Following the Kuta bombing and its aftermath, one of the most positive things I noted wasn’t just the full-on way foreigners living here jumped in to help in every way they could, but also the sense of renewed appreciation and affection for Bali and the Balinese felt by so many of us. Indeed it seemed to me that the appreciation was mutual. Rather like a married couple of many years standing, who had long grown used to and tolerant of each other’s quirks and failings, suddenly found the initial reason and enthusiasm for the relationship had regained its sharp focus.
Certainly the way the Balinese have reacted to the tragedy, in which so many Balinese lives were also lost and which will have ongoing and dire consequences for the livelihoods of so many people here, has been quite remarkable. The sense that Bali has collectively gone into a period of introspection and cleansing is extraordinarily strong. In other countries, in similar circumstances, the voices of a few community leaders might be raised saying something of the sort but it wouldn’t be much more than an expressions of pious hope without much expectation of any result. It simply wouldn’t be coming from the same philosophic place and would have none of the broadbased conviction manifest here in Bali. In any other place, such voices would be lost in the hubbub of the chattering classes and meaner voices advocating varying degrees of repression and reaction. It does give one a much clearer understanding how a society such as this can genuinely heal and come to terms with other, even more horrific, periods in its history. In Spain it’s been over 60 years and still the scars remain. In what was Yugoslavia the blood feud is 600 years old. Something to ponder, that.
It’s Funny Times......
Right now it seems to me we are all of us in some queer sort of interregnum. We know the extent of the tragedy, we know it will have many and some long term effects. We suspect some things will never be quite the same again. Some of what it means for us we already know, but much more waits to unfold. For many of us there is the strong sense that we will be required to move in radically new directions and while this may be disturbing there is also a sense of anticipation. How long the hiatus lasts remains to be seen.
The other day I heard a young Balinese woman say “I want my Bali back!” The phrase made me uncomfortable and it stuck with me. However understandable the sentiment, it sounds petulant and childish. I do hope it’s not a catchphrase for some campaign or other. In any case, do we really want to go back to things as they were? Of course as foreigners it’s really not up to us, but I don’t see that we can’t have a view. Kuta, while no Pattaya, was certainly beginning to manifest some of the darker and less appealing aspects of mass tourism. In all the lop-sided development that is tourism in Bali one has to wonder how many people really benefited and how long the gravy train could continue rolling along before the nest was irreparably fouled and the visiting geese no longer flew in dropping their golden eggs, or whatever else it is they drop.
Of course one hopes for the best. At times like these many voices have been raised calling for a more intelligent and sustainable approach to tourism. Many people have called for the diversification of industry and the revivification or creation of others. Others have long stressed the need to protect Bali’s environment. Many of these voices have been calling for these things for years, and many of them put their money and time where their mouths were. But from what I could see, it’s a bit like pissing in the wind for all the good it did. And yet, I do get the glimmer that all their efforts may at last find some fertile ground. Some powerful new voices appear to have joined this Band of Angels and if they all continue to sing more or less in tune, we could be getting somewhere.
Aftermath & We Three Consuls, Tra La........
Following the Kuta bombing and its aftermath, one of the most positive things I noted wasn’t just the full-on way foreigners living here jumped in to help in every way they could, but also the sense of renewed appreciation and affection for Bali and the Balinese felt by so many of us. Indeed it seemed to me that the appreciation was mutual. Rather like a married couple of many years standing, who had long grown used to and tolerant of each other’s quirks and failings, suddenly found the initial reason and enthusiasm for the relationship had regained its sharp focus.
Certainly the way the Balinese have reacted to the tragedy, in which so many Balinese lives were also lost and which will have ongoing and dire consequences for the livelihoods of so many people here, has been quite remarkable. The sense that Bali has collectively gone into a period of introspection and cleansing is extraordinarily strong. In other countries, in similar circumstances, the voices of a few community leaders might be raised saying something of the sort but it wouldn’t be much more than an expressions of pious hope without much expectation of any result. It simply wouldn’t be coming from the same philosophic place and would have none of the broadbased conviction manifest here in Bali. In any other place, such voices would be lost in the hubbub of the chattering classes and meaner voices advocating varying degrees of repression and reaction. It does give one a much clearer understanding how a society such as this can genuinely heal and come to terms with other, even more horrific, periods in its history. In Spain it’s been over 60 years and still the scars remain. In what was Yugoslavia the blood feud is 600 years old. Something to ponder, that.
It’s Funny Times......
Right now it seems to me we are all of us in some queer sort of interregnum. We know the extent of the tragedy, we know it will have many and some long term effects. We suspect some things will never be quite the same again. Some of what it means for us we already know, but much more waits to unfold. For many of us there is the strong sense that we will be required to move in radically new directions and while this may be disturbing there is also a sense of anticipation. How long the hiatus lasts remains to be seen.
The other day I heard a young Balinese woman say “I want my Bali back!” The phrase made me uncomfortable and it stuck with me. However understandable the sentiment, it sounds petulant and childish. I do hope it’s not a catchphrase for some campaign or other. In any case, do we really want to go back to things as they were? Of course as foreigners it’s really not up to us, but I don’t see that we can’t have a view. Kuta, while no Pattaya, was certainly beginning to manifest some of the darker and less appealing aspects of mass tourism. In all the lop-sided development that is tourism in Bali one has to wonder how many people really benefited and how long the gravy train could continue rolling along before the nest was irreparably fouled and the visiting geese no longer flew in dropping their golden eggs, or whatever else it is they drop.
Of course one hopes for the best. At times like these many voices have been raised calling for a more intelligent and sustainable approach to tourism. Many people have called for the diversification of industry and the revivification or creation of others. Others have long stressed the need to protect Bali’s environment. Many of these voices have been calling for these things for years, and many of them put their money and time where their mouths were. But from what I could see, it’s a bit like pissing in the wind for all the good it did. And yet, I do get the glimmer that all their efforts may at last find some fertile ground. Some powerful new voices appear to have joined this Band of Angels and if they all continue to sing more or less in tune, we could be getting somewhere.
Window of Opportunity
It seems to me that providence and a combination of circumstances have given Bali a window of opportunity and that for the first time a critical mass for a more balanced future is a possibility. Making effective use of or enlarging the scope of Bali’s provincial autonomy is key in this. I do hope too, that part of the money that has been raised or promised by so many people and organisations all over the world in the wake of the Kuta bombing will be applied to some of these other more general areas too.
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if the milk of human kindness is flowing thicker and faster in my veins these days but I also detect a rather more generous and open minded spirit abroad in Bali’s expatriate community. People are gentler and more helpful to each other, they support and encourage each other’s businesses more. Old enmities, injuries, antipathies, jealousies and spite do rather pale into insignificance over body parts down at the morgue, don’t they? If that’s shocking, it’s meant to be. How many years are wasted, lives blighted and opportunities lost by people hanging onto their real and imagined grievances. Do we have to have a disaster of such magnitude to be mindful of this?
Apart from complaining about the locals and their house servants, which seems a given anywhere, expatriate communities all over the world each have their own particular flavour, which runs from pretty sour to pretty nice. From what I’ve seen recently, all things considered, Bali’s expat community is at the nicer end of things.
Honourable Men, All.....
Spare a thought if you will for that honourable body of men, Bali’s consular corps. I don’t know how many Montenegrins come to Bali, but by and large you don’t get to get a consul appointed for Bali unless your nation sends quite a few tourists our way. We Brits didn’t get ours until a few short years ago and, until we did the decent thing, the poor overworked consul for Oz had to look after us Poms to boot. These men often have quite a bit of cleaning up to do after their visiting countrymen and women and a pretty thankless task it is too, I wouldn’t mind betting, when I think of some of the loonies at home and abroad. Quite apart from the normal rough and tumble that is international travel. So when something like the Kuta bombing occurs, these men are at the sharp end. They get people coming at them from all directions. Professional diplomat, paid, unpaid or part-paid, these men did a great job and I salute them.
It rather makes one wonder what motivates a man to take up the job of Hon. Con. in the first place. It doesn’t exactly have a great literary kudos attached to it, after all, now does it? Seedy, boozy box wallahs going to pot in a variety of tropical climes in the tradition of Conrad, Maugham and Green is the genre. Is it the honour? I doubt it. There’s a lot more work than glory attached to the job. Although it always amused me when the likes of Mr Plato Wong of Hong Kong, or somesuch business person, showed up on the diplomatic roster as the Hon. Con. for Burkino Fasso. Now what motive do you put to that I wonder? Whatever it is, I don’t suppose there’s much of that sort of thing here going on here in Bali, would you? The recent appointment of the British Hon. Con. also entertained me a bit, I have to say. Various people were on for the job, or thought they should be asked even if they’d probably say no, including some seemly types emerging from the hills not quite sure if they wanted to do it or not. Bit like getting an MBE when you’re after an OBE, don’cher see...... In the end our Foreign Office, who are not always the bunch of duffers we sometimes like to think they are, made exactly the right choice.
At the end of the day, the only reason any man of principle would take on such a job here is because they know and love Bali and because they believe they can be of service to their fellow countrymen who come here. As such, they are to be commended.
We Three Consuls, Tra la.....
I especially enjoy and commend to you three of the most musical and gregarious of our consuls, who have lived many years in Bali, have businesses and other connections here. They are: Pino Confessa for Italy (guitar, harmonica & tenor), Jon Zurcher for Switzerland (violin) and Mark Wilson for the UK (accordion). These gentlemen often gather together to make music, with whomsoever else wants to join in and is reasonably competent to do so. Everyone else enjoys and sings along as appropriate and often inappropriate. When Pino is prevailed upon to perform in his fine Italian tenor the ballad of the Calabrian peasant who has lost his true love, his beloved ass....., there is not a dry eye in the house, I can tell you. A fourth consul, of a rather more taciturn nature, but just as musically gifted, and who has been known to join this select band, is Andy Toth for the USA. If there are any more musical Consuls, I’m not aware of them, but Let Them Come Forth.....and be recognised.
Both Jon Zurcher and Mark Wilson are restaurateurs. Live music and performance of one kind or another is a more or less permanent fixture most evenings in their cafes. Jon, who is not only the doyen of consuls in Bali, arriving here in the mid 70’s when as a young journalist he drove the “hippie trail” overland from Europe in a VW van (natch), is also the owner of The Swiss Restaurant in Legian, which he started with his Balinese wife Suci, and which is now celebrating it’s 25th year. For those of you who like classical music check out Wednesday nights when Ibu Cassilda plays the piano. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and the food good Swiss fare/Indonesian.
Mark Wilson started the Tamarind cafe in Jalan Mertasari, Sanur, a little over two years ago and which has since morphed into The Cat & Fiddle. Here a goodly crowd gather of a Tuesday for what I can only describe as Celto Plus music (the plus being roundabout any other music any other visiting musician comes up with) and Blues Night on Thursdays. Once again the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, the food pub grub/Indonesian.
In a spirit of supporting those who support you I encourage you to drop by. Those of you who know and like places of this sort will feel right at home, that is if you don’t already. For those of you of a more rarified nature and who’d like as die as be seen in a sing-along parlor....well, it isn’t really like that at all. It’s simply good natured and a lot of fun, and not ear-splittingly loud. You can eat, talk and hear yourself think. If it’s out of the box for you, good reason to give it a go, why don’t cha?
