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