Comments

This is going to be a quick post. I am going to preface it by saying I am actually very impressed with the lack of ridiculous comments that people leave on my blog. I initally thought there would be a lot of idiots trying to post garbage comments about Schapelle so I chose to moderate my comments. I will continue to do so because I do not feel it is necessary to let unintelligent people comment on my blog. This brings me to the point of this post.

To those of you who feel the need to come to my blog and leave derogatory messages to or for Schapelle, you are wasting your time. They will never be published on my blog. As far as I am concerned you have no freedom of speech on my blog. If you were to write something half intelligent that was perhaps suggesting that Schapelle was not innocent, I would actually publish your comments so that we may be able to have an educated debate. But to those of you who write ANONYMOUS as your name followed by unintelligent slander about how you hope Schapelle rots in prison, I just delete your posts. Noone else sees your garbage comments but me. You don't offend me you just prove my point that there are far too many people in the world with too much time on their hands.

I welcome comments written by someone who leaves a name, makes a supportive comment or even an opposing comment so long as it is logical and is open for discussion...otherwise I delete it and will continue to do so.

My Condolences

The fact that this is my first post on this blog in over a year is a sad fact by itself. The fact that I am going to dedicate this post to Schapelle's father the late Michael Corby is actually gut wrenching. Michael Corby died on January 18th after a long battle with Cancer. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be for Schapelle to be dealing with this horrible news. It is hard enough to lose a loved one but to not be able to be there to grieve properly with your family must be unbearable. I picked up a few little things to send to Schapelle to let her know I was thinking about her but that kind of thing always feels so minor. I always had an appreciation for Schapelle's father. He was always so honest about things. He never pretended he had a magic fix for things, he never claimed to understand the judicial procedings in Indonesia. He always came across as a simple man who loved his family and would do anything he could to protect them. He knew this case was bigger than him, much more complex than he could have ever imagined. I tend to think that there is only so much help that we can give people here on earth. Now that he is gone, perhaps he can offer Schapelle the help he couldn't give her here on earth. Rest in peace Mr. Corby and know that those of us who are here will continue to fight for your daughter until she is free.

Correction

I have a correction to make to one of my previous posts about Schapelle being transfered. This information is being handed on by a fellow forumer and great supporter of Schapelle. Rather than try to regurgitate what Angel has informed me about, I will just copy her comment here so that everyone can see the info. Thanks for the clarification Angel....its much appreicated!

Hi Michelle,
Its not the malang prison, but the Sukun prison in Malang they are talking about transfering her to. Sukun is a category one prison, high security, where they send all the political prisoners, murderers and terrorists.. basically long term prisoners who have committed the worst crimes and have the harshest sentences.

Prisoners at Sukun are issued two sets of uniforms per year and they must wear them at all times, the only exeption being when attending church services. Sukun is controlled by the military and very regimented.

There is no Aussie Consulate in Malang, but regular consulate visits are within the law. Regular meaning what? Perhaps once a year? some prisoners of Indonesia are afforded less, but its still considered regular. Sukun only allows twice weekly visitation and this is the biggest downfall for schapelle. She has upset the powers that be with her comments in her book. If you thought things couldnt possibly get worse for her think again. They can, and unfortunately they will.

Cheers,
angel.

Free Schapelle

This is a video I found on You Tube, it's just nice to know there are still people plugging for her.

One Big Fear

Well after the dust settled from the New Year's Eve festivities, I came home and logged on my computer only to have 3 Google News Alerts for Schapelle waiting in my inbox. I have learned that anytime there is anymore than 2 alerts, its never good. Just as I suspected, the news was not good. One of Schapelle's biggest fears is about to come through. After two and a half years in Kerobokan, the jail officials have applied to have her transfered from Kerobokan prison to Malang Prison, a few hundred kilometers away.

Most people would be thinking it doesn't really matter because jail is jail. The scary thing for Schapelle is that since her arrest she has been able to have her daily visits with her sister Mercedes who has been able to bring her fresh food and water along with anything else she may need. Most prisoners inside Kerobokan do not have this and therefore end up sick and malnurished because the food supplied to the prisoners is anything but edible. It will be much more difficult for Mercedes to access Schapelle if this transfer is approved.

Malang prison is said to have a lower prisoner population as well as stricter rules. Prisoners are only allowed 2 visits per week and are waken up at 5am. They are to have an hour of prayer, then an hour of exercize and must be back in their cells at 6pm. They are expected to be asleep by 9pm. I have not been able to find much information on Malang Prison at the moment. Chris Parnell, an Australian who was jailed in Malang Prison in the 90s has some pictures and a few disturbing stories on his website if you care to check them out. I personally was only able to look at one or two pictures before I just felt disgusted and upset by the thought of her going there. The site is http://www.christophervvparnell.com/gallery_1.htm

According to Indonesian law, a prisoner cannot be moved while their case is still under appeal. At the moment, Schapelle is waiting to hear if the court is going to grant her an extraordinary appeal so technically, she should not be moved until that has been exhausted. Her lawyer, Erwin Siregar has mentioned this point and has written a letter requesting the move not be granted. According to Erwin, there is also a law in Indonesia that says that forgien prisoners must have regular access to their countries consulate. There is no Australian Consulate in Malang so moving her would be a violation of the law, which, I guess has been done before.

Merry Christmas Schapelle

During the festivities the past few days, I have found my mind constatnly drifting back to thoughts of Schapelle sitting in that hell hole. I prayed for her constantly over the last few days. I am so blown away by her ability to sustain herself in that place. I realize she has family that go to her everyday but I am not sure I could live through that. It would be extremely hard anyday of the year but especially on holidays when you know the traditions that are taking place without you. The food, the drink, the family gatherings, the things that make being alive worth it. I know Schapelle and her family make the best of the situation and I am so glad to hear that as her time in Hotel K must be just exruciationg.

To barely have your basic needs taken care of is unfathomable to me. One amazing project that is getting under way at the moment is looking at getting clean water into Hotel K for Schapelle and all the other inmates in Kerobokan's Womans Cell. This project is in the early stages but has many very dedicated people working on it. You can find more information about it at: http://spiritofschapelle.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=e3e76a6024d8d508cff01c8ac4e833c4

I think reading Schapelle's heartbreaking book "My Story" has really reinforced the fact that she is not living in average conditions inside Kerobokan. She is living in filthy, inhumane surroundings. A place where vermon, germs and disease flow freely. Some people have said that our efforts should be put toward getting her out of there....and I agree. However, I do strongly think that the campaign for Schapelle must be a double pronged campaign. We have to fight for her rights and set her free but we also must realize that we cannot go over to Indonesia and physically pluck her out of there. She is at the mercy of the judges at this point. We have to be realistic in recognizing that it may be a few years before she walks free. So, with that in mind. this project is aimed at improving the conditions while she is there. It is also going to help future prisoners as well.

I encourage everyone if you haven't already to buy her book "My Story." I will write some of my thoughts on the book when I finish reading it. I have been reading for about 2 weeks now. I find it tough to read quickly. It's emotional and heartbreaking. I find myself only able to read a few pages at a time.

I also encourage everyone to check out the Spirit of Schapelle forum. It is such a fantastic forum filled with amazing supporters who truly do have Schapelle's best interest at heart.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy the time with your families.

The tiny update

Well...it's been over 2 weeks now...is that a fortnight? hehe I am learning all this new language being on SOS. Anyway it's been over 2 weeks since I recieved a confirmation email that my copy of Schapelle's book had just been shipped. I waited really patiently for it to arrive but now I am afraid I am turning into a kid on Christmas Eve. My patience (if ever there was any) has run out...I'm now going nuts. I want it to arrive NOW. ok that was my rant. Realistically, it probably just got caught up in the Christmas mail. I guess technically since its coming from Oz, it would be Chrissie mail hehe....see I know whats what.
Either way...the moment it arrives I will be thrilled to have it in my hands but will no doubt be crushed by its heartbreaking words. I will keep you all posted.

Oh, one last thing...I guess my tiny update is turning into a true Michelle style post...long winded. The Spirit of Schapelle website was down all day yesterday. There have been a few theories put forth as to why it was down...I, ever the optimist, really hope it was not some sort of malicious attack on the site and hope that people out there are really not so hateful as to do something like that...but let's be honest.

The fact that the site was down and supporters had no way to contact one another was really hard. Thankfully, it was up and running again today and didn't take weeks to fix as we have seen in the past. It is really important that when the site is down, we as supporters put forth a strong effort to stick together be it through blogging, or other supporter sites like www.schapellecorby.com. There seems to be a lot of familiar folks on there as well. Anyway thats just a step in creating a plan for times when our supporters base takes a bit of a hit. Well, now it's Saturday afternoon and my To Do List is not getting crossed off so I better get at it.

A Long Awaited Book

For over two years now, Schapelle has been in the news at every opportunity the media has to include her name in a story. There have been hundreds of stories written about her, probably only half of them being true.

She has had her name drug through the mud by those who believe she is guilty, and she has been mocked by those who have little or no compassion for others.

In a few short weeks, she will finally have her chance to tell her story. Her own words, about her own situation. I'm going to copy and past the synopsis of the book which is written by Kathryn Bonella, a former producer of 60 Minutes. Bonella wrote the book with Schapelle in hopes of helping Schapelle to tell her story.

I strongly encourage everyone to buy this book. Give her a fair go. You have read all the media versions of things, at least have the decency to hear her side of the story. I have pre-ordered my copy of the book and anxiously await its arrival from Australia. Schapelle is a woman of great strength, courage and composure. I have no doubt that this book will be written with words from her heart. I know you will not regret reading her story.

The book has not yet been published. It is due to be published on November 10, 2006. I have heard rumours that the original print copy is near 120,000. The book is being published by Macmillan Australia. The Photo above along with the following Synopsis and Authors note have been taken from:

http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=1405037911&Author=Corby,%20Schapelle%20with%20Bonella,%20Kathryn

"When I flew to Bali on 8 October 2004, I imagined my biggest problem was going to be deciding which sarong to wear with which bikini... "

It was meant to be a holiday. A fun-filled break to a tropical paradise to celebrate a sister's birthday. But for Schapelle Corby it ended up a waking nightmare. She was arrested at Denpasar airport after 4.2 kilograms of marijuana was found in her boogie-board bag. Schapelle had become the real-life victim of every traveller's darkest fear - drugs had been placed in her bag after she checked it in. Though completely innocent, she was forced to face the consequences of someone else's crime in a country where the penalties for drug smuggling are among the harshest in the world.

Her trial and conviction became one of the biggest stories of the decade in Australia, and the entire nation watched in horror as she was sentenced to twenty years in jail. Yet despite the huge media coverage, the one voice we never properly heard was Schapelle's herself. Now, in this searing and utterly compelling book she tells her own story: of being wrenched from a carefree holiday into a stinking police cell, of an alien legal system where her attempts to prove herself innocent were thwarted at every turn, and of learning to survive - day by terrible day - in the squalor, discomfort and violence of a third-world jail.

Schapelle's story is an account like no other - of a young woman experiencing the unimaginable, and enduring the unendurable with courage, strength and humour. It's simply the most unforgettable book you'll ever read.


Author information:
Schapelle Corby has become one of the best-known names of the last decade, yet we, the public, know so little about her and the full horror of her ordeal. This book will change that. Read the book - she didn't do it.