If Bali Nine death row inmate Andrew Chan could turn back the clock, no doubt he would do it all differently, according to a letter he wrote to his teenage self.
The convicted drug smuggler wrote a six-page letter, which is included in a documentary titled Dear Me: The Dangers of Drugs, aimed at high school students, reports News Corps.
In 2005, Chan was made infamous as he was arrested in a group of nine Australians, dubbed the Bali Nine, for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin out of Bali. Chan is on death row and is waiting for news of his clemency plea before Indonesian Joko Widodo.
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Some of Chan’s statements made in the film that are included in reports are quite powerful, not surprisingly from a man who is sentenced to die from a crime he committed when he was just 21 years old:
“I don’t know what choices you guys are making.
“However, if anything, [what] I would want you guys to remember is, “is it worth it?
“You are still young and you have some serious decisions to make in your life. What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow (and) if you want to be a thug and a big bad wolf, I’ll see you soon inside.
“But for those that want to do something in life, I’d like you guys to see how important it is to put your head down and study hard.”
According to Australia’s ABC News, Chan says his life is “waste” and urges teens not to follow in his footsteps.
“At the end of the day, I’m only 29-years-old and, the truth is, I might not be able to see my 30th birthday,” Chan’s letter reads.
“How many of you want to follow in my footsteps? And I hope these words will penetrate through your minds and in your hearts, and that most of you, if not all of you, will achieve more than I ever did.”
Malinda Rutter, the documentary’s director has had the opportunity to see Chan while making the film much more intimately than we can get from reading reports. Rutter says Chan’s rehabilitation is not an act.
“Andrew Chan is a very different person to the person that was arrested,” she said.
“He’s funny, articulate, he is charismatic and has a very caring personality.
“You would not think that of a drug smuggler on death row.”
Though Chan has not received official news of his clemency bid, Indonesian authorities have made it apparent they mean business with the death penalty for drug offenders, with the country’s recent execution of six drug offenders over the weekend.
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