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.