Bali: POV

The Red Cross’ bombing bombshell

The Red Cross’ handling of the Bali Funds served to
undermine what could have been a key moment in
the Australian people’s attitude to giving.

October the 12th 2002 saw the most direct and aggressive terrorist attack on Australia ever. For days after the now infamous Bali Bombing, Australian television screens were littered with images of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers being pulled out of wreckage, bearing injuries that they will live with forever. These images touched something deep within the Australian psyche because in the two weeks following the atrocious attacks, the benevolent members of our community donated over $14 million to the Red Cross fund for Bali victims. The Red Cross promised that this money would be used in providing direct assistance to the victims. However, the Red Cross failed in keeping this promise for only a small portion of the funds was distributed among survivors. This betrayal of the public’s...