Terror in the guise of culture

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.