New York City, Bali share grief<\/p>\n
Damaso Reyes, Contributor, The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, for the second time in as many years, I found
\nmyself walking through the scene of a terrorist attack. The
\nsecond was here in Bali, a place I had always associated with
\npeace and paradise, someplace I wanted to make home. The first,
\nin New York, came as much as a surprise to us as it did to the
\nBalinese.<\/p>\n
As I walked down Jl. Legian and through the scene, it struck
\nme how similar the sites were, the twisted metal, the background
\nof broken facades against charred and mangled cars. Even the
\nsmell brought back memories of that warm day in September last
\nyear when I woke to the destruction of two buildings that had
\nbeen erected before my birth and that I was sure would continue
\nto cast shadows long after I had found my peace. Walking down the
\nstreet with my friend Christine, she noted how much the scene
\nreminded her of being in Latin America. I replied that after the
\nlast two years terrorism had no boundaries, that it no longer
\ncould be confined or categorized.<\/p>\n
As one man I recently interviewed said when speaking of the
\neffects of the attacks on the Balinese and expatriate
\ncommunities: \"we have been struck by the same arrows.\"<\/p>\n
What amazed me in New York over a year ago was how quickly and
\nstrongly people came together to help one another. Here in Bali
\nthe response was the same. From offers of blood and money to time
\nand energy in the form of volunteers. If the terrorists behind
\nSept. 11th and Oct. 12th wished to divide people, to use fear and
\nanger as a tool to separate their intended targets, the response
\nof New Yorkers and Balinese, of Americans and Indonesians, proved
\nhow wrong was their idea.<\/p>\n
In New York, somewhere perceived by many as a city without a
\nsoul, churches, synagogues and mosques were filled to capacity.
\nHere in Bali, a place renowned for its spirituality, one cannot
\nwalk down the street without stepping over an offering left in a
\ndoorway, a gift of atonement, a chance to cleanse the spirit of
\npain and anger.<\/p>\n
Walking down Jl. Legian reminded me of walking down West
\nBroadway that bright fall morning that had started out with so
\nmuch promise, that day when the streets were white with what one
\ncould only wish was snow. We have all been struck by the same
\narrows.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-york-city-bali-share-grief-1447893297",
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