Paradise lost: island tries to exorcise demons

By GREG ANSLEY in Bali

In the soft light of dawn, Kuta Beach is at peace.

On the beachfront, a street sweeper in orange overalls, besom broom in one hand and baby swinging in a sling on the opposite hip, smiles a greeting as several dozen people gather for tai chi exercises on the sand.

But beyond the first surfers and the small cluster of fishing skiffs the dark silhouette of a gunship emerges from the haze: a potent reminder that Bali has changed forever.

Last Monday night, thousands of Balinese gathered, many weeping, for an outpouring of grief and to offer prayers for the more than 180 victims of Saturday night's bombing in the resort's main entertainment strip.

It was an event missed or ignored by most of the small army of international journalists swamping Bali and who focused mainly on the tourists who died in Indonesia's worst terrorist outrage.

When others gathered for more prayers outside the morgue, the Hindu ceremony was largely ignored in favour of a vigil by foreigners on Kuta Beach, who held hands and offered floral tributes to the surf in the sunset.

"This is a story that really needs to be told," says New Zealand expatriate Martin O'Neill, raised in Hamilton and a resident of Bali for 15 years.

"The Balinese are the forgotten victims."

Although most of the victims were foreigners, many Balinese are feared to have been killed: workers in the Sari Club where the blast was centred, taxi drivers in the narrow, cobbled street outside, vendors and hawkers, and others in the area.

When the first list of confirmed dead is published in the Jakarta Post, a quarter of the names are Indonesian.

Yet much of the Balinese grief has been for the young foreigners killed in their land.

Even before their own dead were counted, Balinese laid flowers outside the Australian consulate.

By Tuesday the large, vibrant mourning wreaths of Bali were stacked against the consulate's gates, most from local students remembering the appalling toll exacted from Australia's young.

Dozens of foreign-speaking Balinese volunteered as translators to help survivors and friends and relatives of the dead and missing.

Businesses donated food and services.

Bali Governor I Dewa Made Beratha announced that the provincial administration would cover all hotel bills and medical expenses of the victims.

Next Monday, Beratha will be among the dignitaries leading Bali's efforts to purge the predominantly Hindu island of the demons unleashed by the bomb.

Monday is a full moon, an auspicious time for Hindus, when ceremonies are held in towns and villages across the island: at the bomb site, leaders of the faith will perform a cleansing ceremony to expel the evil spirits summoned by the terrorists.

Other demons will be harder to exorcise.

Bali is Indonesia's tourism jewel, the hub of an industry that provides tens of thousands of jobs and provides a large slice of the nation's foreign exchange.

Much of Bali's appeal lies in its global reputation for peace and safety, now shattered by Saturday night's explosions.

The industry was only just starting to recover its momentum after September 11.

The potential impact of the latest outrage threatens not only hotels and travel services, but also the thousands of families whose livelihoods depend on businesses ranging from Versace and Armani stores in the upmarket shopping areas to the vendors and hawkers working the beaches.

There is another, darker, potential.

Despite Bali's tradition of religious tolerance and the condemnation of the bombing by local Muslim groups, there has been a low undertone of anger against the faith many believe spawned the terrorists.

"Muslims, Muslims," says one local, imitating a machine-gun. "Bam, bam bam, all Muslims."

Shortly after the bomb, the Jakarta Post reported that the cellphones of local Muslims were flooded with false reports of rampaging Hindu youths and plans to conduct "sweeping" operations against them.

"The explosion is feared to affect the delicate inter-faith relations in the Island of God," the newspaper said.

Bali messages and latest information on New Zealanders
New Zealand travellers in Bali, and their families around the world, can exchange news via our Bali Messages page. The page also contains lists of New Zealanders in Bali and their condition.

Foreign Affairs advice to New Zealanders

* Travellers should defer travel to Bali

* NZers in Bali should keep a low profile and remain calm

* Foreign Affairs Hotline: 0800 432 111

Feature: Bali bomb blast

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