POST
PRODUCTION
SCRIPT
Foreign
Correspondent
2021
BALI:
Tomorrow Will Be Better
27
mins 49 secs
©2021
ABC
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700
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Phone:
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Precis
|
Bali's natural
beauty and rich culture have made it a tourist magnet but since COVID-19, the
island is struggling to stay afloat. Locals are questioning their dependence
on tourism and the over-development it has unleashed. Marcello and the
lifeguards of Kuta Beach rise bright and early for their morning meeting and
surf sprints. But they know it's going to be a quiet
day. While the iconic beach normally attracts 50,000 visitors a day from
around the world, today the head lifeguard expects only 50 people. "Nobody
makes a life on the beach", says Marcello. "People who sell
massage, or merchandise on the beach...I heard they all go back home to their
village. It's a very sad situation." It's a common story
across the island, even in its remotest corners. Off Bali's east coast on the
small island of Ceningan, Wayan lost his job at a hotel, and had to return to
farming seaweed with his family. It's the same story
across Ceningan. "Before we
had 100 per cent tourism. Now 80 or 90 percent they are doing seaweed
farms," says Wayan who's had to cop a 75 percent pay cut. "We had
no choice but to return to nature." But some
Balinese see the crisis as an opportunity. "This is a wake-up call for
all of us," says Christia, a young businesswoman. "We realised that
we cannot just depend on one industry." In this visually
stunning story, reporter and cameraman Matt Davis travels around Bali and
discovers an island in the midst of some serious
soul searching. He meets locals
who are questioning the unhinged development that's
accompanied the tourist boom and who want to chart a different course for the
future. "Bali
tourism industry is based on two things, nature and culture," says rock
star Gede Robi, "and we cannot sacrifice them". Politicians and
businesspeople want to fix the congestion, pollution and rubbish problems and
encourage a different type of tourism. One that's sustainable and benefits
locals more. "I think
it's a good time for reflection this year," says Christia, "Go back
to loving our island and make sure that people don't abuse our island as well." "We hope
that when the tourists come back, they are coming with a good energy, they
are not littering, with more respect for the local rules," says
Marcello. "Come with a good vibe." |
|
Episode
teaser. |
|
00:00 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Bali is one of the world's most popular holiday
destinations, but has it become a victim of its own success? |
00:14 |
|
WAYAN: Tourism started to explode. More people
coming in from outside than there are people living here. |
00:20 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Decades of unhinged tourist development has come at a cost. |
00:28 |
|
GARY:
The island of gods had become the island of trash. |
00:32 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Now, mostly closed to
the outside world, does Bali have a chance for change, a chance to reset? |
00:42 |
|
ROBI:
Bali tourism industry based on these two things, nature
and culture. We cannot sacrifice them! |
00:50 |
Episode
Title: |
|
01:00 |
Bali
airport |
|
01:05 |
Davis
at airport. Super: |
|
01:14 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: I arrive in Bali via
a domestic flight from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. For almost a year, the international
airport has been shut. Tourism has come to a grinding halt. |
01:16 |
|
Walking
through the international airport here, a place I've
been through many times in my life is just quite surreal. It's
normally bustling with international tourists coming to the island of the
gods, but today it's so quiet. I can hear the air-conditioner, that's the
only sound." |
01:38 |
|
COK
ACE: We had anticipated 7 million
visitors in 2020. |
02:01 |
Cok
Ace. Super: |
That's
been the projection since 2000. Then came March. |
02:07 |
Closed
businesses GVs |
Many
countries imposed lockdowns. The number of visitors
dropped to zero. No flights coming in to Bali at
all. |
02:17 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Over the past decade,
the number of visitors to the island grew rapidly – from 2 to 6 million. Around 80% of the Balinese economy was
generated by tourism. |
02:27 |
|
COK
ACE: So when
tourism stopped, we all really felt the impact. |
02:42 |
Scenery
GVs |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Bali has been shut
before. The 2002 Kuta bombings, and
the erratic eruptions of volcano Agung hurt the tourism industry,
but ultimately it bounced back. This time no one knows when the
pandemic will end. |
02:48 |
Beach,
lifeguards |
|
03:13 |
|
MARCHELLO:
In the beginning we thought it was going to be one month, two months maximum. |
03:18 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: It's
now been 12 months. For Marchello Aryafara and the lifeguards of Kuta beach,
their job has changed dramatically. MARCHELLO:
Fifty people. |
03:25 |
Marchello |
Not
50,000 as normally. Fifty people. Maximum 100, including the lifeguards. |
03:36 |
Lifeguards
train on beach |
Music
|
03:44 |
|
LIFEGUARD:
The beaches are dead. There's no activity. The
lifeguards still come. If something happens, the lifeguards have to be there. |
03:48 |
|
The
activities of the lifeguards never stop. |
04:09 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: This beach is usually
crammed with tourists, touts and hawkers. Today Kuta
and nearby Seminyak are empty. MARCHELLO: People who sell massage, or merchandise on
the beach, I heard they all go back home to their village. |
04:20 |
Marchello |
It’s a
very sad situation because many friends of mine, I don’t see them around. |
04:40 |
Beach |
I
hope they're okay, you know. I hope they're still alright. |
04:50 |
Beachside
vendors |
Music
|
04:54 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: For the past
year, government handouts have helped, but they haven’t gone far enough. The Balinese are relying
on each other to make sure those going without get fed. |
05:02 |
Man
distributing food on street |
MAN: I’m giving the
food to the man who need the food, and to some homeless people in Bali. I had
a tattoo shop, but I lost everything. But I’m happy
to be giving all the free food. I am so happy, I am
glad for that. The thing is, we need
to be grateful for what we have at the moment.
Balinese people always pray, and we believe in the gods. |
05:16 |
Hawker |
HAWKER: Every day I am selling here. And I hope
tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better. |
05:43 |
Food
vendors |
Music
|
05:51 |
|
WOMAN
FOOD SELLER: It’s weird. It’s
just – no one. It’s like a ghost town. I miss Bali
being busy and traffic - I miss traffic!" |
06:13 |
Travel
to Sanur |
|
06:27 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: As the tourist
centres of south Bali grapple with economic collapse, I want to find out how
the Balinese are coping in more remote areas. |
06:33 |
|
Music
|
06:41 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: I'm
standing on the beach here in Sanur, on the east coast of Bali, and very
shortly I will be jumping aboard one of these high-speed boats to cross the
Badung Strait to Nusa Lembongan. |
06:59 |
Tourists
board ferry |
Last
year, there were more than 20 boat companies operating off this beach,
sending thousands of tourists back and forth to the islands every week. |
07:13 |
Davis
to camera on beach |
But
now there are only two boats and two trips a day. |
07:21 |
Fast
boat to Nusa Lembongan |
Music
|
07:25 |
Nusa
Lembongan GVs |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: For decades, this
cluster of islands off the east coast of Bali remained sleepy backwaters with
little tourist development. |
07:34 |
|
Music
|
07:41 |
Disembarkation
from fast boat |
TROY:
Nusa Lembongan remained, for a long time, a bit of a hidden secret. Over the
last five years that sort of changed. |
07:54 |
Troy
looks out to sea |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Hotelier Troy
Sinclair has spent the past 18 years here; he's seen
tourism explode. |
08:00 |
Troy
interview |
TROY:
We're talking a massive change in volume and in the numbers coming in. |
08:08 |
Villages
carry offerings to temple |
Music
|
08:13 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Here on Nusa
Lembongan, the rapid growth brought jobs. Most of the locals found work in
tourism. Almost everyone here has been
impacted by the shutdown. |
08:22 |
Man
on street |
MAN: No money! |
08:44 |
Troy
on boat |
|
08:51 |
|
TROY: That's all villas and bungalows all along
the hill there. All pretty much empty. MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: With no money coming
in, staff have been let go and maintenance is on hold. |
08:56 |
|
Music
|
09:07 |
Sunken
pontoon/Troy on boat |
TROY:
This one went down the other day. Pontoons are day trip businesses. They moor
up against these big pontoons, and they then go into the island for tours to
the Instagram shots. |
09:13 |
|
This
pontoon under normal circumstances would have guys on it every day, checking
it, diving on it, looking at it. Obviously, in these conditions they simply don't. And a small leak can lead to this very quickly.
I’ve been here a long time, my staff are essentially
family. Instead of letting things fall away or shutting up shop, how do we
ensure that they have jobs to come back to? |
09:24 |
Ceningan
GVs |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: A short motorbike
trip from Lembongan is the island of Ceningan. |
09:58 |
Bridge
to Ceningan |
Every
day, people crossed this bridge to earn a living in Lembongan’s tourist
trade. |
10:03 |
|
WAYAN:
Local people call this bridge "Love Bridge",
because it brings together Lembongan and Ceningan. Like love, where it
unites two people into one |
10:11 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: For generations, the
channel was used by local families to farm seaweed. |
10:26 |
Seaweed
farm/Beach development |
But
with the arrival of tourism, this industry died off – the farms made way for
day clubs, and selfie swings. |
10:31 |
Wayan
working seaweed farm |
The
seaweed farms have returned, because most on the
island are now out of work. |
10:47 |
|
WAYAN: My name is Wayan. I come from Ceningan
Island. From 1984, something like that, my family have worked at the seaweed
farms. |
10:57 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: At low tide, Wayan
and his parents harvest seaweed. Working by day, or by night, it’s tough work. |
11:10 |
|
WAYAN: Seaweed is very good
for your health, but not so healthy for those harvesting it. |
11:29 |
|
WAYAN'S
DAD: Seaweed no good. WAYAN:
My parents doesn’t want me to seaweed farm. Because it’s very, very hard. |
11:35 |
|
We
have no choice, so we have to go back to nature. |
11:44 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: The seaweed is dried
before being sent to Java for processing. There, it’s
turned into beauty products, sushi and medicinal extracts. |
11:51 |
Wayan
carries baskets of seaweed |
Wayan
left the island to study tourism. That was the golden ticket for many of his
generation. As mass tourism arrived here, Wayan returned in the hopes of
building a better life for his young family. |
12:15 |
Wayan
walks to villa |
WAYAN:
Tourism started to explode. More people coming in from outside than the
people living here |
12:35 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Before the pandemic,
Wayan and his wife invested their life savings to build a bungalow for
tourists. |
12:41 |
|
WAYAN:
I tried to build my own business, even I have loaned money from the bank. |
12:48 |
Wayan
sits at villa |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: The bungalow has only
seen a few guests. |
12:54 |
|
WAYAN: This pandemic is still going on. So this is the worst thing that's happened. Especially
when I had to borrow money from the bank, and then for me now, it’s very hard to return this one back. |
13:00 |
Wayan
on motorbike to home |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: When Wayan worked at a high end
resort he earned 800 Australian dollars a month. Now, seaweed farming brings
in less than three hundred, and his young family, has grown. |
13:18 |
Wayan's
wife and daughter |
WAYAN: This is my little house, here with my
family. My youngest daughter, three months. My wife. When I arrive at my home after getting my
seaweed, my kids are smiling. Your
tiredness is gone. So, that’s more important. |
13:32 |
|
WAYAN'S
WIFE: We still survive here, because
of the seaweed. |
14:02 |
|
Music
|
14:06 |
Wayan's
wife cooks |
WAYAN:
We learnt that in the future we should not glorify only one sector of work. |
14:16 |
Wife
bathes baby |
|
14:31 |
|
If
things return to normal, we must be able to balance tourism with the natural
way of life here. |
14:37 |
Bridge
to Ceningan/ Robi's band performs |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Change is on
everyone's mind. Back on the mainland, generations of Balinese are coming
together to plan a different future for the island. |
14:49 |
Christia
in audience |
CHRISTIA: This is a wake-up call for all of us. So
that we realised that we cannot just depend on one industry, and we have to develop all the other industries that actually
have great potential. |
15:11 |
Christia
at Kebon Vintage |
Music
|
15:23 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Christia Dharmawan
runs events at her family's venue, Kebon Vintage. It's
become the place for many of these big conversations. |
15:26 |
|
CHRISTIA: I think it's a
good time for reflection this year, for sure. Going back to loving our island
and make sure that people don't abuse our island as
well. |
15:35 |
Dancers
at event |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: For years, locals
have been unhappy with the negative impacts of mass tourism. COK
ACE: In this post pandemic era, certainly there will be some changes in the
tourism industry. |
15:46 |
Cok
Ace. Super: |
Tourism
has to bring benefit to Balinese society. This is
the time for us to think about this. |
16:01 |
Robi
performs |
ROBI
[sings]: When things get faster, Bali dares to stop and reset… |
16:12 |
Rice
padis |
Music
|
16:26 |
|
PAK
GUS AGUNG: The infrastructure is a problem here in Bali. |
16:41 |
Pak
Gus Agung interview |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: It’s
clear to Pak Gus Agung, the head of Bali's tourism board, what needs to be
done. |
16:43 |
|
PAK
GUS AGUNG: We need schools. 65% of Balinese people haven’t
graduated junior high school. There's not enough water. There's not enough electricity. There's not enough roads. Traffic and rubbish, the number
one problem in Bali. |
16:49 |
|
Music
|
17:06 |
|
PAK
GUS AGUNG: Bali has already had tourism for more than a 100
years. All the money comes but
70% goes out from Bali. Because the business is not operated by Balinese
people. That way of thinking has to change. |
17:09 |
Rubbish
on beaches |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Bali’s rubbish
problem had begun to tarnish its picture perfect
reputation, long before the pandemic. The island lacks a centralised waste
system – there's nowhere for this to go. |
17:35 |
In
car with Gary Bencheghib |
GARY: The island of gods had become the island of
trash. MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: That’s
something Bali-raised Gary Bencheghib is trying to change with his organisation
Sungai Watch. |
17:52 |
Gary
interview |
GARY: What very little people realise is
that all of this plastics that
literally fills up the brink of Kuta beach comes from somewhere. |
18:06 |
Rubbish
in rivers |
And
it comes from the rivers. Rivers are
essentially the toilets of Indonesia. They're on the
backs of hotels, villas. With the lack of waste management we have on the
island, our rivers in Bali have turned into garbage dumps. |
18:16 |
Davis
walks with Gary |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: The COVID shutdown
provided an unexpected opportunity. |
18:37 |
|
GARY:
There was a sense of we wanted to really do something. And so that's really where we started our weekly clean-ups around
the same time. |
18:44 |
Gary
interview |
Progressively
we went from 20, 30 and now we're all the way up to
150, 200 people. |
18:54 |
Workers
cleaning up rivers |
Music
|
18:58 |
|
GARY: Because of COVID people have more time. There's this community out there that wants to clean and
press the reset button on Bali before we open up to international tourism. |
19:08 |
|
Music
|
19:17 |
Davis
at river clean-up to camera |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: So here we are,
standing waist to knee depth in the rivers. The Badung district has got all
these working here. They've all lost their jobs in
the COVID pandemic. They used to work in tourism. Now they're
out here every day, attacking these rivers with sickles, with chainsaws, with
whatever they've got. It's a war on plastic. There's a long way to go. |
19:30 |
River
clean-up |
|
19:50 |
|
GEDE: My name is Gede and before I worked as a
driver. But right now, because of the pandemic we have no job anymore in
tourism and now we are going to the river, to clean the river. Hopefully
soon, the tourism is coming again to Bali and we clean already! |
19:58 |
Vox
pops at river |
MAN:
The people in the village, the locals, we join to clean the river, the beach,
the land and the rice field. Thank you. |
20:15 |
|
WOMAN: I have a rice field back in my home town and my father he has a problem with plastic
every single day. So that's why I needed to find a
community who solved this kind of problem. |
20:31 |
River
GVs |
Music
|
20:42 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Rivers crisscross the
island, flowing through villages, farms and rice
fields. |
20:46 |
Men
working rice fields |
They
sustain local communities, and the tourism industry. But the rivers are under
pressure: Tourists per capita generate
three and a half times more waste than locals. |
20:51 |
Sungai
Watch members sort rubbish |
GARY:
We're bringing two tonnes of trash every day and our research station to sort.
There's a sorting table here to sort plastics into
15 different types of categories. Bring it to recycling. |
21:04 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Of the 300 tonnes of
plastic collected so far only a third can be recycled. |
21:21 |
|
GARY:
These guys unfortunately can't be recycled. This is
a one-time use and it has a lifetime behind it, you
know, it lives longer than our grandkids' kids' kids' kids'… What we're trying to leverage is the brands that are
responsible for the plastic packaging. |
21:27 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Through their
comprehensive documentation, Sungai Watch hopes to hold the manufacturers
accountable. GARY: Sungai Watch, in many ways, is more of a
data river clean up organisation. So really giving that transparency as to
what we're finding in the rivers online, for
everybody to see, so they can engage. |
21:45 |
|
ROBI: I believe every generation has their own
revolution. Our topic now is about the environmental issue. |
22:07 |
Robi
in studio |
|
22:16 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Gede Robi is a
musician and an educator. |
22:19 |
Robi's
band performs |
Music
|
22:22 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: His band Navicula are
rock and roll royalty. For two decades they’ve
brought politics to the young people of Bali through their music. |
22:25 |
|
ROBI:
I love rock and roll so much because at a concert we can collect a
concentration of audience in one place. |
22:35 |
Robi
interview |
Even
the religion is transferred by shadow puppets and theatre. So
what's the difference with rock and roll? |
22:47 |
Robi
in studio |
Today,
Robi is putting the final touches on his film entitled Pulau Plastic –
translated, means Plastic Island. |
22:55 |
Robi
interview |
ROBI: In Indonesia alone, more than 93 million
plastic straws are used every day. More than 500 million plastic bags, single
use plastic bags, is used every day. |
23:07 |
Robi
in studio |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Produced with local
NGO Kopernik, the film is a shift for Robi from years of frontline activism.
He wants this documentary to put pressure on decision makers. |
23:18 |
|
ROBI: In Bali, the tourism industry and the waste
created by this industry has also become a problem. More people come, then
more waste… It's really logical, right? What is
important for us is prevention. |
23:32 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Robi believes that
the answers to the island's problems can be found in its traditions. |
23:50 |
|
ROBI:
In Bali, there are some traditional rules, to make a balance between economic
prosperity and natural preservation. |
23:58 |
Women
carry temple offerings |
But
we're a long way lost. More money, more money, is
betraying this concept. |
24:09 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: Will Bali return to
the way it was after this pandemic ends? |
24:19 |
Robi
interview/Funeral pyre |
ROBI: This is the big lesson for us to shifting
our priority. Economy and ecology are not two separate things. We understand
that we are live from the nature. We can’t damage
nature. Specifically in Bali, the concept is nature
and culture tourism. That's our asset. That's what we sell. We cannot shit
where we eat. Right? |
24:22 |
|
Music
|
24:50 |
Plane
landing/Airport |
|
24:55 |
|
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: A year on from the
start of COVID, Bali is preparing to re-open to visitors. Tourism will return to the island of the
gods and bring with it much needed money. What type of tourism do you want? COK
ACE: We want everyone to be peaceful in Bali. |
25:00 |
Cok
Ace |
We
don’t want them to ruin our environment. |
25:16 |
Rice
field |
PAK
AGUNG: This is the time for Bali to do. Balinese people look at themselves,
yeah? So we will learn. I think the government learns, the industry learns |
25:20 |
Pak
Agung |
and
the people also learn. |
25:36 |
Workers
in rice fields |
Music
|
25:38 |
|
Taksu
(Balinese spirit) is our blood. You cannot describe it,
because it’s a process. Balinese people, since they are in the mum
pregnant, it’s already started. |
25:46 |
Pak
Agung |
It’s not
religion. It’s Bali. |
26:02 |
|
Music
|
26:06 |
Lifeguards
on beach |
MATT
DAVIS, Reporter: The Kuta lifeguards
are winding down for the day. No one knows exactly when these beaches will be
full again, but Marchello and his crew will be waiting. MARCHELLO:
When the tourists are coming, we hope they’re not
littering; the beach has been very clean. I hope you guys still come to Bali.
We are here for you. |
26:12 |
Marcello |
You
can bring good energy, we can give our energy for
you guys. |
26:36 |
Surfer
in wave/Children on
beach |
Music
|
26:44 |
Credits
[see below] |
|
27:22 |
Outpoint
|
|
27:49 |
Reported
and Filmed by
Matt Davis
Editor
Nikki Stevens
Field
Producer
Halim Ardie
Additional
Camera
Halim Ardie
Andre Dananjaya
Sean
Gilhooley
Sungai
Watch
Music
Navicula:
Mafia Hukum
Saat Semua Semakin Cepat -
Bali Berani Berhenti
Metamorfosa Kata
Prabumi:
Sabang
Amla
Hati Jawabnya
Matahari
Pagi
Special
Thanks
Kadek Sugianto
Todd Frank
KOPERNIK
Ewa Wojkowska
Vanessa Harsamto
Andre Dananjaya
Assistant
Editor
Tom Carr
Research
Anne Worthington
Senior
Production Manager
Michelle Roberts
Production
Co-ordinator
Victoria Allen
Post Production Editor
Andrew McLean
Colourist
Simon Brazzalotto
Sound
Mixer
Evan Horton
Digital
Producer
Matt Henry
Supervising
Producer
Lisa
McGregor
Executive
Producer
Matthew Carney
abc.net.au/foreign
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2021 Australian Broadcasting Corporation