Schapellism – the new racism?

Cancelling holidays to Bali. Refusing to buy Indonesian products. Asserting they will never return to Indonesia. Insisting that they will never donate to another disaster appeal to aid Indonesia. Many Australians have chosen to show their support for Schapelle Corby by what could be seen as discriminating against the Indonesian people. Some argue that the national outrage over the Corby case means Australians are belittling Indonesia’s ability to conduct a fair trial. Others say the Bali boycotts are a form of positive support for Corby. Whether it is positive support for Corby or being racist the issue has been an important feature of the landmark trial.

Found last October with 4.1kg of marijuana in her body board bag at Denpasar airport after flying from Sydney, 27-year-old Queenslander Schapelle Corby has become a household name. Months down the track and after one of the most highly publicised court cases in Australian history, Corby is now in Kerobokan Prison in Denpasar, serving 20 years after the Indonesian court found her guilty of drug smuggling. The Corby trial has outraged and affected many Australians.

A recent Channel Nine poll showed 92 per cent of people to respond believe Corby is innocent – and in the lead-up to her trial, Australians rallied to help her in various ways. However, freelance journalist, youth worker and co-founder of the Darwin-based drug law-reform organisation, Network Against Prohibition Gary Meyerhoff has written about Corby’s trial and says many Australians are being racist. “I think the outrage is symptomatic of the inherent racism in Australian society,” Meyerhoff said. He said Australia was not in a position to comment on the workings of Indonesia’s court system. “Our own legal system is an absolute shambles, with more Australians incarcerated than ever before,” he said. “The Indonesian courts are… no more incompetent than Australian courts. No country has the right to interfere in another’s legal system.”

But others disagree that some Australians are being bigoted. The Bulletin journalist and Walkley Award winner Paul Toohey is one of them. His story “Busted” about the Corby trial graced the front page of the May 3 issue of the The Bulletin. “The death penalty exists in Indonesia for all people, whether they are pretty or ugly,” Toohey said. “However, part of the sympathy generated for Corby that comes from within Australia is because she’s pretty and white, no doubt. But particularly because people think she’s innocent.” Australians were entitled to comment on how other countries ran their justice systems.

Before the court delivered its final verdict, Corby’s cousin Melissa Younger organised a Support Schapelle fundraiser at the Claremont Hotel to cover the Corby family’s accommodation expenses in Bali. Younger visited her cousin in prison three weeks ago. Since then she has met many Corby supporters. “I have heard a lot of people saying that is Schapelle is found guilty, they won’t go back to Indonesia,” Younger said. “That’s up to people themselves. I love Indonesia myself – I think Bali’s a beautiful place and the Balinese people are beautiful.”

In the lead-up to the trial, a survey by travel industry electronic publication Travel Daily found 70 per cent of 180 travel agents said they would boycott promotion of Bali if Corby was found guilty. Nurse Kerri Green was at the Claremont Hotel Support Schapelle fundraiser. “A lot of nurses who would usually go over to Bali for their holidays are boycotting trips to Indonesia,” she said.

Corby support comes in various forms. Web designer Rebecca McGavin said she was touched by Corby’s story and wanted to help. She created a website that sells T-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and other merchandise bearing the logo “Free Schapelle” to raise funds for the Corby family’s visit to Indonesia. McGavin said many people had told her they were choosing to support Corby in ways other than buying merchandise. “Everyday Australians are outraged, putting off travel to Indonesia and telling me they won’t support Indonesia or its products,” McGavin said.

The outrage could mean the Australian public are belittling the ability of the Indonesians to conduct a fair court case.

“Of course there will be some people who don’t respect the Indonesian judicial system, but I would hope that the majority of Australians respect other cultures,” McGavin said. “The drug traffickers who put the drugs in Schapelle’s bag are the ones Australians should be directing their anger at, not the Indonesian people – who, after all, are just trying someone through their judicial system.”

McGavin said most people had a lack of understanding about their own court system, let alone the legal systems of other countries. “I am involved in a web-ring of other Schapelle supporters and we have made it very clear that we respect the Indonesian people and their legal system and mean no disrespect to Indonesia, their culture or their people,” she said. “We just want to get Schapelle out of prison for a crime we believe she did not commit.”

Some people say there is no discrimination in Australia at all in regards to the Corby case. Melbourne-based Alan Singer has been running a log on the internet based on Corby’s plight since March 16. His site, Headhunter, is visited by more than 1400 people per day. One of the latest entries consists of Singer’s reply to an inquiry from the Western Independent. When asked if he believes the public outrage in Australia over the Corby case is subconsciously linked to discrimination, Singer disagrees. “Australians are not a racist people by nature – we are not free of racism but our people and our culture are generally, inclusive, tolerant and accepting of other races,” he said. He said many people believe it was unfair that Corby has been sentenced when Australian tourists are a big source of income for Indonesia. “There are literally tens of thousands of people who have said they will now never travel to Bali or buy Indonesian goods, or donate to another “tsunami appeal” for aid to Indonesia,” he said.

Singer was concerned before the verdict that the public support for Corby could adversely affect the outcome. “There is a real risk that the wrong type of public outcry, that is offensive to Indonesia or judges, could potentially influence the outcome in a negative manner.”

Wisnu Nugroho is a US-based Indonesian man who posted an entry on Singer’s website regarding his latest comments on the Corby trial. In it Nugroho said he disagreed with Singer’s comment that Australians were not belittling the Indonesians’ ability to conduct a proper trial. “I can’t help but notice the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) hints of racism here, not to mention arrogance. The idea that we should abandon the procedures of our developing legal system just because Australians have ‘give so much’ is plain arrogant and offensive,” Nugroho said.

Founder of fundraising organisation Save Schapelle Corby Anthony Zorbas said many Australians said they would never again travel to Bali – not always purely out of support for Corby, but because of fear of finding themselves in her situation.

Many Australians do not fully understand that the Indonesian justice system is different from Australia’s. Media reports offer different explanations of the Indonesian judicial system that confuse the public. “I believe the Australian outrage has been generated by comparing the Indonesian system of law to the standards we hold in Australia,” Zorbas said. “In doing this, respect has been lost for Indonesia as a whole as it is viewed as an unfair system and a place of limited compassion for people in Schapelle’s situation.”

Ross Tyler is the WA chairman of the Australia-Indonesia Business Council and the former WA government regional director to Indonesia. He was framed for possessing drugs in a Pakistan hotel in 1974 by corrupt officials and drug peddlers. Innocent, he was lucky to be able to negotiate his way out of the situation and says he feels greatly for Corby.

Taylor says both Indonesians and Australians think the Indonesian legal system is not always adequate.

“The Dutch – after 300 years of rule – left the Indonesian people with a poorly constructed and inadequate legal framework from which to work,” Taylor said. “It’s only been in the past two to three years that the Indonesian judiciary has enjoyed some autonomy from government interference – something that Australia has lobbied for over many years. Now are people are demanding we ‘interfere’ in their court system to help Ms Corby. We are therefore in real danger of being seen as very inconsistent in our approach to Indonesia and this is what makes this case so diplomatically difficult.”

Taylor said that while there was a lack of understanding of the Indonesian court system in Australia, he did not think the uproar stemmed from racism: “We are not generally racists in Australia. Arrogant maybe, but not racist. I say arrogant because we are happy for our English-speaking courts to deal with poor Indonesian fishermen and to burn their boats for illegal fishing in our waters. Imagine if Indonesia put political pressure on Australia to go easy on these people. We would tell them to mind their own business – and that is what they are now telling us to do in the Corby case.”

But Rahma Amil, an Indonesian woman who runs a weblog with frequent documentation on the trial proceedings, says otherwise. “Australia is my favourite country after Indonesia, but when I read their comments on my site about the case I feel disappointed,” Amil said. “I think Australians are open-minded in general, but in this case they tend to spread their anger to all Indonesians. It’s not fair… Australia’s actions in boycotting Indonesian products is not the solution – it just makes the situation worse.”

Ray Edwards is a Queensland real estate agent who began an appeal to raise a $1 million reward for information that would lead to Corby’s freedom. When told some Indonesians found it hurtful that Australians were boycotting Indonesia, Edward retaliated. “You tell your Indonesian friends that if they think that’s hurtful you wait until you see how the Australians will react to the hurtful way his ilk have treated us,” Edwards said. He said the only evidence the Indonesian court had was that the drugs were found in Corby’s baggage. “I know that there are people saying that the Indonesian justice system must prevail, and whilst my heart says otherwise I realise that this is the sensible reality,” he said. “It is unfortunate that their justice system differs so much from ours.”

If the boycott of Indonesia continues, it is possible relationships between Australia and Indonesia will be affected. Taylor summarises it. “The stories about Corby and the Bali Nine are much more than just stories about smuggling drugs,” he said. “There is a lot riding on the outcomes of these cases. Either way we are all in for a bumpy ride over the next few weeks.”

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 1st June 2005 (Volume 3, no. 3)
Source: Western Independent (Australia)
Author: Maya Anderson
Address: GPO Box U1987 Perth 6845 Australia
Email: wi@curtin.edu.au
Website: http://smi.curtin.edu.au/journalism/WestInd.cfm