escaping lombok

Finally I have something to write about other than the wonderful life in the idyllic Oberoi Resort on Lombok where I’d been living and painting for just short of 2 months.

Sunday Jan 16, 2000: My girlfriend Angie tries to extend her visit in Lombok but is unable to secure a flight. We drive to the Mataram airport and she departs on Sunday evening. I return to the hotel and see smiley happy people returning from a big gathering.

Monday: the unrest began in the morning with several churches set alight. The 10,000 strong mob was focused in Mataram, an hour's drive from the resort. All day, reports spilled in as to what was going on, but it was unclear as to which way and how the mess would spread. At 10pm, I walked to the front gate of the hotel. From this vantage point, I could see orange flames rising into the sky just a few miles away in the sleepy town of Tanjung. Another fire started closer to our resort. A half-naked Frenchman stumbled out of the woods brandishing a spear gun. He had run away when the mob had begun torching his home and hotel. His wife and staff's whereabouts were suspect. As a Christian, he'd been targeted despite his foreign passport. The night was full of noise and the sky peppered with orange glows. What sounded like gunshots I was told were stones being thrown at buildings. A local Christian policeman's home lit up the sky again. It was a nervous night with everybody waiting.

Tuesday: the afternoon brought the drama to our doorstep. Hundreds of mob members, mostly boys in their teens, descended on the front gate of the hotel, ready to wreak havoc. The resort's local staff members began crying, fearful this would be the end. But our two senior Muslim staff were able to negotiate with the village elders and for mountains of cokes and rice, were able to fend off the masses. The hotel's GM is Muslim and donations are given to the mosque. These factors helped buy time. But throughout the day, wave after hungry wave of mob arrived for feeding. A small price to pay for safety but the resort had become refueling spots for the mob. (I guess we were sympathizers?) This went on into the night.
Fortunately, in the afternoon, all remaining guests and Christian staff had been shipped to the bay where a high-speed catamaran would whisk them to Bali. One of the guests commented at how modern resorts were all now trying to give guests new and exciting experiences. This adventure certainly ranked at the top.

Wednesday: (yesterday) the head of tourism and chief of police advised that all foreigners leave the island. Reluctantly, the GM, along with his wife, hotel manager and myself, boarded the boat and headed for Sengigi to catch the boat to Bali. In Sengigi the night before, several Chinese owned bars had been torched. Now, dozens of soldiers in flack jackets and police with machine guns were protecting the dock. The 600 passengers, a mix of local Chinese and foreigners, boarded the boat to Bali in relative peace and sailed away. The party atmosphere and beer on the boat clouded the realization of what had just happened and what effect this would have on Lombok, the people and the economy. With most everything shut and no tourists in sight, many locals (those who escaped mob inflicted damage) would be left with no work or income. Tourism will suffer for at least a year and life in Lombok won't be the same for a long time.

As I’d sat in a mild state of fear, inside the most exclusive villa in Lombok’s premier resort, waiting to leave, I had suddenly realized how quickly life changes.

Now I’m sitting with my brother in Bali with a suitcase full of paintings and my life.