So , Mary Jane Veloso lives --- and that is
really a cause for celebration for the
entire Filipino nation. We all believe ( that includes me ) that she was a
victim of a powerful drug and human
trafficking syndicate . Her poverty and gullibility
made her a vulnerable prey .
Various factors --- like the surrender of Mary Jane’s recruiter , the
five-minute meeting between Pres. Aquino
and Pres. Joko Widodo , the need
for Indonesia to avert a
widespread condemnation --- contributed
to the stopping of the execution .
Technically , Mary Jane is not yet off the hook. A competent legal team
still has to prove her innocence . But
anyway , all the celebrations are justifiable. Right or wrong , she’s our
sister. Let us rejoice .
Indeed
, jubilation is everywhere : singing , dancing , hugging , street partying .
Social media now abound with expressions
such as “ Miracles do happen! ” and “ God is great ! ”. I believe that such
words and actions are genuine
expressions of gratitude.
However , I am not very
comfortable having such public celebrations amid the grief of others. Let us
remember that eight other convicts of
different nationalities were executed
through firing squad , a form of capital
punishment currently considered by many
countries as barbaric and cruel. All of them were found by the Indonesian
court guilty of drug trafficking .
Two of
them were Australian citizens : Andrew
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran . These two men spent ten years in Indonesian
prison before that execution. Australian
PM Tony Abbott and many of his countrymen insisted that the two had been rehabilitated during
their jail term. Abbott did not deny
that the two deserved to be punished --- but he also said that they did not
deserve to be meted out the death penalty because of the positive changes they
showed . Chan eventually became a Christian pastor in prison .( If he was simply trying to curry
favors with the Indonesian authorities ,
he would have converted to Islam . He did not . ) He bravely shared the message of Christianity inside the prison
of the biggest Muslim country in the world. On the other hand , Sukumaran opened a painting class for prisoners and shared his creative talent with them. In fact , he spent his last 72
hours painting.
Chan and Sukumaran
Let
us reflect : when the families of these people --- to whom mercy was denied --- read these things ( “ God answered our prayers
! ”, etc. ) and see the noisy revelry --- how would they feel ? Didn’t they pray as
well ? Didn’t they also cry for Divine intervention ? I believe they did . Maybe not as dramatically
and not as publicly as the Filipinos did , but I am sure , they did . Which mother , which father , which son ,
which friend --- would not pray for the life of their loved ones ? They also exhausted
all possible means to get clemency for their condemned relatives , but we all know that those efforts were
futile . To the Indonesian authorities , and to most of us ---- these eight
people were drug criminals . But to some others , these convicts were
sons , brothers , husbands and
friends .
Chan's and Sukumaran's Family Members
Mary Jane
was spared . For that , we should be grateful. But eight others were not. For
that , we should be considerate . Their families are in deep mourning and anguish . Their hearts and spirits are broken. Yes , let us celebrate
but let us do so with tact and respect
.
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