Klub Kokos

News:
1. How Bali is Coping

December 2002 Newsletter

Bali Copes
Bomb Site in Kuta
Tribute to Peace & Unity Weekend in Ubud
Cleansing Ceremony in Kuta

A pile of rubble remained where the Sari Club once stood

Thousands of people
from all over Bali came
to Kuta to be a part of
the cleansing ceremony

The last few months of 2002 have been a very sad time for the Balinese, for Australians, and for the world in general. This beautiful island, that for so many people is "Paradise", was a victim of an horrific attack - the bombings in Kuta at Paddy's and the Sari Club on the night of October 12th.

Within hours of the bombing, news had spread throughout the island. People were stunned. The whole concept of a global terrorist movement was far beyond the understanding of the average people here. Why was this done? What had the Balinese done wrong to deserve this? How could this have happened?

The Balinese generally blamed themselves that such a thing could happen. Being such a spiritually oriented people, they searched for answers from the religious leaders and scriptures. Within days of the bombing special ceremonies were performed at the bomb site to try to exorcise the evil that had invaded the area, while on November 15th a huge cleansing ceremony was held in Kuta, combined with an island-wide ceremony.

Meanwhile, so many locals, expats and people holidaying in Bali with different skills that might be of use in the emergency situation were volunteering to ease the tremendous stresses put upon hospital and medical facilities in Bali. Within days of the bombing all foreigners that had been injured in the bombing had been evacuated to other countries, but there were still many local Indonesian patients, plus the terrible task of identifying all of the dead.

Staff & guests make food packages to supply breakfast for the hundreds of volunteers & patients at the hospital

See what our guests (Lauryn & Josh in the above photo) wrote about their experience

As well as a severe shortage of basic medical supplies, help was desperately required to support the many volunteers in the General Hospital in Denpasar. The local tourism board organised many of the hotels in the Ubud area on a roster system to provide meals and cleaning gangs for the hospital. We were thankful that KLUB KOKOS could give some small assistance to this enormous task.

While international aid was being given to help the situation in the hospitals and morgue, there was also a very real need to help heal the mass trauma that was being experienced by people all over Bali. Not just for those that were directly involved with the bombing, but also millions of others unable to accept the reality of what had been done.

In Ubud, we joined a group of people who decided that one way to contribute to the healing of emotions and distress in a positive way was to organise a "Tribute to Peace and Unity". The focus of the event was a huge procession followed by different artistic performances throughout the weekend of November 9th and 10th.

Since last month we have seen many other activities organised to help heal the emotions of the people of Bali. But, as other countries continue their travel warnings against Indonesia, Bali is now beginning to fully feel the economic strains of a drastic drop in tourists visiting this island. While direct victims of the bombing and their families are now hopefully receiving much-needed financial aid from donations promised from so many quarters, at least 40% of the population of Bali is also being directly affected economically through wage cuts, loss of jobs or income through services related to the tourist industry.

Previous newsletters are available here, including links to featured recipes.

There are a number of projects being organised in the Ubud area to assist and employ people until an economic recovery is in sight. At KLUB KOKOS we would also like to do something directly for the community of Bangkiang Sidem and Sebali.

We are now appealing to support two major projects:

1. The purchase of an angklung orchestra set for the Sebali Primary School. These instruments will be housed in the new library building, with members of the local community employed to teach students how to play. We would also like to sponsor the employment of a Balinese dance teacher at the school.

This project will cost approximately Rp.20 million (US$2250 / Aust$4000) for the initial purchase of the musical instruments, with an ongoing cost of about Rp.1 million a month (US$110 / Aust$200) for the employment of teachers from the local community.

2. The ongoing sponsorship of 62 students in the local area. An initial appeal for assistance was made following the economic crisis in Indonesia in 1997, to prevent children from dropping out of school due to financial reasons. The continued generosity of our friends and guests of KLUB KOKOS as well as the strengthening of our own economic base as a business prior to the Kuta bombing had kept this program going to date. However, we are now in a situation where we are struggling to maintain the same level of sponsorship.

We thank you sincerely for all of the moral support that you have given us over the past few months since the bombing, and hope that those of you who would like to help contribute financially to any of our education-oriented programs (student sponsorship, purchase of library materials, purchase of musical instruments or sponsorship of dance and music lessons) will do so through contacting us by email - cathy@klubkokos.com. We look forward to your continued interest in what we are doing in our local area. Now - more than ever - we need your support!

[next - Photos of the Bomb Site in Kuta]

This page was last updated on December 28, 2002