(Serangan Bali protest : Alt: “Postcard Bali vs. Bulldozer Bali—Who Really Wins?”)
“Bali is a dream, right?
Turquoise waves that ‘influencers’ fake-swim in for likes. Temples that get more hashtags than actual offerings. Reefs so vibrant they make your GoPro weep.
That’s the Bali they sell you.
But here’s the Bali they don’t post:
Drive 20 minutes from Sanur—past the yoga studios and vegan cafes—and suddenly, the ‘paradise’ 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 Penyu—Turtle Island. Now? It’s a crime scene.
Exhibit A: BTID’s 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 ‘progress.’ Locals call it what it is: theft.
And guess who wasn’t invited to the planning meeting? The sea. The gods. Or the people who’ve lived here for generations.
So before you repost another #BlessedBali sunset—ask yourself: Who paid for that view?”
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BTID & LNG: “Development” or Corporate Takeover?
BTID (Bali Turtle Island Development) – because nothing says “sustainable tourism” like:
- Luxury villas for oligarchs who’ll “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 – 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 Serangan’s 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 who’ll inherit a sea full of concrete, not clownfish.
🔥 Reality Check:
“When a ‘development’ destroys more than it builds, it’s not progress—it’s piracy.”
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WHAT’S REALLY BEING BURIED IN SERANGAN (AND IT’S NOT JUST THE REEFS) – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
1. Coral Graves – The Silent Massacre
Imagine: 500-year-old reefs—living cathedrals of biodiversity—blasted into rubble so some billionaire’s villa can have an “instagrammable” white sand beach (spoiler: it’s imported from Cambodia).
2. Sacred Spaces – 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 “Bali’s spiritual vibe” disappears when profit arrives.)
3. Fishermen’s Apocalypse – LNG’s 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 – A People’s 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”
🔥 MIC DROP LINE:
“They’re not just killing coral—they’re erasing a way of life. And no amount of ‘eco-resort’ greenwashing will restore what’s been destroyed.”
“First they came for the reefs. Then the beaches. Then the prayers. What’s left to sell—the silence?” –Giostanovlatto
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“NO TRESPASSING”: THE MODERN-ERA COLONIALISM OF SERANGAN
1. The Great Bali Land Heist
Remember when Serangan’s beaches belonged to everyone?
- Now: Guarded gates, “RESIDENTS ONLY” signs, and security shooing away locals who’ve 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
Nature’s 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)
🔥 STRAIGHT TALK:
“This isn’t ‘development’—it’s a hostile takeover. They don’t 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)
💰 Foreign Investors – Buying up paradise like it’s a Monopoly board (Park Place with a sea view!)
💰 Jakarta Elites – Who’ve never set foot in Serangan but own half its coastline on paper
💰 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)
🐟 Fishermen – Who now watch yachts sail over their old fishing grounds
🌴 Farmers – Pushed into selling ancestral land for 1/10th its value (then hired as pool boys on the same plot)
👶 Next Generation – 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 roads—but only the ones leading to private resorts
- Progress? Tri Hita Karana (Balinese harmony principle) replaced with Tri Hita Corruptiona
🔥 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 isn’t economics—it’s extraction.”
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THE SILENCE (AND THE SCREAMS THEY CAN’T MUFFLE) – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
THE MEDIA BLACKOUT
• Headlines you’ll never see: “Oligarchs Dump Concrete on Sacred Island”
• Instead: “Bali’s New Tourism Boom!” (Sponsored by the developers themselves)
• Permits approved at midnight – because nothing says transparency like signatures in the dark
THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN
When locals dare to speak up:
• “Anti-development radicals” – says the Jakarta CEO who’s never hauled a fishing net
• “Against progress!” – screams the politician who fast-tracked permits for “donations”
• Meanwhile: Adat law? Environmental impact studies? “Not applicable for special projects”
BUT THE FIRE IS GROWING
• Fishermen’s boats now circle dredgers like waterborne protests
• Youth activists livestream bulldozers to Instagram – bypassing the blackout
• Aunties at market stalls whisper “serangan pencuri” (Serangan thieves) when developers walk by
THE TRUTH THEY CAN’T BURY:
“This isn’t about ‘stopping progress’—it’s about stopping the theft of our future while they call it ‘investment’. The sea doesn’t speak in press releases. But it’s screaming.”
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CLOSING: PARADISE WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAVE A TURNSTILE – SERANGAN BALI PROTEST
THIS IS NOT BALI
The real Bali doesn’t 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 they’re 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 it’s BTID’s privatized beaches
- Tomorrow? Uluwatu’s 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 construction—will they finally call it ‘success’?”
FINAL PUNCH:
“Paradise isn’t lost. It’s being auctioned—one stolen shoreline at a time.” – Giostanovlatto
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DISCLAIMER (DENGAN GIGI)
“Ini bukan ‘berita netral’—ini opini bakar-bakaran dari saya, Giostanovlatto, tentang bagaimana Pulau Serangan sedang dikuliti hidup-hidup demi villa dan pipa gas.”
Saya:
✔ Tidak dibayar NGO manapun
✔ Tidak mau jadi ‘baik-baik’ demi klik
✔ Paling alergi dengan kata “win-win solution” ketika yang terjadi adalah perampokan
Fakta di artikel ini:
☑ Bisa diverifikasi (silahkan tanya ke nelayan Serangan)
☑ 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 ‘anti-pembangunan’?
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)
