Comments on: Of honeymoons and polls

By: Paul Burns

Paul Burns — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:38:20 +0000

And below, that other boat at Merat, from an e-mail I just recieved. FYI.
PB.

Sarda

I have just spoken to Alex on the boat off Jakarta (Merak).

A 24 year old boy has collapsed with profuse diarrhea and vomiting. From what I could make out from here, and having seen lots of this in Sri Lnaka, I think he has typoid, cholera or bacillary dysentry. I gave instructions over the phone of how he should be resuscitate but this is all bullshit, he has to be put on a dextrose-saline drip NOW. Tomorrow might be too late. Even if he survives, you’d almost certainly find that his kidneys have shut down, because that’s the way things go in this game.

The Indonesian authorities have refused to see him today. This is just outrageous.

I called Amnesty International London, not once but twice. The brilliant girl at the desk put me through to the Sri Lankan desk, which sounds OK if there was someone at the desk!!! Not if there is a blasted recorded message. I asked that they call me at once. So far, and it is now 2 hours, Ive heard nothing, and it is right in the middle of the day for them. So they cannot be asleep (or rather should not be).

I called UNHCR, the Director of Legal Aid Jakarta, the Jesuit Refugee Services, and evyone except God himself.

The only fellow of any value was a guy called Bapak Fitri, who must have been impressed by me speaking to him in Bhasa Indonesia, since he warmed to me!!! He said he’d try and get some medical fellow on the boat asap (which in Indonesia (where I teach Medicine) means from 24 to 240 hours. I told Mr Bapak that he will be hearing from me again, and that he sure will do!! Actually, I must not be hard on the fellow, since he seemed a decent stick even if he is working in the Indonesian Immigration Department. He asked me to send him the name of the patient as a text message which, at my age, is Greek. So Madhuni, who has put thru some 20 calls to me in as many minutes on this issue, said that she will send the text message to Bapak as from me.

This is just bloody nonsense. We really have to get on the blower and call the media, Rudd, Stephen Smith, and all these jokers and ask them whether thy will arrange for one of us to go to Jakarta and see what the hell is going on, medically, I mean. The person who goes must know the difference between cholera and the flu.

I think we should call the BBC in London, ABC in Australia, send an sos to all the Tamil organizations eg Canadian Tamil Congress, those sleeping Tamils in New York, the GTF the British Tamils etc and ask them what they are doing.

Just for the record I called Amnesty International and asked to be put thru to the ‘Australia desk”. No reply. He/she has done walkies.. I called again and asked to be put through to the Indonesia desk. No he/she has gone walkies. I then called the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Hunan Rights. No he/she has gone walkies. Then I called UNHCR, not the most cooperative people on this planet. They did not bother to pick up the phone.

We (or rather Madhuni), has been at this game from 9pm to 11 pm.

Ive just (11.15pm) had a call. An ambulance has arrived at the Merak to take the boy to hospital. Well, all I can say is “Long Live the Indonesian Immigration Department, Bapak Merak, in particular. Ill track the fellow down when I next go creeping around Jakarta and give him a hug.

This is going to be repeated many times. That’s the name of the game when typoid, cholera, bacillary dysentry and enterophatic E Coli get going. So brace yourself for more

Brian Senewiratne

By: adrian

adrian — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:56:09 +0000

Geez Elise, if only the world was that simple, or simple minded.
Heard of empathy?

By: joe2

joe2 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:31:56 +0000

I agree with what you said originally @9, Elise, where you said you were a “lousy negotiator”. When communicating with desperate people the use of fear as a tactic is both morally wrong and likely to bring about dangerous and unintended consequences.

Your attempt at a personal analogy is just plain silly because that would be a criminal act. Making a claim for asylum because of fear of persecution is a totally different circumstance to car theft. No one, apart from hard hearted souls, would imagine the OV issue was one of hijack or boat stealing.

By: Elise

Elise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:56 +0000

Joe2 @14, not sadistic mate, just talking practicalities of negotiating with people who have taken over your property and are demanding that they get what they want.

Let’s make it personal. Let’s say several people take over your car, refuse to give it back for weeks on end, and say they will only give it back if you give them what they want. Sooo, you say that you won’t force them in any way, but you will offer them bribes of increasing value until they accept…

Strong negotiating position?

That was my point.

By: David Irving (no relation)

David Irving (no relation) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:07:17 +0000

is there anyone stupider than Julie Bishop?

Wilson Tuckey. It’s interesting (but probably not indicative of anything) that they’re both from WA (although, to my chagrin, Bishop was born and raised in SA).

By: grace pettigrew

grace pettigrew — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:53:40 +0000

The only time I saw Rudd take a backward step throughout this whole media circus re the Oceanic Viking (in which the ABC News Rooms and Fran Kelly in particular have really disgraced themselves) was last week when old RockFace Malcolm Fraser surfaced and said something mildly intelligent (as he usually does on race issues).

Fraser admonished the PM for trying to micro-manage the daily news cycle, remarked that the Opposition was making a mess of our foreign relations (is there anyone stupider than Julie Bishop?), and suggested that Rudd should just shut up and leave it to his ministers to manage.

Rudd instantly went quiet and the calm tones of Chris Evans took over on the airwaves. Smart play by Rudd and his strategists, I thought.

This issue is dead in the water now, and the Opposition will now have to start dealing with the serious business at hand, in the middle of the heatwave of the century – including those SA MPs who are getting really hot under the collar with Minchin and Bernardi.

By: David Irving (no relation)

David Irving (no relation) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:32:08 +0000

Paul Burns wrote, “After all any journalist worth their salt just has to read the document to check.”

I think I see the problem, Paul …

By: Ambigulous

Ambigulous — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:54:41 +0000

Yes, Paul Burns: that was interesting hearing the Minister gently chide Fran for making an unsound claim.

I note his placid demeanour, when all {the journos} around him are losing their cool.

And former ALP Govt figures would have been much more aggressive IMO…

RJL Hawke “Errrr, Fran, you ask me in to discuss this issue and you haven’t done your homework!! Are standards at the ABC really that low? Do you have a question based on something FACTUAL for me? Aaaargh…”

PJ Keating: “Now, really Fran! Are you joining those toads and stuffed shirts over at Rupert’s Rag??!! You’re not as dim as them, are you Fran? The document was tabled; even that pathetic Opposition up in Canberra have had time to read it – though you wonder sometimes if Barnaby can read, and the simpering Julie is probably too idle, I grant you – but you, Fran! Really. Next question?”

et cetera

By: joe2

joe2 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:38:27 +0000

CMMC@13 I am glad you mentioned that. They did everything they could do to undermine the economic recovery with injudicious commentary now they are doing their best to incorrectly advertise matters they pretend to have concerns about.

Tony Abbott: “Kevin Rudd’s policy is Australia by Christmas. If you’re a boat person, Kevin Rudd says Australia by Christmas, that’ll be the message that …etc”

By: JohnL

JohnL — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:21:47 +0000

This is the pointer on the ABC website under the heading “Troubled waters”
“The Oceanic Viking stand-off may be over but it has clearly left a bad taste in the mouths of many Indonesian officials”
Then the actual story says: “Next is the debate over whether the 10 women and children in the group are also in detention, or outside it, as Kevin Rudd says they are.
“The stand-off may be over but it has clearly left a bad taste in the mouths of many Indonesian officials, if not the country’s president.
“Indonesia’s top official dealing with the month-long saga, Dr Sujatmiko, says the asylum seekers and his government expect Australia to keep its promise to resettle them soon.
“’[The asylum seekers] are very glad to disembark from the vessel, hoping that Australia keep the promise to come to Australia,’ he said.
“’This is their expectation and Indonesian government expectation.
“’[They will go to] Australia, or other countries. We’ll come back to Australia to keep the promise. After the deadline, out from Indonesia.’”
Dr Sujatmiko is the only Indonesian official quoted. Basic journalism used to insist that if you wrote about many Indonesian officials, you justified it.
Dr Sujatmiko’s quotes about the eventual destination of the refugees are also ambivalent. At first the ABC quotes him as the refugees and Indoensia expect to go to Australia and then that they will go to Australia “or other countries”. ”
The story also indicates there is a “debate over whether the 10 women and children in the group are also in detention, or outside it, as Kevin Rudd says they are.”
Towards the end of the story, the justification for this claim is: “The Federal Government says there is a special arrangement for the 10 women and children among the 78 Sri Lankans, adding they will not be housed in the detention centre but in a facility nearby.
“Dr Sujatmiko says that while they had initially entered the detention centre, they would soon be transferred next door to a building called temporary holding room and canteen.
“’his is the request from Australia that we are going to treat women and children separately,’ he said.
“’We are going to give the children a much better place than [the detention centre]’.”
Now, that hardly seems to be a debate. Dr Sujatmiko said the women and children would be moved to a temporary holding room and canteen at Australia’s request “to treat women and children separately”.
All round, it’s sloppy and partisan journalism at the ABC, probably resulting from a continuing desire to justify the anti-Government line it took from the start of this issue.