#istandformercy

By 2020, 10% of global resources expended on drug policies should be invested in public health and harm reduction.

I love mothers. Keep hope alive

The idea of identity in place plays a major role in the two locations that the incident took place Indonesia and Australia. Both being very different to each other from laws,  culture,  religion and population.   The part which gets to me most deeply is the word "Mercy" which was repeatedly used throughout the days leading up to the execution. "I stand for Mercy" being a statement used to tell the people everyone deserves a second chance and forgiveness plays a big role. Im a muslim, and  a strong part of it is the idea of mercy "Be merciful to those on the earth, so the One above the heavens will be merciful to you." [At-Tabarani and al-Hakim with a sahih (authentic) chain] http://mercycampaign.org/

Through my journey of finding the idea of identity in place, I came across many things that i felt would help develop what I really want to understand and explore. From the initial idea of looking at gloves and fingerprints to looking at war and current issues that relate to the idea of identity. "Place identity is a core concept in the field of environmental psychology which proposes that identities form in relation to environments." "place identity is a sub-structure of a person’s self-identity, and consists of knowledge and feelings developed through everyday experiences of physical spaces. A sense of place identity derives from the multiple ways in which place functions to provide a sense of belonging, construct meaning, foster attachments, and mediate change. The place identity of a person can inform their experiences, behaviours, and attitudes about other places. Place identity is a versatile concept upon which many psychological theories of human–environment relations are built." (Harold M. Proshansky, Abbe K. Fabian, and Robert Kaminoff) Through looking at things that I felt would work well and I have a strong opinion on, I decided to do my project around the "Bali 9" situation and focusing on the two Australians that have been executed for drug trafficking in Indonesian. This issue hits home the most because of many things that revolve around the people that were involved. Such as Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan being both in there 20s when they got convicted, also "Sukumaran and Chan were the first Australians to be sentenced to death in Indonesia, and the first death sentences given by the Bali court. Their many appeals were rejected over the years and they stayed on in Bali's Kerobokan Prison." (Veitch, April 2015), Myuran spent his time teaching English and ran computer, graphic design and art classes, Myuran last days did his final paintings before his execution which had a very powerful messages. The last Paintings created by Myuran Sukumaran had powerful meanings behind each one which told a story and an emotion leaving a bit of him and his journey for 10 years.

That doesn't mean Andrew and Myuran deserve less sympathy. They deserve more. And I don't want to take attention away from them (sorry if it's insensitive to compare the two). But just, asylum seekers deserve more too.

Aaron, all life is a journey. An experience of learning, refining beliefs, broadening views, accepting, understanding, and, in this, becoming evermore expansive in our compassion, mercy, and unconditional love for our fellow man. It’s so easy to feel love and compassion for those who earn it. The challenge is to broaden your feelings to include the ugly ones. The seemingly evil ones. Life is precious, mate. ALL life is precious. You would do well to keep in mind the expression ‘walk a mile in my shoes, before you judge me’, and tone down the need you seem to embrace to assume you know all there is to know about people. People are all moulded by their own personal experiences. You have no idea how these men got to this sad place in their lives, any more than you have any idea of what they now feel about their mistakes. Would you be the one to pull a trigger on a person truly and wholeheartedly sorry and regretful for past wrongs? Would you, likewise, expect never to be given an opportunity to become a better person, after one of your own past mistakes?