A powerful letter from the mother of Myuran Sukumaran.

This morning a mother will wake heartbroken. She will rise and dress knowing that she is about to face the unthinkable. Knowing that she must go through what no mother should. In a separate house another mother will rise. Feeling the same pain. The same anger, the same anguish.

Today, Helen Chan, the mother of Andrew Chan buries her son. Her now friend Raji Sukumaran buries her son tomorrow.

Together they know their sons lives were taken for politics and show, not for good. Together they know their sons lives could have been spent helping others rehabilitate but instead they were shot after midnight in a paddock in Indonesia.

Together they know that their sons lives were wasted. And today, one of the mothers speaks out.

Raji Sukumaran and Helen Chan.

No matter what your thoughts about the crimes their sons committed it would be hard to find a person who does not feel for the anguish the families of Sukumaran and Chan are enduring.

After 10 years on death row Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were put to death last week on the Indonesian island of Nusakambangan for attempting to traffic heroin.

Today sees the funeral for Andrew Chan, tomorrow is Myuran Sukumara’s funeral.

On the eve of his funeral Raji Sukumaran has written an open letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo appealing to him as the father of three children.

She writes: “As human being, I can’t even understand how you could sign a person’s death without looking into their personal circumstances. If you do not read what you are signing how can you know whether the life you are taking belongs to someone who is mentally unwell, or an old man in a wheelchair, or young mother with two children, or a father of two, or a man who has been in your prison for 17 years, or a gospel singer, or two young boys who made foolish mistakes.”

She says that Myuran believed when he first came to power that Joko Widodo would be a force for good in Indonesia, but that she is not sure she will ever be able to forgive him for what he did to her son.

She ends the letter saying she will pray for him:” I pray that you will have the courage to look beyond the politics for they too have families who love them despite their mistakes.”

The letter in full:

The family of Myuran Sukumaran have asked members of the public who wish to express their sympathy to email them on writetomyuran@gmail.com

If you wish to read more on the two men try these posts.

"I hope that your children, your grandchildren, your nephews and nieces never make a mistake."