Travel Advisories: Wise Or Ill-Advised?
(The Washington Times)
PictureThere have been no terror attacks since, and Bali has long e reverted to its traditionally peaceful ways, typified by the soft strains of gamelan music and images of seemingly ubiquitous, ornately dressed women negotiating rice fields and forests. being the lone customer at a popular restaurant in Gerogetown or Adams Morgan. Or discovering that a normally bustling downtown hotel had no guests. I got that feeling during my latest trip to Bali, the paradisiacal tourist island of 3.5 million on the eastern tip of Indonesia that offers visitors personal pampering and plunge pools in jungle settings that seethe with spirituality and raw beauty. Superlatives used by promoters to hype lesser tourist destinations truly resonate here.
Tourists have been drawn to Bali ever since they confused it with the fictional Bali Ha’i in James Michener’s 1946 Pulitzer Prize winning Tales of the South Pacific. During my first visit in February 2002, restaurants and hotels teemed with them. But that changed dramatically after the Bali bombings of 2002 and again in 2005 that killed a total of 226.
Those involved in the bombings are either dead, awaiting execution, on trial or on the lam. Security is dramatically on the rise. Images of the bombings, of course, remain seared in the island’s soul. But travel warnings from the U.S. State Department and its sister agencies abroad give the horror they wrought a kind of unjustified permanency. This, in turn, gives tourists the impression that Bali remains unsafe; that agents of Osama perhaps lie in wait; that visitors to Indonesia or any one of the 30 or so nations on the department’s warning list are asking for trouble. So many foreigners simply avoid Bali and other relatively benign destinations. While visiting strife-ridden nations on the warning list may not be smart, it’s important to remember that Bali isn’t Baghdad.
"It’s very safe, trust me," said Washington photographer Alex Feshenko as he relaxed in his private hotel swimming pool at the Waka di Uma while nursing a glass of champagne, reminiscing how a visit to one of the island’s holy springs managed to cure his toothache.
Despite the changes, the official U.S. travel advisory for Indonesia manages to paint a bleak picture by stipulating that "terrorist attacks in that nation could occur at any time and could be directed at any location, including those frequented by foreigners." It cites several other terrorist incidents in the country, including a bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta September 9, 2004 that killed 11 and injured 180, and an August 20, 2003 bomb attack at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 and injured scores, including several Americans.
It’s scary sounding stuff, though probably no more deserving of an advisory than Spain, France, New York or Washington, all scenes in recent years of major terrorism incidents. Yet no nations have issued warnings about the possibility of further attacks "at any time" in these locations, suggesting that tourists amend plans to travel to these locations. If they did, we would see the same empty hotels and restaurants that economically hamstrung Bali.
In our modern world, travel warnings take on greater urgency when they involve majority Muslim nations such as Indonesia. But it’s important to note that religious fanaticism in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world is not nearly as evident in Indonesia, a democratic country "united in diversity," as its national motto states, where during the 1960s government forces put down a sustained Islamist rebellion.
The warnings manage to suggest, unfairly, that the Jakarta government lacks the ability and perhaps even the desire to prevent future terrorist attacks. Indonesia’s own history and culture underscores the fact that it is more resilient to terrorism than most outsiders believe, certainly nothing like Islamic nations (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, for example) where fanaticism has gained real traction.
But the warnings occur nonetheless, so most tourists simply steer clear. Travelers such as Feshenko who go anyway often wonder aloud about all the fuss, and marvel how the lack of competition personally benefits them in the form of lower prices and more choices. Good for visitors but bad for the economy.
Take the Siti, a well-appointed candlelit romantic restaurant with spacious, immaculate gardens and lily pounds that resounds with frogs and geckos. Sumptuous meals start at about 3 dollars.
Five years ago, visitors couldn’t get a table without reservations, and bungalows in the back rented $80 a night. On two recent visits there, I was the only diner. During my latest trip, bungalows cost just $25 a night, but went unoccupied.
As I returned to my hotel one night along Ubud’s darkened streets, the nervous barking of dogs made me wonder how the downturn impacted Balinese locals, about 80 percent of whom depend on tourism for a living. Hotel workers who managed to hold onto their jobs after the dual bombings generally had their hours cut, and found themselves unable to participate in profit sharing programs available during robust markets. Meanwhile, travelers who disregard overstated warnings to avoid as Bali and other "potential trouble spots" (mostly in Asia and Africa) often face less competition from fellow visitors and, consequently, lower prices. Last year during a trip to the Philippines, I paid just pennies on the dollar for room and board. Bali offers bargains, too, though they are becoming harder to find in the wake of growing numbers of Korean, Russian and other visitors replacing the Western Europeans and Australians who once flocked to the island. Indonesian officials are making every effort to protect these new customers. Armed guards now inspect cars that arrive at most hotels. Spotters monitor supermarkets for suspicious persons or activities, and Some resorts even use bomb-sniffing dogs. Many taxi drivers are said to work as police informants. Perhaps the best assurance against renewal of violence is the Balinese themselves. From the outset, they have sidestepped revenge while pursuing ways to bring what they perceive as the natural order of the world back into balance. Bali’s religious piety and tightly knit family structure make identifying potential troublemakers relatively easy, as does the tolerance that exists between Hindus and the island’s indigenous minority Muslim population. New arrivals must now report to police, a regulation with which village banjars are happy to cooperate. All of this makes it hard for Islamic radicals from Java and other Indonesian backwaters to establish a beachhead on the island, let alone a viable insurgency. As a result, the terrorism network responsible for the attacks seems to have been pretty much defused if not broken entirely, with no new attacks since 2005. Credit also goes to the government’s efforts to give the bombers open trials, and enlisting support of Muslim religious leaders, helping to debunk false perceptions such as one blaming the U.S. for bombings as an excuse to flex its muscles in the region. Despite the successes, travel advisories and sensationalized media account continue to play into the hands of terrorists while helping radical elements undermine the local economy. There is no way to prevent misfits from launching deadly terror assaults in Bali, or "safe" places such New York or Washington. The most comprehensive measures won’t stop a suicide bomber from walking into Metro Center at 6 p.m. one day and blowing up himself and anyone who happens to be nearby. But by disrupting the normal course of business, travel advisories serve indirectly to fulfill terrorist goals by sending a message that terror tactics work while further emboldening terrorists behind them.
Although far from stable, and suffering from official corruption, Bali specifically and Indonesia generally have tangible results to show for their counter terrorism efforts. To what extent can Americans say that about Iraq?
Luckily, The U.S. has had enough sense to keep a low profile in Indonesia — though, by discouraging tourists from relatively benign places such as Bali, perhaps too low. U.S. policymakers on Iraq and other parts of the Muslim world stand to learn by taking a page from the Indonesia playbook on how to bring the natural order of our world back into balance.
