(Serangan Bali protest : Alt: โPostcard Bali vs. Bulldozer BaliโWho Really Wins?โ)
“Bali is a dream, right?
Turquoise waves that โinfluencersโ fake-swim in for likes. Temples that get more hashtags than actual offerings. Reefs so vibrant they make your GoPro weep.
Thatโs the Bali they sell you.
But hereโs the Bali they donโt post:
Drive 20 minutes from Sanurโpast the yoga studios and vegan cafesโand suddenly, the โparadiseโ filter cracks.
Dredgers growl where dolphins used to breach. Sacred shores, where families once prayed to Baruna, are now buried under cement trucks. The air smells like diesel, not frangipani.
Welcome to Serangan: the island Bali forgot to put on brochures.
Once, it was Pulau PenyuโTurtle Island. Now? Itโs a crime scene.
Exhibit A: BTIDโs luxury villas, where the only turtles left are the ones carved into infinity pools.
Exhibit B: An LNG terminal nobody wanted, built on coral graveyards.
The developers call it โprogress.โ Locals call it what it is: theft.
And guess who wasnโt invited to the planning meeting? The sea. The gods. Or the people whoโve lived here for generations.
So before you repost another #BlessedBali sunsetโask yourself: Who paid for that view?”
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BTID & LNG: “Development” or Corporate Takeover?
BTID (Bali Turtle Island Development) โ because nothing says “sustainable tourism” like:
- Luxury villas for oligarchs whoโll “experience authentic Bali” from their private infinity pools
- A mega-marina so superyachts can dock where fishing boats once fed families
- Privatized beaches because public access is so… peasant
(Fun fact: The only “turtle” left here is the logo on a $1,000/night villa towel.)
LNG Terminal โ the energy project nobody voted for:
- Slapped onto coral reefs like a Band-Aid on a bullet wound
- Risks? Oh, just minor things: toxic spills, explosions, and turning Seranganโs waters into a permanent no-swim zone
- “But jobs!” they say… while hiring off-island contractors and paying locals pennies to clean up their mess
The Big Lie? They call this “economic growth.”
- Ask the fishermen whose nets come up empty.
- Ask the families who can no longer reach their melukat springs.
- Ask the kids whoโll inherit a sea full of concrete, not clownfish.
๐ฅ Reality Check:
“When a โdevelopmentโ destroys more than it builds, itโs not progressโitโs piracy.”
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WHATโS REALLY BEING BURIED IN SERANGAN (AND ITโS NOT JUST THE REEFS) – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
1. Coral Graves โ The Silent Massacre
Imagine: 500-year-old reefsโliving cathedrals of biodiversityโblasted into rubble so some billionaireโs villa can have an “instagrammable” white sand beach (spoiler: itโs imported from Cambodia).
2. Sacred Spaces โ Spiritual Noise Pollution
Where melukat (holy water cleansing) once flowed with tranquility, now:
- Diesel generators roar during silent prayers
- Construction floodlights drown out the moonlit offerings
- “Do Not Enter” signs block paths to ancestral fishing shrines
(Funny how “Baliโs spiritual vibe” disappears when profit arrives.)
3. Fishermenโs Apocalypse โ LNGโs Toxic Legacy
- LNG leaks = Dead fish zones (but hey, at least the resort kitchens can import salmon from Norway!)
- Dredging = Coastal erosion so severe, even the warungs are now floating warungs
- The Ultimate Irony? Locals get hired as “security guards” to protect the villas that stole their fishing grounds
4. The Cultural Erasure โ A Peopleโs Identity, Bulldozed
- Kids now point at cranes instead of frigate birds
- “Traditional fishing villages” exist only as resort theme park decor
- The New Serangan Slogan: “From Subsistence to Servitude in One Generation”
๐ฅ MIC DROP LINE:
“Theyโre not just killing coralโtheyโre erasing a way of life. And no amount of โeco-resortโ greenwashing will restore whatโs been destroyed.”
“First they came for the reefs. Then the beaches. Then the prayers. Whatโs left to sellโthe silence?” –Giostanovlatto
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“NO TRESPASSING”: THE MODERN-ERA COLONIALISM OF SERANGAN
1. The Great Bali Land Heist
Remember when Seranganโs beaches belonged to everyone?
- Now: Guarded gates, “RESIDENTS ONLY” signs, and security shooing away locals whoโve harvested seaweed here for generations
- The irony? Those same guards are Serangan locals forced to police their own stolen heritage for minimum wage
2. The Mangrove Massacre
Natureโs perfect tsunami barrier, fish nursery, and CO2 vacuum?
- Replaced by: “Eco-luxury” villas with imported palm trees (because nothing says “sustainable” like destroying a native ecosystem to plant decorative flora)
- Bonus absurdity: Developers slap “Save the Ocean” signs on construction fences… while bulldozing the very forests that protect it
3. The Spiritual Eviction Notice
- Pura Sakenan, once accessible by foot at low tide, now requires “resort guest passes” to approach
- Offerings to Dewa Baruna (God of the Sea) must now compete with jet-ski rental noise
- The ultimate disrespect: Sacred Nyepi silence broken by 24/7 LNG terminal construction
4. The Bait-and-Switch “Luxury Experience”
What was stolen gets resold as:
- “Private beachfront living” (translation: your childhood fishing spot, now behind a paywall)
- “Cultural immersion tours” (where you watch paid performers pretend to live the life that was erased next door)
๐ฅ STRAIGHT TALK:
“This isnโt โdevelopmentโโitโs a hostile takeover. They donโt just want your land. They want to commodify your identity, then charge you admission to see its corpse.”
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FOLLOW THE MONEY: THE GREAT BALI ROBBERY – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
THE WINNERS (Hint: Not You)
๐ฐ Foreign Investors โ Buying up paradise like itโs a Monopoly board (Park Place with a sea view!)
๐ฐ Jakarta Elites โ Whoโve never set foot in Serangan but own half its coastline on paper
๐ฐ The Oligarch Playbook:
Step 1: Slap a “sustainable” label on a destructive project
Step 2: Fast-track permits with “special approvals” (read: bribes)
Step 3: Profit while locals hold the bag
THE LOSERS (Hint: Everyone Else)
๐ Fishermen โ Who now watch yachts sail over their old fishing grounds
๐ด Farmers โ Pushed into selling ancestral land for 1/10th its value (then hired as pool boys on the same plot)
๐ถ Next Generation โ Inheriting a toxic sea, privatized beaches, and a culture turned into a resort theme park
THE BIG LIE: “Trickle-Down Tourism”
- Promised: Jobs! Infrastructure! Progress!
- Reality:
- Jobs? Maids & security guards for Rp 2.5 million/month (while villa guests pay Rp 25 million/night)
- Infrastructure? New roadsโbut only the ones leading to private resorts
- Progress? Tri Hita Karana (Balinese harmony principle) replaced with Tri Hita Corruptiona
๐ฅ THE REAL COST:
“They get villas. We get eviction notices. They get yacht docks. We get dead reefs. They count profits. We count losses. This isnโt economicsโitโs extraction.”
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THE SILENCE (AND THE SCREAMS THEY CANโT MUFFLE) – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
THE MEDIA BLACKOUT
โข Headlines youโll never see: “Oligarchs Dump Concrete on Sacred Island”
โข Instead: “Baliโs New Tourism Boom!” (Sponsored by the developers themselves)
โข Permits approved at midnight โ because nothing says transparency like signatures in the dark
THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN
When locals dare to speak up:
โข “Anti-development radicals” โ says the Jakarta CEO whoโs never hauled a fishing net
โข “Against progress!” โ screams the politician who fast-tracked permits for “donations”
โข Meanwhile: Adat law? Environmental impact studies? “Not applicable for special projects”
BUT THE FIRE IS GROWING
โข Fishermenโs boats now circle dredgers like waterborne protests
โข Youth activists livestream bulldozers to Instagram โ bypassing the blackout
โข Aunties at market stalls whisper “serangan pencuri” (Serangan thieves) when developers walk by
THE TRUTH THEY CANโT BURY:
“This isnโt about โstopping progressโโitโs about stopping the theft of our future while they call it โinvestmentโ. The sea doesnโt speak in press releases. But itโs screaming.”
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CLOSING: PARADISE WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAVE A TURNSTILE – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
THIS IS NOT BALI
The real Bali doesnโt come with:
- All-access wristbands (while locals get no-access fences)
- “Cultural shows” performed by underpaid dancers for drunk tourists
- Sacred springs repackaged as “spa wellness experiences” ($150 extra)
THIS IS BALI
The one theyโre trying to bury:
- Grandfathers teaching kids to read tides, not room rates
- Women weaving offerings, not employee uniforms
- Seas that feed villages, not investor portfolios
SERANGAN IS JUST THE BEGINNING
- Today itโs BTIDโs privatized beaches
- Tomorrow? Uluwatuโs cliffs as LNG tanker parking
- Next year? Your childhood village as a “5-star eco-retreat”
THE ULTIMATE QUESTION:
“When the last fishing boat is replaced by a yacht, the last coral reef by an artificial island, the last prayer drowned out by constructionโwill they finally call it โsuccessโ?”
FINAL PUNCH:
“Paradise isnโt lost. Itโs being auctionedโone stolen shoreline at a time.” โ Giostanovlatto
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DISCLAIMER (DENGAN GIGI)
“Ini bukan โberita netralโโini opini bakar-bakaran dari saya, Giostanovlatto, tentang bagaimana Pulau Serangan sedang dikuliti hidup-hidup demi villa dan pipa gas.โ
Saya:
โ Tidak dibayar NGO manapun
โ Tidak mau jadi โbaik-baikโ demi klik
โ Paling alergi dengan kata “win-win solution” ketika yang terjadi adalah perampokan
Fakta di artikel ini:
โ Bisa diverifikasi (silahkan tanya ke nelayan Serangan)
โ Tidak bisa dibantah (kecuali Anda buta terhadap kubangan semen di laut suci)
Kalau ada yang tersinggung?
Bagus. Artinya Anda mungkin bagian dari masalah.
Kalau mau bilang โanti-pembangunanโ?
Saya sudah siapkan jawabannya:
“Saya pro-Bali. Kalian pro-uang. Kita beda agama.”
Ini bukan artikel. Ini jeritan.
– Giostanovlatto
(Penulis, Orang Bali yang Tidak Mau Diam)
