By Gde Putra
The recently situation has absolutely amazed me.
Although I just saw it on the Facebook, but I guess this kind of situation is very rare in Bali and this is my first experience. What made me take a long deep breath was seeing a tornado destroying some houses in the dense populated area in Denpasar beginning of 2014.
The roof materials such as zinc, timber, tile, etc. were absorbed by the very strong tornado. “What kind of sign is this,” I said spontaneously.
I grow up in a tradition where superstition is still strong in which a strange situation is often considered as a ‘sign’ of a disaster. ‘The end of the world’ I thought was coming. My grandma said that strange natural disaster is a sign of the end of the world. The sign is considered relates to how human treat the nature badly. That’s why, in return, nature sends the strange sign.
Environment degradation always links to what the human being do against the nature. Imagine hundreds hectares of dry empty land as all trees have been cut, black thick smokes in the air, coming from factories, dead fish as the sea is badly polluted. What a completely ruined environment.
Sound Simple
Environmental issues are not only about horrible and horrific description. Daily situation, such as dirty clothes and kitchen tools that have not been washed, mothers yelling at their children as their children haven’t taken a bath yet as no water available, mothers can not start cooking as the pans are not washed yet, all describe the situation where I live. I even often hear they yelling, “ We have paid taxes, but why no water at all?”
We might get used to seeing family issues as private matters, so when something happens outside our house, like flooding with 2 meter water level and big trees fall and block the access road, it then become a public issue and everybody talks about it.
We Balinese of course do not want the water crisis in our island to get worse. As a tourist, if you would like to see our bath, and not just amazed by clear water of the pool in your hotel, so you will know that the slogan ‘water for people’ means nothing on the island of thousand hotels. The slogan should be changed to ‘water for tourists’ as the pools at the five star hotel and luxury villas never dry. Even the gardens in the villa and hotels look beautiful as they are watered every morning.
As soon as we relate the water crisis with the intention of PT TWBI to carry a reclamation project on Benoa Bay, in which they need thousand cubic of sand and stones to create fill the bay (838 hectares), we then realize this is the future disaster for Bali. On the new land, they will build luxury tourist destination. Imagine how the water crisis will get worse and worse for Balinese. They get less and less water for washing, cooking or watering as most water will be used for the new destination.
Honestly, I am sure that if the project will be carried out, disaster becomes a nightmare for us. This might be the sign I found when I tried to talk to myself during the tornado occurred in Bali as I mentioned above. I don’t mean to be superstitious. I know that this is far from scientific analysis. But what can I do. Sometimes you cannot control your mind. It just comes up automatically, that it connects with the reclamation project.
I have the reasons why I dare to predict the future disaster. Benoa Bay is located in South Bali, a very dense populated area. Most development is focused in South Bali; Denpasar, Kuta, Jimbaran, and Nusa Dua.
Attracting Tourists
What I have in mind is that once the project is approved by the government, the water crisis is getting real. “Who pays more, gets more” is what will happen. It will be more and more to get water for poor people and it seems that they have to become tourists in their own island to get more water.
In addition, if this happen, no significant change during this reformation era that Balinese people, including their rice field, forest and their culture as well become ‘slaves’ on behalf of tourism industry. It is supposed to be vice versa. However, the authorities are very obsessed to please the investors.
The daily complaints from the locals against the disparity in tourism industry are not simple issue. The complaints actually criticize the unfair policies of the government.
I don’t mean to be anti-development, but this is what really happens on the island. The authorities who conspire with the greedy investor are like ‘cannibals’ who tend to ruin their own people and their living place and their culture as well.
Now they even want conquer the Benoa Bay with their reclamation project.
The reclamation project indeed hasn’t started yet. But the people who are against the project are considered as paranoid by the sinister. It is common that people only react when a disaster has already happened, instead of long before it happens. Sometimes they even compare the other parts of the world where environmental degradations are even worse and are featured by international media. So when some people are worried of the reclamation project and only featured by the local media, they consider the project is not a big thing and not a something to worry about.
The Coming Danger
The parties who take advantage from this situation are the investors-authorities. Their plan to implement the project is become easier. Waiting for the disaster coming is a kind of fatalistic mentality, which means no one seems against the greedy investors.
Balinese are strongly believe in Karma Phala which says: what you get now depend on what you did in the past. If you did a good in the past, you get good things or vice versa. We can often hear from the people an expression like, “Greedy people will get their karma.”
I strongly believe in karma, but it doesn’t mean we are just quite to see problem solved by the karma.
To stand against the reclamation project means to be against exploitation of everything relates to the nature; the environment, human being, and the culture as well by the greedy investors. That’s why, to stand against the reclamation project of Benoa Bay is an effort to save the future for our next generation to come that we shouldn’t sell our island.
In addition, it is also to maintain the spirit of the young generation today that they will not surrounded by greedy leaders. There is a possibility that such greedy leaders will influence the mind of your children to be like them who really just want to ‘sell’ their own island.
If you agree with me, let’s fight together before it is too late.
By Gde Putra
The recently situation has absolutely amazed me.
Although I just saw it on the Facebook, but I guess this kind of situation is very rare in Bali and this is my first experience. What made me take a long deep breath was seeing a tornado destroying some houses in the dense populated area in Denpasar beginning of 2014.
The roof materials such as zinc, timber, tile, etc. were absorbed by the very strong tornado. “What kind of sign is this,” I said spontaneously.
I grow up in a tradition where superstition is still strong in which a strange situation is often considered as a ‘sign’ of a disaster. ‘The end of the world’ I thought was coming. My grandma said that strange natural disaster is a sign of the end of the world. The sign is considered relates to how human treat the nature badly. That’s why, in return, nature sends the strange sign.
Environment degradation always links to what the human being do against the nature. Imagine hundreds hectares of dry empty land as all trees have been cut, black thick smokes in the air, coming from factories, dead fish as the sea is badly polluted. What a completely ruined environment.
Sound Simple
Environmental issues are not only about horrible and horrific description. Daily situation, such as dirty clothes and kitchen tools that have not been washed, mothers yelling at their children as their children haven’t taken a bath yet as no water available, mothers can not start cooking as the pans are not washed yet, all describe the situation where I live. I even often hear they yelling, “ We have paid taxes, but why no water at all?”
We might get used to seeing family issues as private matters, so when something happens outside our house, like flooding with 2 meter water level and big trees fall and block the access road, it then become a public issue and everybody talks about it.
We Balinese of course do not want the water crisis in our island to get worse. As a tourist, if you would like to see our bath, and not just amazed by clear water of the pool in your hotel, so you will know that the slogan ‘water for people’ means nothing on the island of thousand hotels. The slogan should be changed to ‘water for tourists’ as the pools at the five star hotel and luxury villas never dry. Even the gardens in the villa and hotels look beautiful as they are watered every morning.
As soon as we relate the water crisis with the intention of PT TWBI to carry a reclamation project on Benoa Bay, in which they need thousand cubic of sand and stones to create fill the bay (838 hectares), we then realize this is the future disaster for Bali. On the new land, they will build luxury tourist destination. Imagine how the water crisis will get worse and worse for Balinese. They get less and less water for washing, cooking or watering as most water will be used for the new destination.
Honestly, I am sure that if the project will be carried out, disaster becomes a nightmare for us. This might be the sign I found when I tried to talk to myself during the tornado occurred in Bali as I mentioned above. I don’t mean to be superstitious. I know that this is far from scientific analysis. But what can I do. Sometimes you cannot control your mind. It just comes up automatically, that it connects with the reclamation project.
I have the reasons why I dare to predict the future disaster. Benoa Bay is located in South Bali, a very dense populated area. Most development is focused in South Bali; Denpasar, Kuta, Jimbaran, and Nusa Dua.
Attracting Tourists
What I have in mind is that once the project is approved by the government, the water crisis is getting real. “Who pays more, gets more” is what will happen. It will be more and more to get water for poor people and it seems that they have to become tourists in their own island to get more water.
In addition, if this happen, no significant change during this reformation era that Balinese people, including their rice field, forest and their culture as well become ‘slaves’ on behalf of tourism industry. It is supposed to be vice versa. However, the authorities are very obsessed to please the investors.
The daily complaints from the locals against the disparity in tourism industry are not simple issue. The complaints actually criticize the unfair policies of the government.
I don’t mean to be anti-development, but this is what really happens on the island. The authorities who conspire with the greedy investor are like ‘cannibals’ who tend to ruin their own people and their living place and their culture as well.
Now they even want conquer the Benoa Bay with their reclamation project.
The reclamation project indeed hasn’t started yet. But the people who are against the project are considered as paranoid by the sinister. It is common that people only react when a disaster has already happened, instead of long before it happens. Sometimes they even compare the other parts of the world where environmental degradations are even worse and are featured by international media. So when some people are worried of the reclamation project and only featured by the local media, they consider the project is not a big thing and not a something to worry about.
The Coming Danger
The parties who take advantage from this situation are the investors-authorities. Their plan to implement the project is become easier. Waiting for the disaster coming is a kind of fatalistic mentality, which means no one seems against the greedy investors.
Balinese are strongly believe in Karma Phala which says: what you get now depend on what you did in the past. If you did a good in the past, you get good things or vice versa. We can often hear from the people an expression like, “Greedy people will get their karma.”
I strongly believe in karma, but it doesn’t mean we are just quite to see problem solved by the karma.
To stand against the reclamation project means to be against exploitation of everything relates to the nature; the environment, human being, and the culture as well by the greedy investors. That’s why, to stand against the reclamation project of Benoa Bay is an effort to save the future for our next generation to come that we shouldn’t sell our island.
In addition, it is also to maintain the spirit of the young generation today that they will not surrounded by greedy leaders. There is a possibility that such greedy leaders will influence the mind of your children to be like them who really just want to ‘sell’ their own island.
If you agree with me, let’s fight together before it is too late.
