Bali Studies

Widespread fear of terrorist attack still persists

From the same Jakarta Post edition:

"The scariest thing about an act of terrorism is not the lives it has claimed or the damage it has inflicted but the perpetual fear it has sown on its victims and their communities," Gde Aryantha Soethama said.

Known as one of Bali's most brilliant essayists, Aryantha definitely knows how to summarize a general trend into a brief paragraph.

This time, however, the author of Bali Tikam Bali (Bali Stabs Bali) and Basa Basi Bali (Chit Chat Bali), was more interesting in stressing the truth than weaving beautiful prose.

"Prior to the bombings, the Balinese were probably the most carefree people of the world. Then the attacks took place and now the Balinese live in constant fear of another attack, of another catastrophe. Fear and anxiety have became a common feature of today's life here," he said.

For example, he pointed out how the Balinese now interpreted the word "Kuta" in a strikingly different way than they previously did.

Kuta is the island's prime tourist haven which became the target of two separate terrorist attacks in the past four years.

On Oct. 12, 2002, two powerful bombs exploded in two of Kuta's most popular nightspots, killing 202 people, most of whom were foreign tourists.

On Oct. 1, 2005, terrorists hit Kuta again. A bomb exploded in a packed family restaurant. The suicide bombers also detonated two other bombs in a seaside food market in Jimbaran, five kilometers south of Kuta.

The brutal attacks killed 23 people and injured 196.

"When their children said that they would go to Kuta, parents used to associate the word with having a fun time, strolling by the beach, delicious snacks, colorful souvenirs and friendly tourists," he said.

Following the bombings, the word "Kuta' was associated with lurking danger, death and brutal strangers.

"Now, when their children said that they wanted to go to Kuta, the parents will warn them about terrorists and bombs. If the kids go to Kuta, their parents will spend the entire time in anxiety," he said.

Similar anxiety was also expressed by Widi Widiana, Bali's most popular pop singer. A native of Legian, Kuta, and a father of a three-month-old baby, Widi said that the fear for another attack was always present.

"The fear usually intensifies when we are about to enter the month of October," he said.

The fear, he said, was further aggravated by the failure of the island's security authorities to convince the people that it had taken all necessary measures to prevent another terrorist attack.

"Of course we saw many security-related activities in the months following the attack. But, after a while the enthusiasm died out and we began to doubt whether our security force now has the skills, knowledge, equipment and, most importantly, the preparedness to counter a future attack," he said.

One example of such aborted enthusiasm was the establishment of Bali Security Council (BSC). Conceived by the brilliant Made Mangku Pastika, the former Bali Police Chief, BSC was designed to be an umbrella organization to seamlessly integrate the resources and expertise of various security agencies on the island.

With counterterrorism as its first priority, BSC was responsible for drawing and implementing a comprehensive security plan that would combine state-of-the-art equipment with highly trained human operatives.

But BSC got lost in the confusing jungle of political power play and bureaucratic stupidity.

The private sector and concerned individuals tried to alleviate the anxiety by building their own security system. A network of CCTV was built and operated in the quiet tourist destination of Sanur. Other tourist areas soon followed with similar arrangements.

"But, who will protect the island's general population, those Balinese who do not live in tourist destinations or who aren't rich enough to afford a private security system? Who will alleviate their fear?," writer Made Sudiana asked.

"Probably the gods," Aryantha Soethama answered.

Perhaps that's the reason why following the bombings and despite the economic hardship, a large number of Balinese still organize time-consuming and expensive religious festivals.

"They believe that by doing so the gods will spare the island from further attack and will bless the island with another long period of prosperity," he said.

"Moreover, the responsibility of protecting the island into the hands of the gods, those Balinese could relieve themselves from the burden of fear and anxiety," he added.

To a certain extent, that religious fervor was a meaningful and positive response. Yet, it certainly wasn't a sufficient response.

"Let's not forget that the terrorist attack was a physical attack, not a supernatural one. Our ancestors had told us that a supernatural attack must be countered with supernatural means and physical attack with physical means," Aryantha said.

From this perspective, he believed, a sacred offering wasn't an appropriate answer to a high-tech bomb.

"What we really need is a bomb-defusing kit and a person skilled in using it," he said.

posted by andersonite @ 6:58 PM