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Tourism minister buries his head…in the rubbish
Indonesia’s Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik has found an answer to Bali’s rubbish problem.
Wind.
Yes, wind.
The minister has claimed strong winds blew the garbage, dirt and other detritus onto the beach from the ocean.
He has also refuted a scathing article in Time magazine, which was titled “Holidays in Hell: Bali’s Ongoing Woes.â€â€¨â€¨
In the article, writer Andrew Marshall didn’t hold back. 


“Rivers swell and flush their trash and frothing human waste into the sea off Kuta Beach, the island’s most famous tourist attraction, where bacteria bloom and the water turns muddy with dead plankton.â€â€¨â€¨
He said skin infections caused by spending just 30 minutes in the ocean was just one of Bali’s problems: “water shortages, rolling blackouts, uncollected trash, overflowing sewage-treatment plants and traffic so bad that parts of the island resemble Indonesia’s gridlocked capital Jakarta. 


“And don’t forget crime. In January, amid a spate of violent robberies against foreigners, Bali police chief Hadiatmoko reportedly ordered his officers to shoot criminals on sight.
“You’ve heard of the Julia Roberts movie Eat Pray Love, which was partly filmed in Bali? Now get ready for its grim sequel: Eat Pray Duck,†Marshall wrote.
The tourism and culture minister said the article exaggerated the problems and “in the end, [the tourists] come back.â€â€¨â€¨
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika doesn’t quite share the minister’s confidence. Quoted by the Jakarta Globe, he said he had no problem with Time labeling the island a hellish holiday destination. 


“We cannot deny it. It is a fact,†Pastika said “If Bali is allowed to continue [like this], it will become hell for tourists.â€
Pastika added, 

“It is true that we are dirty, much more than other countries.â€
He asked Balinese people should not be offended by the article or send letters of protest or rebuttal to the magazine.



He said he hoped the report would open Balinese people’s eyes to the problems that urgently needed to be addressed. 


Ian Jarrett
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