Klub Kokos

News:
3. Tribute to Peace & Unity

December 2002 Newsletter

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

The tragic event of October 12th left people in Bali with many mixed emotions. We felt violated and terribly hurt by this act of violence. While mourning for all those who were directly affected by the bombing, we were very concerned about the future of Bali.

A number of members of the Ubud community decided that something positive needed to be done locally to help in the healing process after the bombing. The people of Bali needed something more constructive to help reinforce a sense of unity in the face of adversity so that we could move forward once more. Peace must prevail.

Thousands of local Ubud people moved in procession down the main street from Peliatan to Ubud

The procession was accompanied by Angklung and Gong Suling orchestras

A weekend "Tribute to Peace and Unity" was organised, with the focus being a huge procession to display to the Balinese community and the rest of the world Bali's wish for Peace and Unity. The procession included school students carrying banners and wearing different costumes from around Indonesia, eight districts (81 banjar) of the Ubud area joining together with their youth organisations, and other Indonesian residents and expats from around Ubud.

On the Saturday afternoon of November 9th around 3000 of us set off from the Peliatan soccer field for about a 4km procession for Peace and Unity to the soccer field in Ubud, with about as many again joining in the procession at some point along the way. We'd made t-shirts for this occasion, as was later done for the ceremony in Kuta, so most of the crowd was wearing one.

The procession moved down Monkey Forest Road to the soccer field in Ubud, passing the VIP area before finding their allocated place on the field. For security reasons everyone was asked to stay within their own particular village groups, while we all had to wear name tags if we were a part of the performances.

Crowds starting to amass on the soccer field in Ubud in the late afternoon at the end of the procession

A group of school children arrive at the soccer field on their decorated bikes

Candles were lit by all of the crowd and participants, and placed with flowers in front of the stage in sand symbolically collected from the beach of Kuta

A Thai candle Dance performed by Waewdao Sirisooka, a girl from a Thai family that lives in the Ubud area

A colourful performance by the ARMA Kumara Sari Gong Orchestra made up of many young budding musicians and dancers

Candles were again lit on the second evening as the combined choirs from the Gianyar Catholic and Protestant churches sang

The Genta Bhuana Gong Orchestra & dance troupe perform spectacular Balinese dances

After a number of welcoming speeches, everyone was lead in communal prayer. Leaders from five religions joined together on stage to pray in harmony. As Muslims were then in the fasting month of Ramadan, special facilities were set up in the school across the road from the soccer field for Muslims to be able to go to pray before breaking their fast just on sunset. We had timed the communal prayer to coincide with this, so they were able to join in.

Then a short presentation was made to representatives of the group of volunteers who had put so much time and energy into helping in the emergency situation after the bombing. Numerous people from the Kuta area had come as invitees for this event.

White doves were released by each of the eight districts of the Ubud area as a symbol of peace, and candles were lit and placed in the sand before the evening's performances commenced. These included poetry reading, drama, music and dance performances, held over the two evenings of the weekend, all with the theme of "Peace and Unity".

I had not realised just how many expats are now living in the Ubud area, until I saw so many readily coming forward to contribute their artistic talents to ensure the success of the weekend, along with the many talented local artists.

While the performances were going on, a selection of delicious food was available at a night market. These meals were donated by various up-market hotels in the Ubud area and sold at a small cost to help cover some of the expenses of the weekend's activities - thereby giving many the opportunity to sample foods they would otherwise rarely be able to afford.

With all of the different performers on the two evenings volunteering their talents to make the weekend a success, security was very tight all around this area of Ubud, particularly backstage. It was at an all-time high when children from the Australian International School in Sanur arrived to perform on Sunday evening. This same tight security was very much evident in Kuta the following week at the ceremony there, with so many invited foreigners present.

We were very proud to see our own daughter's band Matasiwa perform acoustic modern music on Sunday evening. Sari sang beautifully, as well as making a short speech before their finale on how they hoped that their little contribution to the weekend Tribute would help to heal the emotions of the audience. Her words expressed the hopes of all the performers over the weekend.

As well as the weekend's activities, the following month saw a variety of activities and exhibitions in the Ubud area centred on the "Peace and Unity" theme. A number of these exhibitions continued on at other locations further afield from mid-December - to Jakarta and to Europe. It is hoped that Ubud's contribution to Bali's image as being non-aggressive and dedicated to seeking peaceful solutions to the world's problems may be of value to people as they learn to cope with the traumas of what is happening nowadays.

[next - Cleansing Ceremony in Kuta]

This page was last updated on December 27, 2002