Bali: My second home

Bali: My second home

Bali is, as my Balinese friends tell me, my second home and it
weighs heavily on my heart that Bali has again been scarred by a
terrorist act. It saddens me that more innocent people who came
together in this global meeting place have lost their lives, been
maimed or left psychologically traumatized. It concerns me that
many of my dear friends face a financially uncertain future
because the tourists will not come.

My love of Bali and its wonderful people has prompted me
to learn more about Indonesia as a whole and my circle of
Indonesian friends extends to people who come from well beyond
Bali's shores. It is at this grassroots level of personal
friendships between common people that we can best battle
terrorism. We must all get to know and understand one another
much better.

Recently, Australia's SBS Television aired a program that can
show us the way. Called Storyline Australia -- Swapping Lives ,
it covers a remarkable exchange.

For 10 weeks, Violet, a 19-year-old Australian girl, was
totally immersed in a traditional Indonesian lifestyle as she
swapped family, friends and cultures with Dewi, a Muslim girl her
own age from Jakarta.

Both girls, armed with small digital video cameras, recorded
the encounters within each other's cultures. Set against a
backdrop of uncertainty, fear and mistrust between our two
nations, the story shed light, rather than heat, on our common
humanity.

It would be wonderful if our two governments could explore
cultural exchange programs for the youth of our two great
nations. My hope for my beloved Bali is that it can stand as the
crossroads of the world, where all people of all religions can
come together and get to know one another in a spirit of peace,
harmony and mutual respect. I for one will continue to go there
in that spirit.

ROBYN CASH, Perth, Australia