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Apr. 27, 2005 Lately I have been watching the unfolding drama in relation to the Bali nine. For those of you unfamiliar with these people, they are Australian’s who, through a combined investigation with Balinese and Australian officials, have been arrested for drug smuggling in Bali. And I must say that I am amazed at the responses from the Australian public. These people have been arrested trying to smuggle a substantial amount of illegal drugs through Bali customs and into Australia, but people believe that they should not have been arrested in Bali. Why? Because Bali has tougher laws than Australia? Because these people may now face death instead of prison? So what! These people have gone to a foreign country and willingly broken the law, they do not deserve any special treatment just because they are Australian. If they are stupid enough to break the law in the first place then they deserve to be caught and punished as the authorities see fit. Now before you begin ranting and raving over my point of view and opinion place yourself in the following position. The Bali nine have not been arrested, they have in fact delivered their drugs to their contacts and been paid their dirty money. These drugs are divided up and distributed to sellers nationwide. One night in a dark alley, a man stands conducting a transaction with a fifteen year old. The teenager hands over several hundred dollars and takes a small packet from the stranger and leaves. Several hours later there is a knock at a door, you drag yourself out of bed and open the door angrily. Standing there are two policemen who have come to tell you that your fifteen year old is dead from a drug overdose. What do you do? Do you sit there and go “Oh well, at least the drug traffickers weren’t caught and put to death in a foreign country and my child has been able to die,” or do you go searching for blood and wish they were dead? If you can sit there and in your heart of hearts tell me that you would rather these people have gotten into Australia then by all means rant away, but if there is the slightest doubt in your heart then be quiet and let the authorities handle this as they see fit. Yes there is the possibility that the nine would have been picked up in Australia, but there is a lot of time in a plane between Bali and Australia where the drugs could have been “lost”. I for one am glad that they got caught, perhaps their predicament will serve as a warning to others not to do something so stupid. Then again maybe not, after all money is a big incentive in cases like these. Then there is always the argument of what if it was your child? I have a daughter and I can only hope to God that she will not be this stupid. But in the event that she ever is then I will be there to support her. However, I will not be there to try and lobby for her release for a sentence that has been imposed by a foreign government or even our own. These people are intelligent individuals with the ability to make their own decisions. They chose to get on a plane to Bali, they chose to stay at a hotel, and most importantly they chose to carry drugs in a country that makes no secret about imposing the death penalty. Was it the wrong decision? Yes. But it was their decision nonetheless. These people and everyone else needs to accept the fact these decisions have led to consequences. They may not be consequences that we necessarily agree with, but we do not have the right to tell another government how to run their country. At least Bali is being proactive with the drug problem when we are doing nothing more than giving people a slap of the wrist and letting them offend again and again. ------------ Email Anthony O'Meara: thewritingking@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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