Sari Club Peace Park

[rolandrolandroland]

Yesterday I was asked to sign a petition addresssed to the Australian Government (from balipeacepark.com ) requesting them to buy the Sari Club site for a Peace Park. I thought the peacepark group were not going to be doing this - rather they were trying to keep Politics out of this matter & wanted to raise funds from Private Individuals????? Isn't Kuta in Indonesia??? Wasn't the Sari Club bombing aimed at Westerner's (not specifically Australians - as admitted to by the perpetrators of the dastardly deed).
If Government funding is required, why not petition the Indonesian Government? Is it the intention of the organisers to allow (if the funding was provided) the Aust Govt to manage the peace park?
Has the owner of the land been petitioned for him to donate the site - which would surely be seen as a wonderful gesture? Does the Kuta Desa (local community) want that land placed in the hands of any Government? Will they allow anything to be erected on that site? What about the monument that is now being constructed across the road - who is paying for that - the land & the monument itself?
rolandrolandroland

i'd rather see it empty and "deserted" as it is than be put into a spectacle. to me it's a burial ground that should be left alone...

[rolandrolandroland]

To DrIvEr - I do tend to agree with you that the site should not be re-developed at all. But, as something is likely to be done with it, then wouldn't it be naiive to "put one's head in the sand"? It already has banners draped across the front of it. Also I recently noticed Cigarette Advertising Banners had been erected there, which I managed to get the Banjar to remove. The mind boggles at the insensitivity of such actions - but it only goes to show that innaction/ignoring the issue completely would be the wrong thing to do.

[Roy]

Hold On Here A Second!

I understand all the emotion, and I understand the desire for a Bali Peace Park. I have my own ideas about that, and they differ quite a lot from Ms. Thompson’s (no relation) idea. And, I totally agree with the overall general concept.

However. This IS Bali. In Bali, the dead are NEVER memorialized. Moreover, why should the owner of the land, just “hand it over?” For what reason? He has already suffered a great loss, so why should he be asked, or expected to suffer more?

Everything I have read, or personally know about this project goes directly against the “grain” of Balinese thinking. In Ms. Thompsons’s proposal, she envisions the park as a nice place for Balinese children to play. Apa? Balinese kids play on what is essentially a burial ground? NO WAY! It will NEVER happen…even generations from now. Her heart is in the right place, but she doesn’t “get it.”

From the Balinese point of view, the question is essentially, why? The land in Klungkung where in 1908, in the great puputan, some two thousand Balinese died under the Dutch is all rebuilt upon. Is it memorialized? NO. In my own village of Ubud, the Campuan River Bridge was the “death zone” for countless hundreds of Balinese during the Communist purge of 1965-1966. Is it memorialized? Again, NO. It is just not the Balinese way, and in all frankness, I don’t think it’s right to force this upon them.

Let’s keep in mind that many Balinese also died in this event, the Kuta bombing. You can forget about either the Indonesian government, or the local Balinese government funding such a memorial. It just won’t happen, and furthermore, if this property is purchased by a “memorial” seeking individual or organization, while the sale would likely be OK…the use will be under scrutiny.

It would be very nice to turn the site into a meditative park. I proposed the idea of a mini botanical garden, with the names of all the victims attached to various trees and plants. I proposed this to various Balinese officials, who I knew were seeking a solution to this issue. No large monument, just a nice peaceful park, with benches, a place where relatives and friends can go, when they visit Bali, and reflect. This will “fly” with them, but as they see it, it’s a compromise, and no pressure from them will be brought upon the owner of the land to “give it up.”

So, that’s the overall story on this issue. I hope you can accept it, and not feel angry with the truth. It’s not at all that the Balinese don’t care, in fact, it’s just the opposite. They care very deeply.

[rolandrolandroland]

To Roy
Just a few points on your posting. The "owner" of the land has yet to suffer any loss - rather the Balinese businessman who leases the land from the owner has. Apparently a proposal was put by the Indo Govt to the owner to sell the land to them, but the owner does not want to sell - at any price, apparently. Again this makes the petition going around by BaliPeacePark.com addressed to the Australian Govt for them to buy the land a total waste of paper - & presumably any contributions thus made to BPP a waste of money too! Will it be refunded, I wonder?
It would seem that the Sari Club site is going to remain just dirt for a long time to come at any rate. Worth keeping an eye on though - if only to stop unscrupulous advertisers from trying to make a buck out of what is & will always be a place of pilgrimage for many visitors to Bali.
rolandrolandroland

[Roy]

Mate, I can’t argue with your brutal statements of reality. That’s the way it is. Some of us love it, and embrace it, and the others, well, in a few years, they just leave. Bali is not just an island, not by any means. Bali is a repository of the forces of Yin and Yang.

Good is never expected to overcome evil, and sama sama for evil. It’s all about BALANCE! Sorry to shout, but that’s what’s it all about here, has been, and will always be. Personally, as a Tamu from New York, I can deal with this, although it has taken me years to acclimate. Trying to “shove” goodness down a Balinese throat will certainly yield the same results of trying to shove “evil” down the same throat. It simply cannot be done. Striking a balance between good and evil is what it’s all about here on Bali.

What happens at the Sari land, will happen in spite of you, me, or even a whole host of folks that want a “peace park.” If the families of the Australian victims really want a special place at what was the Sari Club, then I think they could have their wishes fulfilled, but no chance on their present course. In all frankness…the last person to get this done should, or will be, an Australian.

That is a brutal fact, but it is fact. The emotion and passion that surrounds this issue has to be removed, especially by the folks from OZ. Powerful displays of even the most heart felt emotions will get you no-where here, except maybe to play a Rhangda at some ceremony. Well, that’s all I can offer. One lives, and one learns.

[rolandrolandroland]

To Roy
Betul, betul - mate!
r3