In Unfamiliar Waters : Two Californians, Two Indonesians Received a Heroes' Welcome After 21 Days Adrift. Then the Cheering Stopped. - Los Angeles Times: But soon, Reuters was quoting Indonesian newspaper stories that cast a different light on what had been played as a heartwarming story of Yankee ingenuity and grit. Although Schwartz and Berkowitz had bounced back after a decent meal and a good night's sleep, the two Indonesian boatmen had been hospitalized for dehydration and shock. The reason, they said, was that the women had hoarded their food. Rather than die of starvation, one of the men confessed, "we snatched food from their bag."
Schwartz and Berkowitz were astonished at the charges. "We behaved with a good deal of dignity," Berkowitz complained. "They were jerks." Yet neither side disagreed on the facts of the story. The problem was the assumptions behind the facts. In everything from planning to praying, their deepest values were worlds apart.