It’s in the news at the moment because of the movie’s recent debut at MIFF. As we live in a multimedia world it has also been referenced on Australian Story (John Milkins), Stateline, 774 Melbourne and written up in all the broadsheets too.
Balibo is the story of five Australian journalists who were killed when the Indonesians invaded Portugese Timor in October 1975. It also covers the death of Roger East, a freelance journalist who was reportedly killed several days later. Over the years I’ve gleaned bits of this story – I remember the inquest at Glebe a couple of years ago being covered on telly, and seeing the haunting footage of Greg Shackleton painting the Aussie flag on the front of a house with a rag- but I’ve never really read it thoroughly. Like a lot of people who have followed the story from an arms length I was always of the impression that the five journalists were caught in crossfire. But now, having read the Joliffe version of events, I am inclined to think that these five young men were killed openly and deliberately by Indonesian forces ’setting an example’. And that the Australian Government of the time (and perhaps successive?) have avoided being open and transparent about their knowledge of when/how the Balibo 5 met their fate.
In 1975, Joliffe was also a young journalist covering the fallout of the Portugese pullout of Timor. She knew one of the Balibo five reasonably well and was acquainted with the others which is why the story of the Balibo 5 has such a personal significance for her. Not only was she one of the few journalists covering this story at the time, but she has spent a considerable part of her subsequent career following and reporting on developments, going as far as to invest her own time and money to work with ‘witnesses’ to re-enact events of October 16, 1975. She has also at every opportunity tried to find out the fate of the other Australian journalist, Roger East. It’s clearly been a lifelong mission for Joliffe to cover this story which is what makes this book so powerful.
The level of detail makes this a compelling reading. Joliffe reports on the impact the deaths have had on family members, the deal struck between the Indonesian and Australian Governments and the difficulty of dealing with witnesses that have been tortured, exiled and suffered at the hands of Indonesian forces for successive years – having members of their families killed in retaliation for speaking out.
This is a comprehensive and thoroughly researched version of what happened to the Balibo 5. Joliffe’s connections with the area continue today – she works with Timorese children and still campaigns today to ensure that these deaths are not forgotten and that the Indonesian leaders who ordered the deaths be brought to account.
August 20, 2009 at 10:02 pm |
Thanks for the review, growing up my dad always raved on about this, firstly because he was a journalist in the 70’s/early 80’s and second because he was a member of the liberal party and I think he possibly disagrees with how the ALP handled things in the aftermath???(could be wrong there).
I am struggling through Tully at the moment – didn’t realise it would be so girly!
August 23, 2009 at 7:55 pm |
My pleasure KingKerna, hope you get to read this one, it’s a powerful story. Even if you think the 5 were crazy to put themselves in such a position of risk, I don’t think anyone would have expected them to be killed; captured maybe, but not killed. The JB went to see the film with some free tickets I won via Scribe Publications and said it was fantastic. As for the ALP, they’re still not doing much all these years later. When K07 was running for election he said that the Government should follow up on the Glebe inquest, but it’s a couple of years later and still nothing. I feel for the families more than anything.