A friend robbed of his vitality and optimism

Juris Greste is a friend.

Juris Greste with his wife, Lois.

“Good friend” would be stretch, but strangely it feels a little like that.

Acquaintance with Juris arose nearly a decade ago because of this column; not that he had read it, but a friend had and it was he who urged my involvement with the Melbourne-based Urban Design Forum.

Juris is a retired Brisbane-based urban designer, known to his Victorian counterparts and an infrequent visitor to forum meetings where his vitality and optimism was evident to all.

He is still those things, but the arrest in Cario and charging of his reporter son, Peter, who worked with the Al Jazeera news-service, has robbed him of some of that zest, rather, most of it.

Beyond the fact that Juris knows me, he has no obvious connection with Shepparton, except that he and his wife Lois have turned to the Federal Government, our government, to negotiate with Egyptian authorities for their son’s release.

Peter Greste.

Juris a dapper, articulate man, who is always smiling was seen last year at the Brisbane launch of the Urban Design Forum’s 25-year anniversary coffee table-size book featuring stories from those around Australia involved directly or peripherally in urban design, including Juris.

Charges against Peter are, according to Juris and Lois, “absurd” and to quote an ABC report: “To think or allege that Peter or his high-achieving colleagues would jeopardise their mid-life international careers by unethical or improper practices is completely preposterous," Mr Greste said.

Egyptian authorities are accusing Peter and his crew of two of meetings with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group the military-installed government has declared “terrorist”.

For most of us, the fortunes of a reporter in Egypt is just another of the countless stories that flood in from around the world about some unknown person in some obscure place that does not compute as personal precedence goes, naturally, to the daily dilemmas of living.

The 25-year Urban Design Forum coffee
 table book the Juris has contributed to.

The importance to Goulburn Valley people of illustrating their support for the likes of Peter Greste is understandable slim for it rates poorly compared to a pressing mortgage payment, job security, maybe your dog’s eaten rat poison or one of your kids are crook.

Should you care; should you push concern about Peter Greste through and above all those important parochial things? Yes.

It’s a tough call for he probably means little or nothing to most of us, but his treatment is further evidence of the weirdness of the world; a weirdness driven by perverse ideologies, zealots addicted to power and greed that can only be challenged and changed if people like you and me tell those who can change things.

Protest Peter’s detention; talk with our Member for Murray, Sharman Stone, and share your concerns with Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop.