Did the Oct. 12 inferno really change Australia?

Did the Oct. 12 inferno really change Australia?

Rob Goodfellow, University of Wollongong, New South Wales,
Australia

How to cope with proximity to Asia has been Australia's
dilemma since the World War II. Four events have framed
Australian national perceptions of the countries near north: The
defeat of the invading Japanese Army in New Guinea, the Vietnam
War, Indonesia's annexation of East Timor and the 12 Oct. 2002
bombings in Bali.

Australia's often-turbulent relationship with the region is
entering a new phase. This is because as a nation Australia is in
the process of transforming itself into neither a "European" nor
an "Asian" society, but rather something uniquely "Australian".

More than any event since the Japanese Army were turned back
on the Kakoda Trail above Port Moresby in January 1943, the
bombing of the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Kuta and the death of
202 people (including 88 Australians) has defined what this
emerging sense of "Australian-ness" is.

World War II, Vietnam and East Timor were interpreted by
various Australian governments as confirmation of Australia"s
territorial vulnerability. The Bali bombings on the other hand
have revealed a depth of national character that has demonstrated
the maturity to recognize the hopes, fears and aspirations of
Australia's Indonesian neighbors -- as they too confront the
reckless evils of intolerance, racial hatred and militant
fundamentalism.

Indeed the small but dangerous minority of zealots that
threaten Indonesia's emerging democracy also threatens the entire
region, of which Australia is increasingly, "the odd man in".

There is ample evidence of an unprecedented level of official
cooperation between Australia and Indonesia following Oct. 12.
Despite the great differences between cultures, the police in
Bali and their Australian counterparts -- in particular the
Australian Federal Police, made astonishing progress in bringing
the bombers to justice.

Further, intelligence organizations in both countries are
sharing counter-terrorism expertise in a manner that would have
been unthinkable prior to the tragedy. (This cooperation was
quickly mobilized to respond to the August bombing of the
Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.)

However the greatest impact has been in the way the tragedy
has brought ordinary Australians and Indonesians in closer
contact with each other.

This relationship is exemplified by Perth roof tiler Peter
Hughes who suffered horrendous burns in the blast. Hughes now
spends much of his time raising funds to support victims in both
Australia and Bali. (The courage of Hughes and others on the
night of the disaster moved the Chief of the Australian Defense
Force, Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, to describe survivors and
volunteers on the scene as "diggers [the traditional word for
Australian soldiers] without a uniform on".)

It was this determination to be part of a solution, rather
than surrender to terror tactics, that inspired Hughes to present
a "victim impact statement" to the court in Denpasar.

This set a precedent in the development of the Indonesian
justice system, but it also supported a surprisingly open and
workable system of jurisprudence -- at a critical period in
Indonesia's social and political reconstruction.

In Bali, funds raised by millions of ordinary Australians and
hundreds of community and service groups have been spent on
developing an ambulance service, establishing a blood bank, on
modernizing emergency facilities and on improving disaster
preparedness in both Indonesia, and in Australia's most northerly
capital city -- Darwin.

Hundreds of smaller organizations around Australia, such as
the "Zero to One Foundation", which supports victims of
terrorism, are assisting students affected by the Bali tragedy
with school fees, books, uniforms and other educational costs in
a program that organizers hope will run over a 20-year period.

In sport, a nine-a-side version of "Aussie Rules" football,
and the Bali International Rugby Tens, were set to commence their
respective competitions in Denpasar on Oct. 11 as part of
activities to memorialize last years bombing victims.

Many of those participating lost friends and teammates in the
tragedy and have expressed determination to commemorate Oct. 12
in Bali despite the Australian government's travel advisory.

My city of Wollongong New South Wales, has hosted three high
level Indonesia delegations -- one each from Denpasar, Jakarta
and Medan. Last week, Wollongong City Gallery Director Peter
O'Neill, summed up this new approach during the visit of a
delegation to organize an exchange of staff from the Museum of
North Sumatra: "Relationships between countries are too
important to be left solely in the hands of government. [The
Australian] media focuses on government-to-government
relationships but ... there is an enormous series of relations --
people-to-people -- that exceed government relations a hundred
times over".

Like Australians observance of "Anzac Day" (an Australian
military defeat in Turkey during World War I) the commemoration
of the Oct. 12 bombings demonstrates Australians celebrate
character rather than cause.

What Australian's call "mateship" in the face of adversity has
again ennobled us. Bali has not only confirmed our integrity but
also demonstrated a growing desire to imaginatively engage
Indonesia at many levels. For this reason, historians of the
future will see Oct. 12, 2002 as a turning point in Australia's
national journey.

The writer has recently completed his PhD in Indonesian
history and politics. He is the author of a number of books on
Australian relations with the region.