Six months after terrorist bombs devastated two nightclubs and killed more than 200 people, the tourist island of Bali is still trying to get back on its feet. Nearly a third of people have lost their jobs. Resort restaurants remain eerily empty. Many hotels have so few guests that owners are using the lull for maintenance and renovation. Things are slowly getting better — the economy is growing again, manufacturing and exports were largely unaffected, and the peak tourist season is still ahead. But the last few months have been tough both emotionally and financially.
| Just a little gift to the nation from its Islamists... |
The Oct. 12 bombings were the world's deadliest terrorist strike since Sept. 11, 2001. Most of the victims were foreign tourists, mainly from Australia. In March, the last of their remains were cremated along with offerings of flowers and bamboo leaves, then scattered in the sea by Hindu priests. Authorities have correctly blamed the attack on Jemaah Islamiyah - an al-Qaida-related group operating across Southeast Asia. Authorities have netted 29 hard boys scum vermin jihadis suspects from around the Indonesian archipelago, none of whom were from Bali. The fallout has been hard on Bali, which since the 1930s has been a premier destination for travelers seeking an exotic retreat, a place of mystery and beauty. The island had built an international reputation on its lush tropical jungles, elaborately carved temples, emerald green rice terraces and dramatic volcanic scenery. The United States and other countries slapped travel warnings on Indonesia, and tourism - which accounts for three-quarters of economic activity on the island - dropped by 80 percent in the first two months after the blasts.
Exploding bombs tend to do that.
Visitor spending in Bali, which accounts for about half of the $4.5 billion that Indonesia earns annually from tourism, dropped to almost nothing before starting slow growth again in early 2003. That recovery has continued despite the war in Iraq, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Southeast Asia, and the fact that the January-May rainy season always draws the fewest tourists.
War, terrorist attacks, unknown deadly viral illness and rain: everything I want in a vacation.
Australians, who had accounted for at least two-thirds of Bali's guests, have mainly stayed away. But Singaporeans, Taiwanese, Japanese, South Koreans, Germans, Russians, and other Europeans have been taking up some of the slack, attracted by special package promotions. The partial success of the police investigation into the bombing and pervasive security measures have helped reassure visitors. Island police are now being assisted by citizen groups that patrol their villages and perform spot identity checks. On Thursday, the U.S. State Department allowed its nonessential staff - but not their families - to return to the embassy in Indonesia.
| Yeah. The next atrocity will probably be someplace else — likely the roving gangs of thugs in Djakarta will find a busload of foreigners and kill them all... |
Investors say they are optimistic. One sector of Bali's economy - that of small, export-oriented manufacturing - appears not to have been affected by the attacks. Businessmen who run such companies say the drop in tourist revenues has barely had an impact on their bottom lines. Failure of the bombings to upset exports may even have persuaded foreign businessmen that Bali is the safest location in Indonesia for long-term investment, said John Hardy, who runs the U.S.-based John Hardy Collection, a maker of jewelry and housewares. The company employees about 600 local workers. ``Business is stable, we're not in a downward spiral, and I've never felt any apprehension about the future,'' Hardy said.
Maybe because the locals don't explode themselves, unlike certain imports.
| Maybe because the locals are honest, hard-working Hindus, instead of screaming, eye-rolling, spittle-spewing Islamists... |
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