The Balinuraga and Sidoreno villages in South Lampung regency, Lampung, have turned into ghost towns after an ethnic clash forced more than 1,500 people — all Balinese transmigrants — to flee to safer places.

Active military personnel and vehicles remain in the area to ensure the safety of Balinese wanting to return to the rubble that remains of their villages.

Carrying a bucket of water, Ketut Nandre, 50, found the courage to return to the remnants of his house in Balinuraga village on Friday, to sift through the rubble for his valuables.

“But there aren’t many valuables left, because the mob also looted the village,” said Ketut, who migrated from Bali to the village in 1965 as part of the government’s mandatory transmigration program to help open up remote areas.

After contributing to the success story of transforming the village into one of the province’s agricultural centers, Ketut has no capital left other than his rice farm, which was fortunately left intact.

All of Ketut’s family and neighbors are still taking refuge at the police’s Kemiling training center in the province’s capital of Bandar Lampung, which is around a two-hour drive from the village.

An ethnic clash erupted between the Hindu Balinese and native Muslim Lampung from the neighboring Agom village from Saturday to Monday, killing 14 people. Nine of them were Balinese. The incident has once again tarnished Indonesia’s reputation as a pluralistic nation and stands in stark contrast to its national motto “unity in diversity”.

Some 1,126 ethnic groups with different languages and religions live throughout the world’s largest archipelago, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

While thousands of police and army personnel have been deployed, the situation in South Lampung remains tense as most of the Agom villagers have rejected peace deals with their Balinese neighbors, who happen to be better off economically.

Wayan Sukarye, 42, a Balinese resident of Sidoreno village whose house was razed during the clash, said he and other residents had pled with local authorities and Agom villagers to let them return to their village in peace.

“I have no other place to go,” said the father of three. “I’ve lost everything, including my children’s certificates of birth, graduation and so on.”

“But since our safety is not yet guaranteed, I only return to the village during the day. When the night falls, I take my family to sleep at my friend’s house in nearby village,” he said.

While Wayan and his family may find solace with friends, more than 1,500 villagers will have to remain at the refugee camp, indefinitely.

“All we want is peace. We’re willing to forget, forgive and start all over again from zero as long as we can return to our village,” said Wa-yan Dastra, a resident of Balinuraga who was taking shelter with his family at the refugee camp.

Another refugee, Putu Norma, 37, said it would be difficult for her to return to the village after the clash.

“The memory still lingers every now and then. How can I forget when the mob killed my father-in-law and sliced my son across his stomach before my eyes?”

According to Endang, a physician who is tasked with monitoring the refugees’ health on daily basis, the situation at the camp is deteriorating as the adults are deeply traumatized, and need psychological counseling.

She also said around 60 children have fallen ill, mostly from influenza. “But we still have a sufficient supply of drugs and vitamins,” she said.

While the local authorities are still brokering a peace deal with the conflicting parties, Lampung Police have thus far been unable to make any arrests. Lampung Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyaningsih said on Friday that the investigation was still ongoing.

“We have questioned several witnesses from both sides, but have not been able to name any suspects,” she said. (han)

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