Terror in the guise of culture

I Ngurah Suryawan, Anthropology Department School of Letters, Udayana University, Denpasar

Ahmad Mislan, a migrant working in Bali said, "We're very disappointed. We have come here not to colonize the land but to earn a living." (Kompas, Jan. 7)

"Sweeping" and raids against those considered "migrants" in Bali have been unusually intensive following the bomb blast in Kuta last Oct. 12, particularly in Denpasar and in Badung regency -- the areas closest to the tourist centers. The municipal and regency administration has teamed up with traditional village chiefs to list migrants (other Indonesians, particularly those from Java, which is where most of the Oct. 12 suspects hail from).

Obviously, the victims of the terror, both immediate family members and those who lost jobs due to the tourist drop-off, have taken revenge by introducing a new kind of terror against migrants in Bali. Such actions have been taken in haste and are more of an emotional reaction rather than a premeditated attack, as the Oct. 12 bombing apparently was.

Indeed, the local authorities have sought to register "locals" and "migrants" before October 2003. This act has been deemed necessary because the Balinese do not feel secure now living with certain migrants, or perhaps because of the stigma slapped on migrants. Between the 1980s and 1990s, there were frequent thefts of pretima (holy statues in temples).

As a result, warnings of "No entry for scavengers" are put up at entrances to roads or alleys. In a very short time, the migrants, known to the Balinese as nyama dauh tukad (brothers from the other side of the river), have been made scapegoats for these thefts and have also been stigmatized as destroyers, or even colonizers, as Ahmad Mislan has put it. Hence the stories about migrants destroying Balinese culture.

In 2000, those suspected of stealing clothes and pretima began to be subjected to mob trials. This was later followed by suspicion of and a dislike for migrants. In fact, Balinese committing such thefts and other crimes have also been subjected to this fierce mass action. A dislike against migrants has been prompted by these crimes.

A week after the Kuta bomb blast, raids were conducted in Gilimanuk port and in Ubung bus station, Bali's only inter- provincial bus station. During the Idul Fitri (post-fasting Muslim festival) homecoming exodus, hundreds of migrants were returned to their home villages if they did not posses legal residential papers for Bali.

Following the raids, Denpasar and Badung saw the birth of Parum (an association of customary village chiefs in Denpasar) intended to support the raids. Previously, the Denpasar Care Forum (FPD) was established, claiming it would assist the municipality in handling social problems, including population raids.

So in road segments leading to customary villages or at entrances to such villages one sees notices reading "Only those with proper identity papers may enter this area" or "Don't enter unless you have proper identity papers. It is really horrible to see these symbols of terror, which can be construed as threats and an expression of arrogance.

Denpasar is now crowded with people vying to get the fruit of development and lured by a life of luxury. Measuring 127.78 kilometers, this city has 546,000 people, all vying to take control of the limited economic areas in the city.

It is easy to imagine the social and cultural costs that may arise from this rat-race competition involving different ethnic groups. Population growth continues to increase. Now it stands at a total of 3.1 percent annually and will continue to rise.

The growth of migrants account for 2.4 percent a year of that growth. These percentages show how complicated and messy Denpasar is, while in fact it has declared itself to be a cultural city.

Just imagine being subjected to a raid by pecalang (traditional civilian security guards in Bali) and a population raid team at 9:30 p.m. or even 1 a.m. Apart from having your self-respect wounded and your privacy disturbed you would have to put up with arrogant participants of the raid and the dirty stigma that you, as a migrant, have ruined the security of Bali and damaged the island.

It is really not fair to resort to such tactics as compensation for the bomb perpetrated by terrorists. It is this kind of mass terror that the late Soe Hok Gie described when talking about the massacre in Bali of those allegedly connected with the Indonesian Communist Party back in 1965.

Balinese raid teams, the pecalang and others under the municipality and the customary villages have thus committed the real terror. We have raided residents considered to have damaged Bali's security and culture. We have even subjected these people to destruction -- witness the destruction of makeshift migrants' homes in Kuta, Sanur or Nusa Dua -- while the traditional guards had guarded gambling sites, party events or music concerts.

The issuance of mayoralties or regencies on making an inventory on their migrants has led to the concentration of power in smaller areas in Bali. Each district, and even each banjar (the smallest customary unit in Bali), have created their own power centers, particularly in raids against migrants.

Every banjar has set up a special team to list residents. This team comprises members of the pecalang, Sekaa Teruna (a customary organization for youths) and krama banjar (members of a banjar chosen during a meeting.)

Each banjar believes that they have their own natural and human resources. They also believe they have industries or services that they can tap to support the carrying capacity of customary villages. Take the customary villages in Kuta. Dozens of hotels are found there and of course there is the informal sector supporting this hotel operation.

A similar trend is also found when power is spread in certain channels under the guise of culture. Pecalang, for example, regard themselves as the guardians of Balinese culture. The team set up to monitor migrants claims they do their job to ensure that Bali will survive.

Everything is done within the "utopia" of regional autonomy as each area feels capable of managing itself -- though they do it arrogantly and thoughtlessly.