When I asked my fellow students to explain what they knew about “Bali,” I received some surprising responses from our supposedly well-informed student body. “Bali…isn’t that near Jamaica?” asked one senior. “Uh…I have no idea…do you mean the country?” responded another senior. “You mean like Bollywood?” replied yet another senior boy.  When I asked a junior boy what he knew about Bali, he confidently answered, “Bali? Oh, it’s some tribe in Africa.” A senior boy told me he knew that in Bali there was “sweet surfing, huge earthquakes and big wars and . . . ”

As a very narrow generality, I would say that this last response was actually the most suitable one out of any of the students I had asked. In actuality, Bali is a small, volcanic island in the southern part of the tropical Indonesian archipelago. Bali is not a country, it is not in Africa, and it is not near Jamaica. The surfing is world class and the earthquakes can be pretty bad, but as for the “big wars”? Not exactly. 

Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world, but more than 80 percent of the nation’s area is water. Let me put this it into perspective: if half the population of the United States was shoved into an area the size of Alabama, the result would be the island of Java, where Indonesia’s capital city is located. This is not including the populations of the four other major islands. The capital city, Jakarta, is a very Westernized area swarming with heavy traffic and pollution and very limited residential areas. Although it is considered “third world,” the city has miles of urbanized economic development and commercial buildings along with the mosques and schools spread throughout the filth and grime of the poverty-stricken area.

When I was seven years old I was plucked from the Untied States and moved with my family to Jakarta because my mother had accepted a job with the Foreign Service which entailed living there for four to six years. I went to an International School, lived with other Americans in a secured housing compound, had a cook, a maid, and a driver. Life was just peachy. On the other hand, spending six years in one of the most corrupt, poverty-stricken Muslim nations in the world allowed me to learn about the violence, protest and political unrest which had occurred in the nation’s past, not to mention the Indonesian history that I experienced there for myself.

In May of 1998 my family and I were evacuated out of the country with other Americans to avoid the riots which were sweeping through the city. Students were burning buildings, looting stores and protesting against the 25-year reign of the horrible, oppressive, and crooked President Suharto . The ex-president used an iron fist to steal from the Indonesian government for his sons’ and daughters’ corporate prosperity and killed or arrested anyone who stood in his way. He enslaved thousands of laborers, murdered and imprisoned protestors and civilians, and seriously wounded the Indonesian environment in order to make more money for himself and his family. In 1998, the Indonesian people were finally able to create enough protest and civil instability to force Suharto to step down from his throne of corruption. We were eventually able to return to the celebrated and newly-liberated nation. Other parts of the country were experiencing their own attempts towards political revolution at the time, but were not nearly as successful.

In Banda Aceh, (pronounced ah-chay), located on the far-western tip of Indonesia, anti-democratic violence against the government sparked thousands of civilian deaths and a military “peace keeping” swipe through the area in 2000.  This violence came after decades of civil bloodshed had already torn the area apart. In the mid-1970s, the Indonesian military committed the deadliest genocide (in deaths per capita terms) in history against its own people since the Holocaust. The people of Aceh wanted an Islamic-based, autonomous government, separate from the democratic government of Indonesia. Threats of secession were not taken lightly and the military killed thousands of innocent victims. Banda Aceh was also the area most devastated by the effects of the gigantic tsunami last year. The last decade has been anguish for the people of Aceh.

Other parts of the nation have experienced violence of their own lately, not specifically from the Indonesian government. One of the most ironic places where violence has been a reoccurrence is Bali. The island’s amazing beaches, surfing, and island life have attracted tourists from around the world, primarily from Australia. The island’s locals have used the flow of tourists as a major component of their economy by establishing hotels, restaurants, beach shops and various vendors throughout the south part of the island. The most popular spot in Bali is Kuta Beach for its proximity to the airport and beachside hotels. After visiting Kuta during many holiday breaks while living in Jakarta, I enjoyed staying in the local town as much as any of my friends. The people of Bali are very peaceful and warmhearted, an obvious fact that is hardly ever shown by the media. Bali acted as an asylum for Hindu Indonesians when they were shunned by Java a few decades ago and it has been a place for them to settle ever since. They create statues, carvings and intricate flower decorations that are offered to the gods at the numerous, beautiful temples scattered around the island. Like most Indonesians, they have a very strong faith, are honest, and work hard for their children and their families. Despite their peaceful demeanor, however, some Indonesians see the surge of tourists as reason to act very differently.

In October, 2002, more than two hundred people were killed in two Kuta nightclub bombings in the early evening. The United Nations told the Indonesian government to try harder to crack down on the terrorists and somewhat forgot about it. Three years later, in October 2005, 36 people died and over 200 were injured in another club bombing. Indonesia did not act shocked, almost as if it had been expecting this. These terrorists are called the Jemahh Islamiyah (JI), an extremist terrorist group in Southeast Asia. The JI has committed numerous acts of terror against its own people, including numerous hotel bombings (like the Marriot Hotel in August, 2003) and a few embassy bombings (e.g. the Australian Embassy in September, 2004).

The effects of the destruction of the second bomb which exploded in Kuta beach on October 12th, 2002 – the total death toll was 202 people. (Photo: http://www.dfat.gov.)

Their goal is somewhat vague to foreigners, but their intent to achieve that goal through violence could not be more evident.

After researching and internally analyzing the extremist Muslim views and social standpoints, I have come to believe that the extremist terrorists are demanding an end to the flooding of Westernized morality into their culture. They believe that foreigners are polluting the purity of Islam and anyone who benefits from or supports their presence is committing blasphemy against the Islamic nation. The overwhelming use of tourism in the Hindu island of Bali is seen as a hotbed of Muslim sin, as primarily Australian tourists are pouring onto the beaches of Bali each year. If the Jemmah Islamiyah can scare off the foreigners through multiple bombings in the towns and hotspots, they will stop the non-Islamic “sinners” from utilizing the tourists and raising money for their families.

So how does this concern us, the people living our happy lives in little old Northern Virginia? Well, remember September 11? The Al-Qaeda terrorist group acts as the mentor of terrorism for some major strands of the Jemmah Islamiyah. Airplane hijackings similar to 9/11 have been planned by the JI for Singapore Airport, but have been foiled by investigators. The fear of nuclear weapons reaching any of these two extremist groups has had the American government on their heels ever since.

What a lot of people in the Western Hemisphere do not understand is that the people in Indonesia are not all violent terrorists. They do have a dedicated faith in their religion, but it is not the same kind of faith and dedication to purity that the terrorists aim to pursue. In actuality, it is almost completely different. The vast majority of the Indonesian people pursue their faith in their own lives and not in the rest of the world. They are not intent on disturbing the presence of foreigners in their lives and some of them encourage that presence. They love and work for their families just as we do, and nothing will change how they live or what they intend to pursue. They are grateful for the scanty material possessions that they have and are still struggling from the effects of a young and inexperienced nation and government.