? I
myself, however, am even more concerned about the reaction of
"fair-minded, clear-thinking Australians" like Kevin Taylor whose
letter to the Indonesian people appeared in the May 27 issue of
The Jakarta Post.

Is the Indonesian verdict really so out of line, as
many Australians claim? Had Corby been flying to Bangkok or Kuala
Lumpur instead of Bali, wouldn't she be facing the firing squad
right now instead of a 20 year jail sentence?

If Corby was the innocent victim of an Australian baggage
handler's drug smuggling enterprise, as Taylor suggests, why are
Australians focusing their rage on the Indonesian judicial
system? If there was a discrepancy between the weight of Corby's
luggage when she checked in and when she arrived at Denpasar,
accused of smuggling 4.1 kg of drugs into Bali, what are
Australians doing to catch those guilty of such a heinous crime
against one of their own citizens?

What would have happened if the situation had been reversed
and an Indonesian woman had been caught with drugs in her baggage
in Sydney? Would the Australian court have been as lenient as the
Indonesian court has been with Corby? Were traditional Indonesian
fishermen, who lack modern navigational equipment, treated justly
when Australian authorities capsized or burned their boats and
left at least one to die in Darwin?

How sympathetic can we expect Indonesians to be about Corby's
case when Indonesian citizens are treated so harshly "down
under"? What can we say about Corby's "fair-minded and clear-
thinking" countrymen who called into radio talk shows saying they
regretted having made donations to the Indonesian tsunami
victims? What does that have to do with the case? And would it
not be as detrimental to Australia as it would be to Indonesia if
Australians boycott Bali (their favorite backyard playground) and
all Indonesian goods?

We can understand how such comments and threats might be made
in the heat of the moment, but in the long-term we would hope for
a more rational reaction from "fair-minded, clear-thinking
Australians".

Let's take a more positive position by supporting those
defending Corby and battle this case through the system. Let's
leave the case to the Australian lawyers being sent to Corby's
aid and trust that justice will be served.

ROSELLA M. KAMEO, Salatiga, Central Java