Finest and worst in humanity
TWO stories brought me to tears last week. One typified the best of humanity while the other was a glimpse of man at his rotten worst.
Words cannot adequately describe the cruelty and cowardice of a father who hunts down his own children, shooting them dead as they cling to each other for support.
That’s precisely what John Edwards did last Thursday afternoon after arriving at the West Pennant Hills house in a rented car, so the children would not see him coming and have a chance to flee.
“They were trying to hide in a bedroom and were huddled together when he opened fire,” a senior police officer said. “What a selfish coward.”
This wasn’t some psychotic break; Edwards carefully plotted the murder.
Police say Edwards obtained a firearms licence last year and this year buying the guns he would use to kill Jack, 15, and Jennifer, 13.
Whether the killings were designed to punish his former wife, Olga, for leaving the marriage or punish the children for shunning him we will never know, he killed himself before police could question him.
He has extinguished two bright souls and condemned their loved ones, particularly their mother, to a lifetime of grief.
It is troubling that a man who was banned from seeing his own children after a bitter custody dispute and had violent incidents in his past was allowed to own firearms.
Australia has some of the toughest gun laws in the world, but perhaps they need to be tougher.
Authorities should consider whether those seeking a firearms licence are involved in acrimonious divorces, child custody disputes or other legal proceedings.
In the aftermath of the horror there were thankfully no attempts to paint this monster an otherwise decent and doting father.
Frankly, I don’t care if he was depressed, lonely or in the middle of a midlife crisis; nothing justifies slaughtering innocent children and it’s fit- ting that Edwards will forever be defined by his horrific crimes.
The murders brought back memories of little Darcey Freeman, thrown to her death from the West Gate Bridge by father Arthur Freeman and the triple drowning murder of brothers Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and Bailey, 2, by charlatan Robert Farquharson.
Of course, it is not only men who murder their own children. Only last week Akon Guode was attempting to appeal against her 26-year sentence for killing three of her children and attempting to kill a fourth.
These crimes can shake your faith in humanity but we must not lose sight of the fact there is infinitely more good in the world than evil.
Just have a look at international efforts to rescue 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their young coach from a cave system in northern Thailand.
It’s difficult not to be inspired by the heroic deeds of rescuers working tirelessly to ensure this ordeal has a happy ending. Sadly one hero who volunteered for the rescue mission perished last Friday.
The death of diver and former navy SEAL Saman Guana illustrates just what a huge task it will be to teach malnourished children and their coach to dive their way to freedom.
It was hoped authorities could wait until the boys had regained their strength and improved their diving skills before an underwater evacuation would take place.
However, persistent rain and falling oxygen levels have forced rescuers’ hands. On Sunday, Thai authorities cleared the area around the Tham Luang cave complex as the rescue’s final stage got under way.
The cave boys saga has captured the hearts and minds of Australians with dread turning to jubilation and back to dread again.
The worst was feared when on day nine British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen found the Wild Boars soccer team alive and well.
But that joy was soon tempered by the knowledge of the risks they still faced, including the cave system becoming fully inundated or collapsing.
Now hope is again emerging with four of the boys being rescued as of yesterday. It has also been heartening to see the boys’ parents come out in support of the young coach, who is an ordained monk, and the dreadful guilt he must feel during this dire situation.
“I am so sorry to everyone” Ekkapon Chantawongse wrote in a poignant note to parents.
However, he deserves praise for keeping the boys safe and calm and instructing them to meditate.