Postal rape

I understand the meaning of rape to be a "violation" of someone or something, but will stand to be corrected. Whatever the true meaning, I regard the opening of parcel mail, the deliberate misuse of the goods therein and theft as rape. When it is perpetrated and obviously condoned by a government institution such as the postal service, the crime becomes even more repugnant.

On Nov. 30, 1999, my mother-in-law, who is in her 80s, sent a parcel by mail from the United Kingdom to my wife here in Indonesia. It contained Christmas gifts of a Christmas card, a videotape, an audiotape and a manicure set. The parcel, within a clear plastic bag bearing the words "Pos Indonesia Bungkus Ulang" (Indonesian Post, repacked), arrived at my house on Feb. 22, 2000.

The parcel itself had been rifled through and the contents damaged. The videotape was a BBC production about an event which took place during the World War I; it had been viewed as it needed rewinding. The audiotape, which also needed rewinding, was my mother-in-law's private memoirs and contains personal anecdotes and thoughts of her life. The Christmas card had been torn from the envelope and viewed; the manicure set was stolen.

I am, of course, aware of the need to be vigilant when handling post, especially with the apparent trafficking of pornographic material and drugs by way of the post. But surely there is someone within these institutions that can, by now, cast a knowledgeable eye over what needs to be investigated and what does not.

My mother-in-law's personal life has been violated. I wonder what the perpetrators would think if I were to enter their mothers' homes, rummage through their belongings, read private papers and steal from them. They would be outraged and quite rightly so. I do hope they get to read this letter so they will then have an inkling of how my wife and I feel.

GARY SMITH

Jakarta