Bali flooded by refugees

Bali flooded by refugees

PADANG, West Sumatra (JP): Ethnic conflicts in several regions
have triggered increasing flows of refugees to Bali, adversely
affecting the island's tourist centers like Denpasar and Badung
physically, socially and culturally, claimed an expert in Padang
recently.

"This condition has taken place over the last two years, as a
result of communal and religious fighting in Jakarta, East Java,
Lombok, East Timor and Maluku, forcing disadvantaged people to
seek safety and make their livelihoods elsewhere," said
anthropologist Emilia Mariyah.

The Udayana University expert in Bali further indicated that
the refugees were generally unskilled and that Denpasar and
Badung were packed with enclaves of these resettlers, as quoted
by Antara.

"There has been rising crime in tourist spots, which has
tainted the area culturally with tourists feeling insecure and
causing tourism, an asset of regional autonomy, to be
threatened," she pointed out.

Speaking of urban culture in the framework of regional
autonomy in Bali at a symposium in Padang, she called on the
regional government to conduct continuous control through
administrative reordering, settlement improvement and informing
local inhabitants on how to preserve their environment as a
tourist destination.