Talk of terror colors Ubud festival

Talk of terror colors Ubud festival

Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Ubud, Bali

Star writers of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF)
2005 gathered in the early afternoon of Oct. 7 to speak to the
press on the festival's theme, Between Worlds, and its expanded
significance in light of last Saturday's events in Kuta and
Jimbaran Bay, Bali.

Distinctly noticeable was the absence of Booker Prize-winning
author Michael Ondaatje, one of the bigger -- if not the biggest
-- literary names to be featured at the UWRF.

Moderated by writer Nasir Tamara, Timor Leste President Xanana
Gusmao spoke first, in Bahasa Indonesia, setting the tone: "On
behalf of the people and the nation of Timor Leste, I would like
to convey our empathy to Bali and to Indonesia at this time."

"If you ask why I am here, I would have to say that I'm
here... at the behest of my wife," he continued, eliciting
laughter and applause from members of the festival and the media.

"But I also came in a spirit of solidarity in the face of
these suicide bombings ... Hopefully, people can learn to think
beyond politics ... that this world belongs to us all, that we
live together on this planet, that we can live together in
harmony."

Gusmao stressed that writers could play a role in promoting
peace, and that through the festival "it is hoped that we can
contribute to building a world in which we can (all) live a life
of peace, harmony and love among all men".

His wife, Kirsty Sword Gusmao, expanded upon his statement:
"Even though neither of us consider ourselves to be 'writers', it
is an appropriate opportunity to be here at the festival. We
decided that the best way to make a statement was not to make it
at home, but to come to Bali."

The Gusmaos are slated to hold a reading of A Woman of
Independence, Kirsty Gusmao's best-selling memoir, and Xanana
Gusmao's Mar Meu, as well as to speak of their separate journeys
that melded into a single, shared path.

Janet Steele, author of Wars Within: The Story of Tempo, an
Independent Magazine in Soeharto's Indonesia, also expressed her
sympathy, quoting the words of Indonesia's foremost essayist: "As
an American, I can understand this fear (following the bombings),
but as Goenawan Mohamad said, `We can feel scared, but we cannot
be scared.'"

From the other end of the archipelago, Acehnese poet Azhari
presented a different perspective through the experience of his
people. "While we (Acehnese) are still waiting to see what
happens over the next few months in the implementation of the
peace agreement, I have hope. Because people cannot go on without
hope."

Celebrated Balinese poet, healer and HIV/AIDS activist Putu
Oka Sukanta stressed the need to expose "borderless writings ...
to build new writing to develop the quality of humanity in the
world". He also expressed a sense of triumph at the growing
recognition of the HIV/AIDS epidemic locally: "Last year, only
one hour was devoted to (this issue); this year, it is one day.
This is progress."

Understandably, however, focus on the literary and cultural
potential of the festival was nearly lost as reporters pursued
questions related directly to the bombings in Bali. Indonesian
publisher and author Richard Oh, who had only just arrived in
Ubud, spoke up from the floor, declaring, "We should stop talking
about terror. If we keep talking about this bomb, then (the
terrorists) win. We should talk about literature, about good
writing."

If one writer could be said to have stood out among the panel
in embodying the festival's theme, it would be Indian poet,
writer and literature professor Randhir Khare. As he introduced
himself, "I am an Indian citizen for official purposes, but my
ancestry is Spanish, Irish, English and Indian. You could say
that a series of accidents came together, tied into a knot and I
was that knot."

Drawing upon his experiences as a volunteer first-response
worker during the Calcutta violence and Bangladesh war of
liberation during the early 1970s and the Punjab violence of the
1980s, Khare said, "I don't believe in the assumption that
writers must have a message to give. A writer is a witness, a
bridge between worlds, a messenger."

When Khare first came to Bali this March, he was "overwhelmed
by the humanity, the sense of value and the sense of truth" that
prevailed in the Balinese culture, and implied that these
characteristics were a threat to those who resort to terror.

"It is almost as if insane forces -- whatever name we want to
call it -- cannot fight on the same battlefield of humanity, so
they take it to another battlefield. But this only shows who is
true and who is false. And that a true country is the country of
truth, peace and humanity -- between worlds."

As festival director Janet De Neefe stated on Oct. 2 in a
message posted on the UWRF official website, "Between Worlds now
reflects a life between peace and violence and how we survive in
a changing world."

De Neefe expects further collaborative literary projects to
emerge as a result of bonds created and reinforced among
participating writers at the festival, as occurred at the
inaugural UWRF 2004.

"We can ride the tide of these evil events," she said, and
suggested that writers, in "working together, sharing ideas and
growing together", could go beyond cross-cultural and interfaith
exchange toward an even broader aim of promoting peace throughout
the world.