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.