In this series, professionals share what they'd do differently — and keep the same. Follow the stories here and write your own (please use #IfIWere22 in your post).
If I were 22, I would go out all night partying and not always think about the consequences of my actions.
If I were 22, I would make some foolish decisions and not always put others before myself.
If I were 22, I would live life to the fullest, and not always think about the future until it arrived.
If I were 22, I would make mistakes. I still make plenty of them now I am 64.
If I were 22, I would be the same age as Andrew Chan when he was arrested for drug smuggling as part of the Bali 9. I would be nine years younger than Andrew was last week when he was executed by the Indonesian government for his crime alongside Myuran Sukumaran. Four Nigerian men, a Brazilian man and an Indonesian man were also executed
Andrew and Myuran, by all accounts, had been reformed into fine young men who would have become productive members of society. They will now never get that chance.
Their executions will not do anything to impact the drug trade in Indonesia. The death penalty is not the answer to deal with drug abuse. The executions will, however, have a significant negative impact on Indonesia’s standing in the world.
As Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said:
“Indonesians should be ashamed of their government’s atrocity... The execution of these eight people for non-violent drug offenses will do nothing to reduce the availability of drugs in Indonesia or other countries, or protect people from drug abuse. All it demonstrates is the savagery of which governments are capable.
“One can only hope that the eight will not have died in vain. The protests by foreign governments and international organizations and even the UN Secretary General were unprecedented, hopefully giving not just Indonesia but also China, Iran and other governments that execute people for non-violent drug offenses good reason to reconsider their inhumane policies."I hope some good will come out of these tragic wastes of life, as more and more people realise inhumane death penalty laws must end globally, now. As people unite behind the #IStandForMercy hashtag, public disgust for the death penalty grows and hope increases that an end to the death penalty is in sight.
It's wonderful to have been born on a continent like Europe where the death penalty was abolished long ago. The UK abolished the death penalty many years ago when they realised that the last person executed was innocent of his crimes.
Things are improving in many countries, with 98 countries having abolished the death penalty by the end of 2014, compared with 59 countries in 1995. However, at least 607 people were executed in 22 countries last year, including many in the United States.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: “The only difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past while every sinner (should have) a future.”
I was lucky. I made mistakes, and was fortunate enough to be given another chance. I could also count upon the support of many loved ones, and the circumstances to get back on my feet again.
It is up to all of us who get given opportunities to seize them and make the most of every moment we have.I am not the person I was 42 years ago. I am not even the person I was two years ago. We all change, we all learn, we all grow. To continually punish somebody for the mistakes they made in the past is not just illogical, it is plain wrong.
We all deserve a second chance. Next time you have the opportunity to give somebody their second chance, don’t think twice.
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