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Jakarta Post

Bali no longer the island of hope for many

No paradise: A stone collector scratches a living from the sand at Mesceti Beach in Gianyar, another example of poverty lingering in the country's tourism darling

Luh De Suriyani (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Wed, September 28, 2011

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Bali no longer the island of hope for many

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span class="inline inline-right">No paradise: A stone collector scratches a living from the sand at Mesceti Beach in Gianyar, another example of poverty lingering in the country's tourism darling. (JP/J.B. Djwan)For a growing number of Balinese, the resort island is no longer the island of hope. For them, the hope for a better future now lies outside Bali.

Putu Agus David is one of those people. He is in his late 40s now, yet that fact didn’t stop him from making a life-changing decision. David has decided to leave Bali and seek his fortune elsewhere.

“We have no future here. Job opportunities keep shrinking and it is impossible for us to purchase land here since the price of land on this island is exorbitantly expensive,” he said.

For decades, David worked as a smallholder farmer in the small village of Marga, Tabanan. The village’s fertile rice fields and cool atmosphere could not make David forget one painful fact; despite all of his hard work, he had lived in poverty for decades.

“I am tired of working so hard only to pay off my debts,” he said, adding that he had to pay Rp 2.2 million (US$246) per year to the owner of the land while crop failure was a constant threat.

That’s the reason why two years ago he paid a visit to the office of the village’s head and enrolled himself in the government-sponsored transmigration program. Introduced during the New Order regime as a measure to reduce overpopulation in Java and Bali as well as bring trained farmers from those areas to less populated islands, such as Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, transmigration is one of the success stories of the Soeharto’s administration.

“Many Balinese became successful through transmigration. Life will not change unless we dare to do something. Especially when our own island has fallen under outsiders’ control,” David said, pointing at the onslaught of massive development brought by foreign and national investors to Bali.

This year, David will be among 130 households that would be shipped into their new land and homes in Central and Southeast Sulawesi. His three children, two of whom are pursuing higher education at Denpasar Hindu College, supported his decision, believing that their new home would provide them with a better chance of employment upon their graduation.

The government will provide each household with food and basic commodities for one year, a simple house set on 2,500 square meters of land and 7,500 square meters of farm land.

“Here in Bali, buying 100 square meters of land is only a dream for me,” he said.

Another Balinese, I Gusti Putu Arka, a smallholder coffee farmer from Pupuan, Tabanan, shared a similar story of poverty and desperation. Arka finally decided to join the transmigration program.

“Dozens of residents in my village have also enrolled in the program,” he added.

David and Arka were among 40 household leaders who received a week of training on farming and composting last week. This group will leave Bali for the land of hope at the end of this year.

“Most of the participants come from poor families that did not have any farming land,” provincial transmigration agency senior official I Gusti Ketut Rai Mataram said.

The number of Balinese participating in the program has increased over the years. In 2010, 85 Balinese households left the island for South and Southeast Sulawesi. This year, as many as 130 households from Tabanan, Buleleng, Klungkung and Denpasar joined the program. Each household comprises up to
four persons.

“Actually, the number of people interesting in joining the program is far higher, but we have to filter them to find the most suitable candidates,” he added.

Manikaya Kauci foundation social worker Komang Arya Ganaris pointed out that the increasing number of Balinese enrolling in transmigration program signified the local administration’s failure in implementing appropriate wealth distribution policies.

“Bali has experienced a surge in investment and a booming tourism industry. However, many Balinese still live under the poverty line and do not have any access to the wealth brought by the tourism industry,” he said.

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