“Australia Attacked”. That was the esteemed Courier-Mail’s headline this morning to announce that 8 Indonesians were killed, 160 Indonesians were injured and one Australian was injured in Indonesia. A bomb went off in the Australian embassy. The Courier Mail seems more concerned about Australian buildings than Indonesian lives.
Many Australians responded with similar lack of concern for Indonesians in the wake of the Bali bombings. Despite the Indonesians being our closest neighbours, we don’t seem to care much about them. The Bali bombings that destroyed Indonesian businesses and families has constantly been portrayed in our media as an Australian tragedy. Very little has been said about the Indonesians. I’ve not seen any profiles on Indonesians affected by the tragedy. That is not to say that it wasn’t an Australian tragedy. Every life lost or affected by that gruesome attack is a tragedy. And it is senseless violence, which I deplore. But it amazes me how little we care about foreigners. Or at least specific foreigners. During the Olympics, Aussies were seen claiming any New Zealand medal as “practically one of ours”, yet rarely do we feel the same way about those in Indonesia. And perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised in a nation with an ageing population, a large proportion of our people lived comfortably with the White Australia Policy. And still do.
It is interesting to note the reactions of different nations that read down the side of the Jakarta Post:
Greece condemns Jakarta attack
Thais condemn Jakarta attack as Australians step up security
New Zealand appalled at Jakarta bomb blast
Australia says not intimidated by Jakarta blast
To see the Jakarta Post’s reports you can visit
http://www.thejakartapost.com/headlines.asp
Last week, one member of our Government commented following the horrible attack on that school in Russia that it demonstrated the need for Australia’s stance on terrorism to remain tough. So explain to me again how exactly is the Government’s “tough” stance on terrorism helping to prevent terrorism?
I find it hard to express my feelings of sadness for the people who have been affected by this blast. So instead I would simply like to echo the words of Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri:
"Let us condemn this incident that has taken the lives of innocents ... I also express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims,".