On Bali's tolerance
On Bali's tolerance
I am writing in response to Putu Yasa's letter of Oct. 23
entitled Disgusted by Bali's tolerance. Despite being confronted
most mornings with letters written by the bigoted, the uninformed
and the intolerant, I had not, until Putu's letter, been moved to
respond.
Putu seems enraged by tolerance: a strange opinion in itself.
Perhaps he would prefer to live in a world dominated by the kind
of bigotry and hate that led to the attack on Bali; most open-
minded people would not.
Throughout his letter Putu refers to "aliens". By this does he
mean tourists, or guests, whose dollars support Indonesian
families and the Indonesian economy, leading to investment in
education, medicine and general infrastructure?
He then goes on to state that Bali has "suddenly allowed
itself to belong to foreign governments". Most practical people
would see this as positive assistance in the identification of
victims and the search for the murderers responsible for their
deaths.
Putu further insults the Balinese by referring to them as
"servants of these outsiders". I was under the impression that
such "servants" are gainfully employed and that that employment
provides for the basic needs of many local people.
Bali is then portrayed as a "haven for Javanese prostitutes".
Does Putu choose to ignore the hundreds of prostitutes that
populate bars, clubs and hotels throughout the country? Such
workers are not solely to "satisfy the sexual desire of foreign
tourists" as he suggests, but also the urges of local men.
Putu seems to take particular offense at Balinese religious
rituals being used "for tourist attractions". Would he prefer the
Balinese to exclude any non-Hindus from such rituals and for
religion to be used to separate and divide people? Many world
religions welcome interest by followers of other religions and do
not find such interest a threat or a reason to hate.
Putu ends his letter by stating that Bali is "the face of the
Indonesian nation". In my opinion, it is not. Bali, for most
foreigners and tourists, is seen as "separate" from the rest of
Indonesia: a haven of peace and gentleness amid islands of
violence and bigotry.
ADRIAN SWEENEY, Jakarta