I get lots of e-mails asking for nice photos of Bali as it is perceived as a paradise. It is a beautiful island, but before I engage into describing and showing its beauty I want to point out two things I hate about the ‘paradise’.
Firstly, the amount of rubbish and total lack of understanding the catastrophic impact this will have on this marvellous island. Plastic bags, plastic bottles and paper are everywhere. There are some bins laid out in the busiest tourist spots but not nearly enough. The concept of recycling is rather unknown and even if people know what it means they seem to care less. Incredible amount of education in this regard is needed now since it will take at least one generation (I’m being overly optimistic, I guess) to notice a difference. When looking for a house to rent I asked about utilities and one of the natural things for me was to ask about the cost of a garbage removal. Most of the people were rather disoriented what I meant. When I explained they seemed embarrassed a bit and quickly talked something about government and other things, but my questions remained unanswered. The rubbish is being dumped usually ‘around the corner’; some of it is burned often in front of house; some are being taken away (?) by men on motobikes…
Firstly, the amount of rubbish and total lack of understanding the catastrophic impact this will have on this marvellous island. Plastic bags, plastic bottles and paper are everywhere. There are some bins laid out in the busiest tourist spots but not nearly enough. The concept of recycling is rather unknown and even if people know what it means they seem to care less. Incredible amount of education in this regard is needed now since it will take at least one generation (I’m being overly optimistic, I guess) to notice a difference. When looking for a house to rent I asked about utilities and one of the natural things for me was to ask about the cost of a garbage removal. Most of the people were rather disoriented what I meant. When I explained they seemed embarrassed a bit and quickly talked something about government and other things, but my questions remained unanswered. The rubbish is being dumped usually ‘around the corner’; some of it is burned often in front of house; some are being taken away (?) by men on motobikes…
Another thing that I am even more emotional about is a treatment of animals. I mentioned earlier that there were thousands of cats everywhere in Jakarta. Many of them were ‘wild’-they coexist with people-some are more domesticated than others. In Bali however, there are thousands of dogs on the streets. Most of them wonder around the streets in search of food, even though there are food stalls almost everywhere. I have seen dogs so thin and starved that in Europe people go to jail for such treatment of animals. It is a truly upsetting sight for someone as crazy about animals as I am. Many dogs are injured, either bitten by another dog, hit by the car or motorbike, not to mention flees, flies, mosquitoes and other things I just cannot imagine. At night, there can be heard a neverending dog cry, hauls, barking. An American I met here said to me that although she loved animals she got to a point that she thinks that those dogs should be simply put to sleep…I don’t know what to think myself anymore since the problem is so huge…Rabies is another growing problem. The number of people being bitten is growing. Many places have information about rabies being a real threat on the island and offer vaccination against it. I do regret that I have not taken this vaccine before I left- I just didn’t think the threat was so real. As one of the precautions I read not to feed dogs. But how not to when you see them so hungry??? We’re in a restaurant and Amelia’s not eating her dinner. Paying the bill I ask a young Balinese waitress if they feed hungry animals with leftovers. She looks at me very surprised and says no. At that point I’m engaging into a conversation how they should do it; my husband is rolling his eyes at me but waits quietly. Seeing that now two young waitresses don’t grasp the concept I tell them to pack Amelia’s leftovers. No food is wasted at my home anymore-all leftovers are used to feed hungry dogs. Balinese do look at me like I’m a freak giving food to strange dogs. Whatever!
There are several organizations here, led by foreigners that try to help animals but the problem is so huge…We visit one of them that has an adoption scheme in place. The man working there says that on average they manage to find one home a week for a puppy…”Sometimes people drop puppies at the adoption centre but more often we find them on roads and we regularly visit cemeteries as people usually leave them there-especially female pups”-the man explains. What a horrible thing to do-taking puppies away from their mother and leaving them for a horrible death at a cemetery! It’s hard for me to understand people here-on one hand they smile a lot, seem gentle and calm; on the other, they regularly engage in these kinds of practises…
Roosters’ fights are another social events I just cannot stand. They gather huge crowds of men and boys-a real social (and financial) entertainment! I know it’s part of their cultural traditions and I never thought I would say this but it would be better if those people spend their time in front of TV rather than engaging into this cruel and bloody form of entertainment. There!
I like Bali but I am grateful to come from a place where there are laws regarding animal treatments and environment protection. They are not perfect and not respected by everyone and there is cruelty and ignorance in these regards but at least there is a legal point of reference and there are educational programmes in place. Being here makes me realize how many things in life I take for granted. I am proud to come from the country where it is normal to have cats sleeping in my bed and I am thankful to all the people who made it ‘normal’ for me to be environmentally aware.
There are several organizations here, led by foreigners that try to help animals but the problem is so huge…We visit one of them that has an adoption scheme in place. The man working there says that on average they manage to find one home a week for a puppy…”Sometimes people drop puppies at the adoption centre but more often we find them on roads and we regularly visit cemeteries as people usually leave them there-especially female pups”-the man explains. What a horrible thing to do-taking puppies away from their mother and leaving them for a horrible death at a cemetery! It’s hard for me to understand people here-on one hand they smile a lot, seem gentle and calm; on the other, they regularly engage in these kinds of practises…
Roosters’ fights are another social events I just cannot stand. They gather huge crowds of men and boys-a real social (and financial) entertainment! I know it’s part of their cultural traditions and I never thought I would say this but it would be better if those people spend their time in front of TV rather than engaging into this cruel and bloody form of entertainment. There!
I like Bali but I am grateful to come from a place where there are laws regarding animal treatments and environment protection. They are not perfect and not respected by everyone and there is cruelty and ignorance in these regards but at least there is a legal point of reference and there are educational programmes in place. Being here makes me realize how many things in life I take for granted. I am proud to come from the country where it is normal to have cats sleeping in my bed and I am thankful to all the people who made it ‘normal’ for me to be environmentally aware.
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