Bali blasts impoverish thousands

Bali blasts impoverish thousands

Agence France-Presse, Kuta, Bali

The bombers who targeted Western holidaymakers on the resort
island of Bali one year ago also impoverished hundreds of
thousands of Indonesians, a report released on Monday said.

The report on the impact of the nightclub blasts said
"probably hundreds of thousands of people" have experienced
substantial cuts in working hours and salaries for a sustained
period since the crisis began, while many others have lost jobs
and livelihoods.

The report by the United Nations Development Program, the U.S.
Agency for International Development and the World Bank, says the
once prosperous "crown jewel" of Indonesian tourism is suffering
more than expected.

"It is clear now that the crisis is deeper and longer lasting
than at first anticipated, giving greater urgency to the need for
effective action," it said.

Tourist arrivals are unlikely to return to normal until next
year at the earliest, it warned.

The bombings, blamed on the al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), killed 164 foreign holidaymakers and 38 Indonesians and
prompted a tourist exodus.

They shattered "the image of a peaceful, innocent Bali," the
report said, and the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak were added
blows.

Tourist arrivals are recovering but revenue is lagging, with
deep discounts needed to attract new visitors -- who spend less
than traditional ones.

The August hotel bombing in Jakarta, which killed 12 people
and is also blamed on JI, "highlights the continued vulnerability
of Indonesia's tourist industry and economy to terrorist
attacks."

Average income islandwide fell by 43 percent between October
2002 and May 2003 and some businesses have seen turnover drop by
more than 60 percent. Between January and April, "anecdotal
evidence suggests" that up to three-quarters of hotel workers
were either working fewer hours or had been temporarily laid off.

More than half of small and medium industries laid off
workers. Some 31 percent of schools, mainly in the impoverished
northeast of the island, reported students dropping out this
year.

But this represented less than one percent in terms of student
numbers.

"There are always a lot of dropouts," World Bank country
director Andrew Steer told a press conference at which the report
was released.

"The extent to which this increased this year was not as great
as some of us had feared and that is a great tribute to the
community system here in Bali."

The report, prepared in cooperation with the Indonesian
government, urged national and regional administrations to focus
on maintaining and improving security.

U.S. ambassador Ralph Boyce, at the same press conference,
stressed "the importance of continued vigilance on the part of
Indonesian authorities to ensure that Indonesia remains peaceful
and free from further terrorism."

The report said Bali should diversify its economy to absorb
future shocks by strengthening exports which build on existing
tourist-oriented industries.

The central government should study ways to address crises
more effectively, especially following the devolution of power to
regions, it said.

"Responses (to the crisis) have been fragmented and there has
been a lack of focus on the most vulnerable," the report said.

The government should consider scrapping plans to start
charging many tourists a US$35 visa fee, it said.

The report warned that the golden days may be gone forever and
"recovery in the sense of return to past conditions may not be an
option for Bali" given global tourism trends.

The longer-term agenda of regenerating the island as a
destination and building a more diverse economy should not be
delayed, the report says.