Still Waters Despite Stormy Weather

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/18/your-letters-the-media-isn-t-always-mirror-society.html

My phone rang. I was too busy preparing my course material that I ignored the noisy sound. It beeped with text message. Finishing packing, I read the still glowing text from my brother "Hey, are you OK? They just executed the duo Bali Nine this morning. Just be careful, Ok!"

My heart raced. I immediately switched on the local news channel. Australia's response to the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran has been swift and unprecedented. It caught me off guard that I just realized the state I was in, being in the country where the two drug offenders came from. I had mixed feelings that made me jittery and clammy. It gave me goose bumps.

The way the local Medias framed their articles and coverage on the case days and nights seemed way too emotional and reactionary. They disproportionately paraded the agonizing and excruciating wait of the two families’ to touch the heart strings of their viewers. With due respect, it’s too much to see such raw exploitation.

Then, politicians jumped in to offer sympathy, commentary or just condemnation in an apparent move to win the hearts of the potential future voters. There’s even a hint to immortalize the drama by naming a certain scholarship under the two convicts’ names. It made me think whether the case has been turned into political commodity which distorted the basic issue of the abolishment of the so called inhuman capital punishment. Some colleagues of mine who have been studying in Australia even labeled them as "lebay" (adj. has the quality of being excessive).

What’s more, It's rather odd to think that the Australian Government is considering cutting its aid to Indonesia this year. It's like a déjàvu all over again. Remembering the statement fumed by Minister Abbot related to the Australia's previous humanitarian aid to Aceh which drew ire of Indonesian citizens. It’s a shared universal value that any humanitarian assistance should be without any strings attached.

Surprisingly, in spite of this stormy weather, I saw still waters in the Melbourne’s urban community at large.

As I joined my class, it’s quite unexpected to see this ‘unaffected’ classroom. The brouhaha failed to infect respectful Australian citizens neither in my class nor people on the streets. No one actually raised this issue. No staged protests and public outrage displayed on the streets. Everything seemed to run normal as business as usual.

Being the only Indonesians in the class, we felt vulnerable yet we met no significant intrusion due to the case. Nor we suffered any growing sentiments among our fellow Australian classmates. Instead, when we went to Sydney afterwards, we met a group of students who held fund raising for victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal on our way back to the hotel.

What's on the news seemed did not mirror the factual atmosphere in the society at large. In fact, we encountered people who were so helpful despite our nationality. Yet, we kept our guard on and extra cautious just in case.

As for the death penalty, I have conflicting opinions. For grim brutal and heinous crimes such as sadistic mass murder or serial killers, I would say I support capital punishment. I would feel so unsafe knowing that such sadistic killers would only be locked somewhere without the presence of capital punishment. What about the feelings of families of the victims who pursue justice for their loved ones? And I've never heard of sadistic serial killers could reform themselves as the sickness is innate, plaguing the souls.

As for drug dealers, I should take into consideration the feelings of the families of the victims of the addictive substances as well. Drug traffickers bring misery and harms to society. They import deaths and ceaseless social problems. It just seems inappropriate to portray them as martyrs and heroes.

However, I believe in second chances as well. When former convicts expressed repents and reformed themselves for the greater good of the people by helping others and serving community services with good will and faith while they are waiting for the death penalty, it seems a waste of good asset to kill them. A lifetime sentence without any parole might be suit better so that these reformed convicts might continue their services.

In dealing with drug problem, first and foremost the government should focus on education and treatment. Drug users/addicts (victims) can be sentenced to community work or send to a rehabilitation program rather than prison. While, the drug traffickers should be given harsher sanction depending on the scale of their crimes that mirror the weight of their destruction toward the community including capital punishment if the offenders keep repeating their same illegal activities and bring massive harms to the society at large.

Last not least, it is imperative to enforce the law and apply equality before it. Whoever breaks the law, including engaging in drug trafficking, should be punished regardless of their status, creed, or wealth.