Sweeping changes in the wake of Dec 26

I've heard the opinions of several people who say that Bali as we all know it will soon be no more, that the flood of refugees inevitably coming from tsunami-devastated areas will outnumber locals so heavily it will change the cultural/religious face of Bali forever.

What does everyone think?

[Bert Vierstra]

I think that those several people are a "bit" dreaming.

There are 3 million + Balinese, you think more then 3 million run for Bali?

We need to think of a plan to host them then don't we? :shock:

Gee, I am saying "we", I mean the Balinese...

I've heard the opinions of several people who say that Bali as we all know it will soon be no more, that the flood of refugees inevitably coming from tsunami-devastated areas will outnumber locals so heavily it will change the cultural/religious face of Bali forever.

What does everyone think?

I doubt it. If anything, the area that will receive the most refugees will be Java, Jakarta to be exact.

[Roy]

I've heard the opinions of several people who say that Bali as we all know it will soon be no more, that the flood of refugees inevitably coming from tsunami-devastated areas will outnumber locals so heavily it will change the cultural/religious face of Bali forever.

I think those opinions are nuts for several reasons:

1) The last place in Indonesia likely to be a heavy re-settlement area is Bali. Bali is Hindu, Acehnese are strict Muslims and the Ache province is the only province in Islamic Indonesia to operate under Sharia Law.

2) Any resettlement of the Acehnese would have to be to areas where the resettled could continue to make a living in the manner they are accustomed.

3) I only know a few Acehnese very well from my business, and they don’t strike me as likely to ever be willing to leave the Ache Province of Sumatra. While there are some 500,000 refugees in Aceh based on recent numbers, it’s not logical to assume that all, half, or even 20% of these people will have to, or chose to be re-settled in other parts of Indonesia.

4) I have no doubts that some Acehnese may well end up in Bali. It would not surprise me if some orphaned children were adopted by some families living in Bali, including Balinese families. But, a mass re-settlement of Acehnese refugees into Bali simply won’t happen.

Bali simply could not absorb hundreds of thousands of refuges. As insensitive at it may sound, the Indonesian government would never upset the cultural balance of Bali as the ramifications are just too significant.

As I understand the objectives of the massive relief and aid projects in Ache, they are to address the basic needs of the Acehnese people and to restore the infrastructure of the region. Surely that will mean some degree of displacement in what the United Nations says could take some ten or more years. But the idea of a flood of refugees coming into Bali and outnumbering the locals is simply preposterous.

[Roy]

More on orphaned children and adoption concerns from today's Jakarta Post:


Govt bans adoption to protect orphans


Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although many people have expressed willingness to adopt Acehnese orphans who lost their parents in the devastating tsunami disaster a week ago, the government has temporarily prohibited the adoption of the homeless children.

"We have decided not to allow the adoption of Acehnese children temporarily in a bid to avoid controversy and possible trafficking cases," Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah said on Tuesday. Adoption of Acehnese orphans could be a sensitive matter as it often involves the issues of ethnicity and religion.

He said the ban followed an agreement between the government and Acehnese community associations in North Sumatra and in Jakarta to take care of some 35,000 children left orphaned or separated from their families after the tsunami that inundated Aceh and North Sumatra.

Earlier, director for child protection at the Ministry of Social Affairs Makmur Sanusi said that Acehnese children were not allowed to be adopted unless it confirmed beyond any doubt that they had lost all of their relatives.

Many homeless children are currently being placed in orphanages and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Medan and other towns across Sumatra island, while some others are being taken care of by other Acehnese families.

Support for the temporary ban came from Ciptaningsih Utaryo, who chairs the Sayap Ibu Foundation -- one of the five child foundations authorized by the government to handle adoptions in the country.

She argued that these orphaned children needed to mingle with their peers in orphanages or pesantren to help them overcome the trauma they experienced before being adopted.

Sayap Ibu is preparing several orphanages with a capacity to accommodate around 2,000 children, Ciptaningsih said.

"The children need a quiet and peaceful environment after having experienced such nightmares. The last thing they need is to try to adapt to a new environment, such as being adopted by a different family," she told The Jakarta Post.

"When adopted, a child needs to adjust to a completely new environment including new family members. It can be a very difficult process if he or she is above five years old because it takes longer to adapt," Ciptaningsih added.

"Besides, who knows, these children may just have been separated from their parents, and they may be reunited once the situation returns to normal," Ciptaningsih said.

She explained that the adoption process could take a long time and is very complicated since the matter goes through the courts.

"It could take a year before the whole process is over, especially with Acehnese children, who have lost their birth certificates and other documents in the disaster," Ciptaningsih added.

"Temporary care for them in orphanages or pesantren is fine, but adoption is definitely not an option at the moment," she said.

Apart from individuals, several organizations are ready to help accommodate Acehnese children who were left orphaned or separated from their parents on Dec. 26.

The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said it has prepared at least 14 pesantren to accommodate some 1,000 orphans from the tsunami-hit areas in Aceh and North Sumatra.

"Our pesantren across Aceh are ready to accommodate 1,000 children and wish to provide education for them. If only the government would allow us to bring the children out from Aceh, we are ready to provide more places for more than 5,000 children," NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi was quoted by Antara as saying on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there has been one confirmed case of a child being smuggled out of Aceh to Medan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), AFP reported.

UNICEF spokesman for Indonesia, John Budd, said that the Malaysian office had received a message advertising that 300 orphans from Aceh, aged between three and 10, could be bought.

However, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paiman said that so far the police had not found any cases of child trafficking in Aceh.