It was early Sunday morning in Hong Kong that I first heard news of the Bali bombings, having just flown out the day before. Watching the awful story unfold on CNN and the BBC World News, like so many others, I did so in a state of shock and disbelief. Oh No! Not Bali! The initial and overwhelming emotion was pity for the men and women who had died or been cruelly injured in the blast. Then came the sense of sorrow at the injury done Bali and a welling of affection for its people, combined with anger at the sacrilege done here. It wasn’t that I believed Bali was magically immune from terror and that it couldn’t happen here. It had long occurred to me that Bali possessed the qualities that could make a very attractive target on many levels to the twisted and hate-filled minds that plan these things; a peaceful and mostly prosperous Hindu island with a thriving tourism industry, largely young Westerners and particularly Australians, out there having fun and with high international visibility. No, the disbelief was more a shocked rejection of what I was seeing and the shattered hopes that somehow Bali would be spared.
The Way Things Are....
We now know that is not to be and are left wondering what lies in store for Bali?
One thing is clear. This atrocity was not directed at symbols of US power or the pinnacles of International capital like the New York’s Twin Towers. The people targeted were ordinary people on holiday. What that means, if there was any doubt in anyone’s mind, is that from now on we are all targets. Wherever we go, at home or on holiday we are all in the line of fire. Nowhere and no-one is safe. That is the world we are moving into and we had better get used to it. The question then is, do we hunker down, not travel abroad for pleasure or business and live circumscribed lives self- imposed constraint? Or, do we evaluate the risks, put up with increased security and go about our lives as best we can in the circumstances? The answer has to be the latter or terrorism has in large part already won.
I do not suggest we are unmindful of the risks and we should take a view about where we go and how we conduct ourselves. I mean, I wouldn’t choose to go to a known hot spot like Southern Mindanao for a holiday right now, nor would I go on a pub crawl half naked through the streets of Kandahar. But given that, the essential fact is your chances of being a victim in a terrorist attack are still millions-to-one. You are far more likely to be killed crossing the road, if not struck by lightening. Nor are you necessarily any safer staying at home. In Europe, for years now, people have lived with the spectre of terrorism. Planes have been blown up, bombs exploded in public places packed with people, in cafes, restaurants, pubs and discos. It’s happened in London, in Paris and Rome, Madrid and Berlin, but people still go about their lives. Yes, there is increased surveillance and security, which goes some way to protecting citizens, but most people accept that you simply cannot protect everyone, everywhere, all the time from a determined terrorist act. There are just too many soft targets available. In the last two years Heartland America has come to know this and now Australia finds it too is no exception.
A Special Place
The thing about the Bali bombings that shocks us all is precisely this. The blood of so many innocents shed in an innocent island. It also reflects the special place that Bali enjoys in the imagination and affection of so many people all over the world. Yes there is anger, some of it directed at the Indonesian government, whom it is felt ignored warnings of the terrorist threat and could have done more to protect its own citizens and visitors to the country. But time and time again when survivors, family or friends in Australia and elsewhere in the world are asked about their feelings on what happened, after expressing their grief at the loss of loved ones they mention the Balinese and other Indonesians, who also lost their lives and their deep sorrow that this happened to Bali. They invariably go on to voice their concern for the future of the Island and it’s people.
This is a deep fund of good will that Bali has earned over the past decades and which can stand it in good stead in the future. Although the US, Australian and UK governments have all advised their citizens to leave Indonesia, saying they cannot guarantee the safety of their nationals, most people see this as a political statement intended to make the Indonesian government admit the presence of terrorism in the country and take a more active stance in combating it. In a sense that is the right thing for them to do but for us as individuals we should make our own assessment. Most foreigners who live in Bali do not feel threatened in any way. Quite the contrary, they want to stay and help Bali weather the hard times in any way they can.
Most people overseas believe this was an act of a home-grown Islamic group in Indonesia encouraged, if not funded by Al Quaeda. They are also open to the possibility that disaffected elements in the Army and the murkier aspects of Indonesia’s political spectrum could have had a hand in this. The one thing that would encourage people to return more than anything else would be for the Indonesian government to show the political will to crack down on the groups promoting terror. A start has been made but there needs to be follow-through. Unlike Bali, Indonesia’s government has long ago exhausted its ‘credibility bank’ overseas and people will want to see some sustained progress in addressing the problem of terrorism before they will feel safe.
A Future Not so Dire.....
Judging by the news clips and reports of deserted beaches, empty hotels and uncrowded streets, it must appear to many in Bali that business will never be the same again. In fact things are probably nothing like as dire as it may at first seem. All the travel industry figures I have spoken to all say the same thing. Bali is in for a bad six months. Then, if nothing of the sort re-occurs the tourists will start coming back. This is in sharp contrast to the pessimists who say tourism is dead for the next two years.
Bradley Adams for example, boss of the famous US security agency Pinkertons in Asia said visiting Bali should not be a problem once the aftermath of the tragedy had settled. “People have short memories” he said. “They should keep a low profile, stay away from crowded areas popular with foreigners and avoid targets like embassies”, he added.
When it comes to the frequent independent travelers to Bali, the people who stay in the expensive hotels or rent villas, almost without exception they say they would feel quite safe coming to Bali and won’t change their travel plans. They might not come immediately for a holiday as that would seem inappropriate but they will, after a decent interval of a couple of months say, although many would think twice before hitting the hot spots.
A recurring theme among all these people and I’ve seen it in e.mail circulars circling the globe is a gut feeling that in avoiding traveling to Bali they would be playing the terrorist’s game. And that is something I sense most of the traveling public are finding hard to stomach. That is a feeling Bali should encourage.
Playing to Strengths
In the days to come Bali needs to play to its strengths and tap into this reservoir of friends around the world. If it can find ways to do this I am sure we will be facing a much more positive situation six months from now. For that to happen Bali will almost certainly have to rely on its own efforts. If it hasn’t already happened, a “Friends of Bali” committee made up of foreigners living in Bali with Balinese people involved in various sectors might be set up with the mission of presenting Bali’s message to the world at large. A concerted effort encouraging prominent writers and columnists from the world’s leading print and electronic media, conveying their affection for Bali and how it is coping in the months that lie ahead could be highly effective in bringing the travelers back.
One of Bali’s major assets is the sheer diversity of its appeal, running the full gamut from $30.00 a night cottages, through $1,200.00 a night boutique hotels to $6,500.00 a day private villas. When it comes to activities, you name it, Bali’s got it. Maybe, while the group sector is struggling, it’s time Bali traded-up a bit and concentrated some of its promotional efforts on higher-yield travel, which may rest lighter on the island as well.
When it comes to overall security the hope has to be that Bali is able to exercise greater and more effective autonomy and control over its own destiny and the appointment of Balinese people themselves to key administrative positions. People who live here and have a vested interest in the continued peace and prosperity of the Island. That is why the launch of Paradise Air, Bali’s very own airline was such an encouraging development in my view. Things like this will allow Bali to chart its own economic course far more effectively than anything else I can imagine. Quite understandably the airline’s plans are on hold right now, but if its owners can persuade their longstanding Australian business partners to bring their groups back, things may look a lot more positive sooner than anyone might suppose.
Time to Take Stock.....
In times such as these it is good to take stock and look at what does not serve. See what might be done better, not only to restore Bali as an attractive destination for visitors, but even enhance that appeal. I think here of the routine shakedown of foreign drivers by the police on Bali’s roads. The rampant “private enterprise” by customs and other officials at our airport. Nothing mars the good impression of a visit to Bali than such brushes with officials. Take the opportunity of a temporary downturn to address the issue of effective zoning and strip development. If not, before too long, Bali will have destroyed its own appeal itself without any help from the terrorists.
Thought might also be given to the presence of foreigners who live and work in Bali. For the most part they contribute an awful lot to the prosperity of the island. They are a resource to be tapped, not sheep to be shorn. They bring visitors, investment, style, employment and diversity to the Bali scene. In trying times like these we truly see their worth. These are the people who will stand by Bali and play a large part in restoring its fortunes.
From Hong Kong too....
Taking a short cut through the park across Garden Road from my hotel on the way to my office the other day I passed through the gardens surrounding Hong Kong’s Anglican Cathedral of St. John’s and quite by chance came across the memorial service being held for Oliver Walton, a Briton from Sunderland, who had captained the Royal Hong Kong Football Club’s rugby team to Bali. He was just one of the two RHKFC members who had been identified out of the eleven people from Hong Kong missing in the Kuta bombing. The Cathedral was full and the service was being relayed to people gathered outside and to the strains of “Jerusalem” sung by the local Welsh Male Voice Choir. I lingered until the service ended. Spotting some people I knew we talked for a while. Some had been with the team in Bali at the time, others had flown over to help in any way they could. Their mood was understandably sombre but what struck me most was that the Club was setting up a charitable fund to collect a large amount of money, not as you might imagine for the families of the bereaved but for the Balinese victims of the atrocity. The general feeling being that this was an outrage Bali had done nothing to earn and that the best way of honoring their companions who had been lost was not to be put off visiting Bali in future and by raising funds to help the local victims of the tragedy. I think that more than anything shows the special place Bali enjoys in the hearts of so many people. That is why I am so sure Bali will be able to overcome this sad setback.
ParacelsusAsia
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