On Sunday afternoon, Townsville Bishop Timothy Harris received an anonymous text message he’d spent nearly two decades waiting for: “Wheels up, the Bali 5 are on their way back to Australia”. Source: The Guardian.
Bishop Harris, who provided pastoral care to the families of Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj after their arrest in 2005, immediately called Scott’s father, Lee. A short time later, they confirmed a plane carrying his son had landed in the Northern Territory.
“Their lost son has come home,” Bishop Harris said.
“Of course, they’re elated, but they know it is going to take a lot of effort to make sure the next part of Scott’s life is catered for with dignity and without a great deal of fuss.
“Every day of the last 20 years has been a nightmare for them.”
Rush, Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia after the Indonesian Government agreed to commute the rest of their life sentences for drug smuggling on humanitarian grounds.
A statement released on behalf of the five men and their families said the men were “relieved and happy” to be back in Australia and that they looked forward to “reintegrating back into and contributing to society”.
But Bishop Harris said joining an Australian society they may no longer recognise would be
“All sorts of things are going on at the moment in the Northern Territory, I know that much, to prepare them for what might come at them,” he said.
“Health is going to be an issue. The human body can only take so much. To be incarcerated like that for nearly 20 years has taken its toll.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the Australian Government would support their “rehabilitation and reintegration”. The five men have been placed in temporary accommodation.
“After 19 years in Indonesian prison, it was time for them to come home,” Mr Albanese said yesterday.
FULL STORY
‘Human body can only take so much’: home in Australia, remaining Bali Nine face their new normal (By Henry Balot, The Guardian)
RELATED COVERAGE
As Scott Rush farewelled his prison guards, his parents had no idea he was on his way home (The Age)
