Not all rosy on the island

Much as we love being here, every so often we are reminded that things are done differently here. This is not Australia, or the US or any other Western democracy. We are living here - as guests - in Indonesia. Sometimes things happen that we are not happy about, but as foreigners we are powerless to act. When I wrote about this film*, I felt as uneasy as when I was watching it. This post is equally difficult to write.

The latest, very sad problem, concerns BAWA, who have been doing wonderful work rescuing and rehabilitating Bali's many animals, mainly dogs, but cats and other animals too. Now their licence to operate is under threat and they have been given a very short window to meet stipulated requirements.

There are many rumours flying around about the circumstances. My reading is that the founder's home was raided recently and the authorities claim that the (11? 13? 16? - it varies) dogs living there did not have rabies immunisation. BAWA of course denies these allegations. Rabies is certainly back in the area, but it seems highly unlikely that BAWA dogs would be a threat, given that helping eradicate it is their mission.

So what is going on? Maybe it's the forthcoming APEC summit. With 10 presidents, including Obama, and prime ministers turning up shortly, getting rid of dogs and beggars will create a better look. Every country does it, even Western democracies, so Indonesia is not alone in scrubbing up. But it's just BAWA, not the other animal welfare groups, that is being targeted and that suggests to me that there is an agenda. I could be wrong but maybe someone has offended someone else, who has a bit of clout, and they have chosen to exercise their power. There are certain mechanisms that make wheels go around here, after all.

Social media here has exploded. And that is a problem. Impulsive outraged posts, not tempered by reflection, are likely to exacerbate the situation by further alienating authority and reinforcing the view that Westerners are meddlesome. Unfortunately there is a coterie of expats who feel they have a duty to save the Balinese from themselves. You see it particularly in the animal sector and the environment. There can be a patronising 'we know best' attitude that can fail to take cultural factors into account. The actual doers, who set up the charities and employ local people to help make genuine change, seem to be sensitive to local conditions, but hasty ill-informed commentary helps nobody.

Many people don't realise that unless they have the correct visa, work - even volunteer work - is not permitted. Visa cancellation, and possible future entry refusal, is a reality. BAWA and other groups would not exist without volunteers, and authorities, until now, have not interfered. This situation cannot be jeopardised for the sake of the many needy charities here.

Fortunately many Balinese people are as upset as the bules about the BAWA situation. They know who has influence and how best to approach them so that the animals of Bali can continue to receive the help they need. Financial and medical support for BAWA is still required and hopefully with the help of concerned Balinese people, the situation will be resolved quickly.

They do things differently here. It's complicated.

It was very difficult to select an image for this post. There are many very distressing ones on line, and many that are too cute. In the end I chose one that we took ourselves of a lovely healthy fellow in Jl Goutama. Nothing wrong with his legs - he got up and had a good stretch soon after. All Bali dogs should be like him. Unfortunately, even with a collar, dogs like him are disappearing or being poisoned unless the owners keep them in at night.

* Being screened again during the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival next month.

Climb every mountain

Eddie has gone to climb a mountain. This gives me a bit of time to update before we head off to class later in the day (and to do some study after a busy weekend). Or me to go to class, if he is not back. He and our host have driven for about 45 minutes into the countryside and will spend a couple of hours climbing to 1000 metres and coming back down again. Think it's one of the mountains we can see from our window, but certainly not Mt Agung, the sacred volcano. That is best done from 2am so that climbers are rewarded with the sunrise. Agung last erupted in 1963, and although there have been rumblings since, the gods appear to be fairly happy at the moment. The most recent trouble has been pretty serious wildfires last year.

When our commitment to classes in June finishes, Eddie and our host plan to walk back to Ubud from Kintamani (Mt Batur), a stroll of about seven hours. No shortage of walks for the dedicated. You can see the Batur caldera in the pic above, thanks to Wikitravel.

In the tradition of spontaneity that has become our social life, Saturday's quiz at Mingle (fun but no prize for us) led to an invitation to Sunday lunch at Villa Kitty. I have spoken before of the work that Elizabeth and her staff do to care for the abandoned kittens and cats, not just of Ubud, but from anywhere on the island. The work is pretty overwhelming and help is always needed. Help of the sit-and-cuddle-and-socialise-the-cats kind, or financial help. Professional local staff take care of medical needs, and at the moment the quarantine section is full as cat flu has taken hold. Current tally is 113 cats, plus a few dogs. If you are a cat lover who is coming to Bali and would like to bring supplies, get in touch with Elizabeth via the website and she will let you know what they require at any particular time. We are both animal lovers in general, but I do wear my catty heart on my sleeve. We can't adopt, but we will do what we can to help out while we are here. Not just at VK, we will look at other volunteering possibilities once we have finished language classes. The important tenet is that no Western volunteer should take a paid position away from a local person, so help can be as simple as cuddling a kitten, and that's not hard.

When we first arrived the rice plants in the sawah (fields) behind were green. Now they have turned yellow and harvesting and threshing have commenced. Genetic modification has increased yield for the farmers, but it has also changed the ecology. With insects no longer interested, the frogs are diminishing; when the frogs go so do the ducks. That means artificial fertiliser rather than duck poo. Four plantings a year, no rotation any more, higher yield, but how high is the real price? We read in Ibu Cat's book Bali Daze that experimental plantings of heritage rice strains are providing bountiful yields (much to the surprise of the sceptics) and the taste is infinitely better. White rice is ubiquitous, black rice is delicious, but at yesterday's lunch we had red rice for the first time, and that was amazing. So we will look out for the non-GM variety, pay a little more and hope that it catches on. I had no idea that the taste of white rice can be as varied as tea, coffee or for that matter, wine - depending on the strain. Learning every day.

Three funerals and a wedding

It's called 'snore' by those who are looking for a party life, but our most recent trips to Sanur have been far from boring. Last year we found ourselves there by default as the tail end of a cyclone had made our Amed accommodation uninhabitable. We secured comfortable walk-in accommodation, but during the night were roused by sirens. Well, it's a bit noisier than Ubud so to be expected. But the talk at breakfast was all about the shootings. Apparently police had been tracking a terrorist cell for five months in Java. When they moved to Bali, Sanur to be precise, they wasted no time in storming their cheap hotel and shooting them. Dead. All three. And that was only a couple of hundred metres down the road. Another two in Denpasar.  So boring? Not that time.

Yesterday we decided on the spur of the moment to catch a bus down to Sanur Beach. It's less than an hour's drive from Ubud, and you pass the traditional rice-growing areas as well as craft villages specialising in wood, stone and silver. In one we saw the preparations for a wedding, with everyone beautifully dressed and the gorgeous decorations all down the gang (alley) to the village hall.

Sanur itself had been hit by a severe storm in the early hours. We were unaware of this but the heavy surf swell and the debris - broken boats, rubbish, shoes (many shoes) - scattered along the beach told the tale. Tourists headed to Nusa Lembongan had to brave the heavy swell to get out to the outrigger that would take them there.
This provided some entertainment, but shortly afterwards, the dog patrol appeared. Armed with blowpipes they circled any stray dog on the beach and aimed. The yelping indicated that the feathered dart had reached its target. It wasn't pretty to watch but we were told that it is a government program to vaccinate the dogs, who quickly shook off their annoyance, were banded with a yellow collar and left to go their way. A good thing.

Sanur, being very flat, is ripe for a tsunami and warnings along the beach indicate the direction to run should there be an event. It's not a comforting thought. Provided everyone is evacuated in time though, it would be no bad thing for what is surely Bali's ugliest hotel (right on the beach front) with its even uglier wedding pavilion to disappear. There is no planning in Bali. Unfortunately.

We didn't expect to find a turtle conservation project right on the beach, but here it was, and all donations to keep it going are gratefully received.










Nor did we expect to find another cremation. Actually two. Much simpler affairs than any we had seen before, with the cremation bull constructed of simple bamboo. Loads of people participating and watching. A real community thing.

So what was intended to be a simple stroll along the beach provided endless interest. Sanur is much quieter than Kuta, but the stall holders are very keen to have you 'just look' at their wares. 'Persistent' would not be an exaggeration. But firmness and good humour usually saves the day, if not entirely to the shopkeeper's satisfaction.

And the third funeral? Just as we were leaving, traffic stopped for a long procession led by women, followed by the men and a walking gamelan. We were told they were on the way to the beach to scatter ashes from an earlier cremation. The Balinese certainly know how to do death.

Boring? Not this time either.

Bali cats and dogs

As in all developing countries, most domestic animals in Indonesia have much tougher lives than their Western counterparts. Certainly the middle classes and the wealthy have their designer dogs, but anyone who has been to Bali (in particular) will be aware of the dog problem. Street dogs are often malnourished, mistreated and diseased, with rabies a very real problem. We have noticed on this trip that there are fewer dogs than usual and it appears that the authorities have undertaken measures to reduce numbers, almost certainly involving culling. Animal cruelty is common and it falls to private agencies to pick up animals damaged from beatings or traffic accidents and do what they can. Overworked and certainly always struggling for funds, these agencies do wonderful work. Indonesian-trained vets work in clinics to immunise, sterilise and, when all else fails, euthanise their charges.

If the dogs have it bad, and they do, they are at least mostly tolerated and allowed to wander the streets and take sustenance from the small amounts of food left in temples and offerings that dot every pavement. Cats are regarded by most Balinese as being beneath contempt.

Because the original Ubud animal welfare agency, BAWuA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) tried to cover the needs of all animals that came to their attention with very limited resources, a couple of years ago one of its volunteers, Ehlizabeth Henzell, branched out and created Villa Kitty to focus purely on the needs hof cats and kittens.

Reliant, as are all agencies, on donations and fundraising, Villa Kitty has created a purpose-built facility on the outskirts of Ubud that employs local professional staff and assistants. Part of the work is as a rescue centre where animals are nursed back to health, immunised, sterilised and made ready for fostering or, even better, adoption. But education is important also, and Villa Kitty is slowly changing attitudes by reaching out to local children and teaching them that cats are not to be feared. Recently they organised for 12 kittens to be taken to an orphanage to be cared for and loved by the children, with Villa Kitty picking up the tab for all expenses. So far it seems to be a great success.

A well-attended fundraising event was held today - a lunch at the beautiful Maya Ubud Resort. Absolutely fantastic food, raffles and auctions all helped to fill the Kitty coffers. Elizabeth mentioned that at present they have 102 kittens and although they are beyond capacity they will never turn a needy cat away. And of course people still dump, even, I'm sorry to say, Westerners who have previously  made a commitment to keep a Villa Kitty cat. You have to admire the dedication of all the staff and volunteers who work under such difficult circumstances.

A charming aspect of the day was an auction of cat-themed artworks done by children from the Green School. Some genuine talent there.

For us, too, attending the lunch was a way of reaching into the expat community here. We caught up again with a Queensland couple who now live here that we met on a previous trip.  So it's drinks and dinner next week with them. We also sat with a man from NSW who has also made the move, and he gave us some great insights.  An invitation to become involved with Bali International Women's Association offers more opportunities. A good day.

Bali Animal Welfare Agencies

• BAWA Bali
• BARC
• Bali Street Dogs
• Villa Kitty