Voices from Bali: Responding to the October Bombing— Muhammad Arif, Putu Nur Ayomi Janet De Neefe, Sugi B. Lanus Ni Made Marni, Wayan Sarma & Frances Tse

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This piece has been created as a response to the bombing that took place in Bali in October 2002, five months ago. As these words are being written, Australia is preparing to join the USA and Britain to bomb and invade the sovereign country of Iraq many thousands of miles away. Most Australians do not support such a war and are deeply worried about its implications. So too in Bali. Those we spoke to when we visited there last month were unanimous that the looming war in Iraq would bring only further violence and hardship to the world and in turn make the healing of the bombing in Bali much more difficult. The following piece describes some of the ways in which the effects of two bombs in Kuta continue to haunt the people of Bali. As the USA, Britain and Australia prepare a far more devastating attack on the ancient cities of Iraq, a sense of grief visits us. This piece is all about grief, about responses to loss and violence, and about the people of Bali – Australia’s neighbours