Authors: Schapelle Corby

No More Tomorrows (46 page)

BOOK: No More Tomorrows

7.36Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

I want touch, affection, to feel as a woman being loved, I want daily life responsibility, normal life problems. I want to feel angry at the price of petrol or bananas in Australia.

I’m breathing in a dull anger with each breath from this injustice, from who put me here. I breathe it in daily in this monotonous existence.

I sound like a broken record, but I will keep saying it:
I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m innocent.

Epilogue

A
S
I
LEFT A VISIT WITH
S
CHAPELLE RECENTLY
, I
TOLD
her, ‘Don’t lose hope.’ She looked at me with her piercing blue eyes and stated matter of factly: ‘It’s gone. It’s already gone!’

This has been a shattering year for Schapelle, perhaps the most deeply shattering of all so far. After five years of battling prostate and bone cancer, her beloved father, Michael Corby, finally passed away in January.

Schapelle didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.

It has broken her heart. Tears spring to her eyes at the mention of her dad. She is in such unbearable pain that she is unable to write about his passing herself.

Michael Corby lived for his three children, Schapelle, Mercedes and Michael – they were his whole world. He shared a special bond with his youngest daughter that was clear to see. She put a sparkle in his eyes. She lit him up. She was always his baby girl, and he adored her.

His last words before slipping into unconsciousness were to ask if Schapelle was OK.

Seeing her unjustly caged in a cell, losing her precious life day by day in a dark nightmare that he was powerless to do anything about, devastated him. He moved to Bali in 2005 to do whatever he could to help, devoting his last good months to being with his daughters. Despite being in pain and terribly sick, he regularly did Schapelle’s grocery shopping and visited her almost daily in Kerobokan prison – sitting on the dirty concrete floor of the jail, ignoring the intense pain that caused him. But in 2006 he was forced to return to Australia for further medical treatment. Schapelle never saw him again.

He failed to recover his health sufficiently to make a return trip. Father and daughter were each trapped, oceans apart, by their own tragic circumstances. The shocking injustice that keeps her locked behind the white walls of Kerobokan Prison stole her chance to say goodbye to her dad. His death has crushed her to a point where her family is seriously worried about her mental state for the first time.

She’s acutely aware that life on the outside has now changed irreversibly. A few months after her dad’s death, her stepfather, Greg Martin, who was a big part of her life for the past fifteen years, also lost his fight with cancer. It is a devastatingly sad time for Schapelle and her family.

But there was another cruel blow to compound her agony. After living with a flame of hope for the past two years while three judges in Jakarta reviewed her case, they finally delivered their deadly decision in March – her sentence will stand at 20 years.

She has now exhausted all appeals. The flame is out. Her hopes are dead. She truly believes there are no more tomorrows.

Kathyrn Bonella

April 2008

Acknowledgements

T
HANKS . . . FOR MY SUPPORTERS, A BIG HEARTFELT THANKS
goes out to all – you keep my name alive: your thoughts, prayers, letters all contribute to finding the light. The ‘Schapelle’ support action groups throughout Australia and New Zealand and the website administrators for all the hard work and dedication – you are all very much appreciated.

Mum, Dad, Greg, Michael, Clinton, James, Meleane, Mercedes and Wayan – your lives have been shaken, but never once have you stopped the fight. Little Wayan and Nyeleigh – for being brats and making me laugh.

Nyoman – though we are yet to meet, you’ve brought us all a renewed energy and excitement of new life, a welcome addition in our lives.

Cus Melissa and friends – for organising such a successful fundraiser, and Morrison for support and keeping my fashion senses alive with your great clothes. Thanks to the founders of Natural Glow for putting colour back in my cheeks.

Aunty Julianne, all my family, my friends, extended family, including you, Jet, and my Indonesian family – you are always there for me. Always. On verdict day, you were all there; it meant so much to me. Thank you. You are all a part of me, of who I am. This is so hard to understand but know I love you all so preciously; I couldn’t ask for a better family and friends. You do so much. I think of you all more than I see you.

Pak Erwin – you’re a good man. I have faith in your ability as a lawyer and a trusted friend. If anyone is capable of bringing me home a free woman, it’s you. I know you always do your absolute best for me.

Kathryn – it’s taken frustration, tears, patience, sleepless nights and a lot of time, but we’ve done it. Thank you for being sounder standing, so caring, especially on the odd awkwardness of my down days. You’re a true and wonderful woman with such qualities – one being a major asset in the world of journalism.

Thank you, K, may this help to open the eyes to open the heart to open the door.

Schapelle Corby,

Kerobokan Prison, October 2006

My heartfelt thanks to Christine Marie and James Foster for always being available to bounce things off, to Caroline Frith for her endless encouragement, to my mum Sue and sisters Louise and Simone for their love and support, and to my late dad Rod for showing me a passion for human stories. Thanks to publisher Tom Gilliatt for his patience and dedication, as well as to editor Jon Gibbs for his hard work.

A very special thanks to the Corby family. They are an amazingly supportive and loving family. Thanks to Wayan for his untiring help. Thanks to Schapelle and Mercedes for letting me share their lives for almost a year to work with them on this book. They are beautiful women with huge hearts and very wicked senses of humour. I feel privileged to know them.

Schapelle is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. She is innocent, stuck in a hellhole for something she didn’t do, yet handles her situation with so much grace and dignity. Despite living in so much pain, her first concern is always her family. She tries to be upbeat and always – even through tears – finds something funny or interesting to talk about. She’s incredible and is loved by so many friends and family and even strangers whowrite and visit constantly.

There is no question that Schapelle is innocent. None at all.

It is a travesty that she has already spent four horrendous yearslocked up in hell for someone else’s crime. Every day, she hopes for justice, and if she doesn’t get it soon, her story will be one of Australia’s greatest travesties.

To anyone who has ever flown overseas: her story could be yours.

Kathryn Bonella

Author Information

K
ATHRYN
B
ONELLA FIRST GOT INVOLVED IN
S
CHAPELLE
Corby’s story while working as a TV producer for Australian current-affairs programme
60 Minutes
. She produced the first exclusive TV interview with Schapelle a month after her arrest and then covered the verdict day in May 2005.

To write this book, Kathryn spent ten months living in Bali to work closely with Schapelle. Together, they spent hours in the visiting area of Kerobokan Prison, doing interviews and working on chapters. Schapelle also spent time in her cell writing diary notes and stories too painful to relive in conversation.

Since completing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in Melbourne, Kathryn has worked in television and print. She moved to London eighteen months after graduating and spent several years freelancing for
60 Minutes
as well as numerous English and American television programmes, magazines and newspapers.

She returned to Australia in 2000 to work as a full-time producer for
60 Minutes
, travelling the world to cover stories ranging from the Bali bombings to Princess Mary’s wedding in Denmark. At the end of 2005, she resigned to write this book with Schapelle.

Since the book’s release in Australia in November 2006, Kathyrn has returned to freelancing for various magazines, newspapers and television programmes.

Table of Contents