As the impending execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran looms the parents of Andrew have made one last visit to their son to say goodbye.
A goodbye that no one could imagine.
One last smile. One last laugh. A last hug.
Tears.
A goodbye no parents should have to endure.
As the parents of Andrew Chan left Bali last night they faced the thought they may never see their son again.
Ken and Helen Chan flew back to Sydney overnight as hope fades by the hour that somehow Andrew will be spared execution. Both Ken and Helen Chan have health issues which meant their stay in Bali needed to come to a close.
News Limited reports that yesterday they spent time inside Kerobokan prison with their son. They had a pizza lunch, they laughed and held each other.
The toughest goodbye.
The whole family of Andrew Chan came together at the prison – Andrew, his brother Michael, his two sisters and their partners. Andrew held his six-month old nephew and kept the mood light.
News Limited reports that Michael said the pain in his parents’ eyes was striking and that they left Bali “with a heavy heart”
The family have spend much time together lately drawing out these brief moments to make memories which will sustain them for a lifetime. Two lunchtime meetings spent together over the past few days are the first time they have all been together in a long time.
“It was the first time we have actually sat down and had lunch with the whole family in nine years. (On Friday) I think it was Macca’s but it was still lunch. That was a defining moment for them,” Michael Chan said of his parents.
“It is never easy, knowing this could be the last time we see him.”
Related content: A powerful letter from a 12-year old may change your mind on the Bali 9.
Andrews’ mother Helen Chan told Four Corners that as a mother Andrew’s fate was anguish.
“Every day he is walking in the valley of death. His future is unknown,”
But that she was proud of him.
“He is willing to face it, he is not ignoring his wrongdoing,” she said.
“This is what I am proud of. I feel that he is very down to earth — facing death every day, but not crying or making a scene.
“Therefore this time when I see him, although I am sad, I have inner peace.”
Today Indonesian officials will brief their Australian counterparts in Jakarta to outline the execution process for the two men.
It is also expected that a meeting between two members of the Indonesian parliament and the Bali 9 duo at Kerobokan jail may also take place after having been originally scheduled for yesterday but cancelled unexpectedly.
Late yesterday a petition with the signature of 150,000 Australians including the Prime Minister was presented to the families of Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
“I am asking for him to forgive my grandson and Andrew … I beg him again and again to forgive them and give both of them a second chance.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop have made repeated calls for clemency for the men, arguing they have been rehabilitated and should be shown leniency.
Meanwhile the parents of Andrew Chan arrive back in Sydney this morning their lives never to be the same.
Our thoughts are with them.
To sign the Mercy Campaign petition visit this page here.
Top Comments
The drug users are responsible for their own choices. We don't call for the death penalty for the car dealer when someone dies at the wheel.
People don't die in cars due to addiction to driving!
Bad metaphor.
Can you please provide a balance and also report on parents who lost their sons to heroin, much like the 8.3 kg of heroin valued at about A$4 million they were trying to get smuggled to Australia? Who would they be today if they hadn't been caught and followed drug trafficking as a career?