Foreign visitors go on and on about how much they love Bali,
but really what they love are the Balinese people and what
the Balinese give them. Try thinking of Bali without the charming,
smiling everyday people of the island and their wonderful
culture. You would be left with an island riddled with fraud
and corruption, an easy terrorist target, a health risk nightmare,
terrible food (don't forget, we are talking about non-Balinese
here, the mass produced stuff that mostly gets offered to
visitors), mass pollution (just take a look at the water channels
alongside the bypass road to get a clear picture) and pretty
awful beaches (either been washed away because the coral reefs
have been used for cement, or are polluted, or are dangerous,
or are frequented by aggressive hawkers and child prostitutes),
and an assortment of other islanders and foreign expat residents
who must be the world's nastiest business community, too often
cheating the very Balinese you go to see.
So make no bones about it, Bali is the paradise you seek
solely because of the everyday people. And what a hard life
they have.
Child molestation and worse is unfortunately common; both
hetro and homosexual. Ex judicial murders conducted at the
hands of vigilantes appointed by lazy, ineffective, corrupt
police officers who care nothing about the people they are
paid to protect, just finding more poor victims to extort
money from. Incredible crime rates which go unreported because
the victims know the police will likely want to steal yet
more from them (hence the Indonesian expression "Report
a stolen chicken, lose your cow"). A legal system, the
most corrupt in the world where defense lawyers, police, prosecution
and judges all collude together in order to extort money from
victims. Land basically stolen from the Balinese under the
Suharto regime and by unlawful settlements of Javanese and
other islanders who just turn up, cut down trees, build shacks
and claim the land theirs; If and when you next book into
a hotel in Nusa Dua you may want to research how their land
was obtained and who are the real owners of the hotels (try
thinking along the line of the Suharto family and friends)
through anonymous Jakarta corporations.
A hard life which begins early on at the hands of corrupt
government officials and fraudulent business people. For example
school teachers who routinely steal from their pupils, demanding
food from them and that the children buy their text books
and pencils at inflated rates from them. Pedophiles and molesters,
including teachers, who commit sexual acts against youngsters.
Child brides from Java forced into prostitution in Bali by
their pimp husbands. Businesses that desecrate the Balinese's
religious and preservation sites with unlawfully obtained
building permits. Businesses, often those run by other islanders
and foreign expats (permanent residents of Indonesia) that
cheat the Balinese out of their wages by either taking all
or part of the service charge money they are legally entitled
to. When times get tough, Balinese workers are sent home without
pay. Balinese Hindu religious holidays unlawfully ruined by
an increasingly hostile Javanese Muslim community whose mosques
often break the island's silence laws.
If that was not bad enough, the Balinese have to contend
with spiraling fuel and living costs knowing corruption by
government ministers and officers is to blame. Seeing millions
and millions of dollars come into their island only for it
to disappear; revenues which should allow the Balinese and
also Indonesians generally to enjoy a far more prosperous
life. Having badly funded and terribly equipped schools and
hospitals. Seeing roads meant to be built to the highest standards
crumble after a few short months because of corruption. Having
too many a foreign visitor, resident or Indonesian business
person look down upon and even abuse them. Is there any wonder
the Balinese are so devout and their cultural performances
such as the Ramayana so prominently about good conquering
evil?
Of course the corruption that comes from the very top down,
the fraud the Balinese experience running their own businesses
(everything from people not paying you and warning you that
they have police friends if you complain to meat suppliers
who knowingly sell infected meat), and the cheating that Balinese
workers experience at the hands of their bosses, etc. takes
it toll. The Balinese despite their smiles and graceful ways
will increasingly rob and cheat others, including visitors,
because they often have little choice and incentive. Young
men sent home without pay by hotels with fewer guests / lower
profits (although they likely still make good profits) resort
to stealing their neighbours' chickens in order to buy high
nicotine (exceptionally addictive) Balinese cigarettes and
fuel for their motorbikes. Even when they are not so badly
off, scamming / taking foreigners to poor villages, claiming
them to be their own in order to get sympathy money for themselves,
not the poor villagers they also abuse. Have no doubt, due
to the lack of role models and a just public law and order
system, many of these people with sweet smiles find little
cause to lead honest lives themselves.
The Balinese are people like everyone else, they want to
be better people and have a better life for themselves and
their children. It is an illustrative nonsensical fact that
many Balinese try to get jobs on cruise ships around the world
because they can earn around 9 million rupiah (around US$900)
a month doing menial tasks like cleaning on these floating
hotels. But to get such a job they first have to bribe the
agent 10 million rupiah, then pay for an air ticket which
costs up to twice what it does in Thailand, and then pay another
1 million rupiah exit tax just to leave the island! What a
joke! Just look at the high room rates of the major hotels
in Bali and ask yourself why is the basic salary of a cleaner
at these is just 475,000 rp (US$47.5) per month? Why do they
have to work away from their home and family to get a decent
wage, and go through fraud, etc. to even get that?
The Balinese get abused and short changed from the cradle
to the grave. Imagine how you would be if you had to endure
the same treatment; would you be as graceful and charming
as the Balinese, even if their appearance may actually be
hiding the fact they may not think twice about robbing if
the opportunity arose? No, you would likely be very angry
and very sad and show it. So even allowing for Bali's understandably
high actual crime rate, the Balinese are to be greatly admired,
thanked and supported in their dreams and efforts for a better
life. And what better way than having the holiday of a lifetime
by only dealing with ethical pro-Balinese businesses (hotels,
etc.) and reporting any police, etc. corruption you witness
in the hope that if enough foreign visitors do this the system
and the way business is done in Bali will have to change?
You will learn throughout the BLTF's information pages how
to spot, deal with and report bad ethics, fraud, corruption
and other unlawful acts. Our next page details some facts
about fraud and corruption in Bali / Indonesia, why foreign
governments do not warn their citizens about it and what these
acts actually mean to real people through the resultant civil
and human rights abuse: Indonesian
Corruption & Fraud. If you want to help the Balinese,
please visit BLTF's Helping Bali page.
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