Two Boys;Two Countries..and Two Law Courts......


This week two boys will face
court on criminal charges.

The two boys don't even know
each other, but the treatment of one boy will make you feel ill when you
consider the treatment of his 'friend' who is in an even worse
situation.

The first boy is from
Australia. He is from 'a nice suburb' according to our foreign minister,
and 'plays footy'. He is also an Australian and he is white. He is also about to
become rich.

He is being held in Bali
after been allegedly found to be in possession of drugs whilst on holidays with
his parents.

The Indonesian authorities
have kept him out of the notorious Kerobokan Prison and he has enjoyed meals of
KFC as Australia negotiates for his release and return home. The
Australian PM called the boy personally to assure him that Australia was 'doing
everything possible to get him sent home'.

His parents have (according
to reports) now negotiated a $300,000 deal to tell the boys story to an
Australian TV network.

The second boy is named Ali
Roni. (We can name him because the Australian authorities refuse to accept that
he is a child). He is not from a 'nice suburb'. In fact Ali is from a poor
village in Sulawesi. Ali also 'plays' footy using an old can and a back street
made of mud. He is Indonesian; he is brown and he is a Muslim.

The Australian authorities
have 'dumped' Ali in a maximum security adult prison in WA for almost two years
without prosecution. Ali was 14 when he was apprehended whilst working on an
asylum-seeker boat as a deckhand.

Ali doesn't get any special
treatment. He has still not had his case determined, and he mixes with hardened
criminals. His parents have never spoke to him yet alone done a deal to tell his
story to an Indonesian TV Network. He has never heard from his
President.

The two boys will face their
respective courts on the same week. But that is the only thing they have in
common.

Why such different
treatment?

It is sickening to see the
double-standards and hypocrisy involved in these two cases.

The only comfort Ali can
take from this shocking situation is that he has 49 'mates' - all children -
also locked up in Australian adult prisons. And no one cares.

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