Tonight I’ve run out of time!

My sister-in-law came over for dinner tonight and we indulged in a share plate of cheese, cured meats and the most AMAZING figs I’ve ever had.  Incidentally, did you know that word Share Plate is the Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year this year. #randomfactoftheday

Anyway, back to this:

My SIL was given these figs by a colleague at her work and like the good SIL she is, she came over to share, so we decided that rather than a meal, we’d graze on home made salamis, pate (made by me!) and oven dried tomatoes (made by her) as well as some lovely vintage and blue vein from the shops – delish!  So because she’s only just left and it’s nearing midnight, I’ve run out of time to pull together anything too spectacular tonight (particularly as I have to look over a friends job application tonight too!).

So I thought I’d jump on the linky bandwagon and participate in Thankful Thursday.

I’m thankful for many things in my life, and being at home on maternity leave allows me to see how lucky I am.  But tonight, I’m feeling particularly grateful for my freedom.  Pretty straight forward, but I’ve actually found myself conflicted in my own views about the concept of freedom given the two stories that are rocking the airways today.

The story of Peter Greste‘s return home has been rotating on the news all day and I can’t even contemplate being locked up for 400 days in a foreign prison, knowing that I was innocent of the charge.  The international community was clearly outraged and in the end it would appear that the influence of many countries secured his successful deportation back to Australia.  And that makes me happy to know he made it home safe and sound.

On the flip side, the future freedom of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in Bali is looking dire.  And I am not sure how I feel about it.  I don’t agree with the execution of these two men.  I believe they could pay for their crimes by serving their sentences in their squalid Bali jail.  That said, I’m not sure I agree with the idea of the local push for our Government to influence the Indonesian Government to secure their freedom and therefore interfere in another Country’s judicial processes.

Is that view contradictory to what I’ve just said above about Peter Greste?  I don’t know.  But knowing that Peter Greste was innocent of his alleged crimes and that Chan and Sukumaran were clearly guilty based on the evidence presented has clearly skewed my opinions about the two cases.  But whatever my thoughts, I can not fathom the fear Chan and Sukumaran must be feeling as they wait for what will be the inevitable call to tell them that a date has been set for their execution.  Where they will line up blindfolded and presented to a team of 12 executioners, of whom only three will have live rounds of ammunition.

And that sends chills down my spine just thinking about it as I sit here, tucked up in my safe little house thousands of kilometres away.  Yes, tonight I’m feeling thankful for my freedom.

What are you thankful for today? Do you ever have conflicting opinions or points of view on confronting topics?