Justice, not so much

In class we were looking a paradox. In Sierra Leone, war criminals- the bosses, those deemed responsible- are tried in front of the Special Court (SC). Accordingly, while detained they are provided with what are deemed to be human rights- clean water, food, max three people per bathroom, the right to lawyers. As the SC is held to the UDHR (UN Charter of Human Rights), the war criminals are guaranteed to survive, as the death penalty is seen as in violation with HR.
Meanwhile, down the road in Sierra Leone is another jail. This is for the foot soldiers, those recruited by the bosses in the fancy jail up the hill. They are often desperately poor and undereducated. The jail in which they are held is for 300, but it holds over 1000. These men have no chance of getting a lawyer, and- as it is a local jail, with no accountability to UN charters- every chance of being sentenced to death.
The men who created and perpetuated the war are being tried by the SC because, as everyone agrees, it force them to account for their actions. Justice, supposedly, will be done.
Yet in life and death, their sentences will be less severe than those who were only following their command. It would be impossible to enforce the standards of HR at the local jail, so does this mean the war bosses should be treated exactly like the foot soldiers? If so, what does this mean for HR? If not, what does this mean for justice?
It sucks balls when there's no right answer.

A half-arsed attempt at revival.

Well, my blog crashed and burned in a style far from spectacular. I suppose I will make occasional and feeble attempts to revive it, whenever I have the hankering.
The last few months have been marked on a micro scale by returning from Curtin Detention Centre, which literally turned my life around, and an election, which thus far has turned nothing around.
Sadly, I cannot post about the Centre, which is one of the reasons I haven't bothered even looking at this blog for a while, because it's all I think about these days. Australia's a very beautiful country, and I'm breathtakingly lucky to have grown up here, but sometimes things all go a bit racist.
The refugees I met are beautiful- sharing, dignified, thoughtful, selfless. Sometimes angry and upset. Sometimes hilariously funny. Thinking about their families, friends, each other, us. The kind of people I would be grateful to have in any country I live in.

For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.

-From the Australian National Anthem- Advance Australia Fair.