Source: Agence France Presse
KUTA, INDONESIA, October 18, 2002: Hindu priests led hundreds of villagers and tourists in a solemn ceremony at the site of a massive car bomb explosion where nearly 200 were killed. Crowds carrying flowers and wreaths walked along the narrow Raya Legian Street to Bali’s “Ground Zero.” They were allowed inside a police cordon to say prayers and lay the flowers outside the ruins. In the afternoon ceremony, hundreds of residents from Bali’s districts of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak jammed the street for the rites aimed at seeking forgiveness and pleading for a better life after the October 12 blast. Although a part of largely Muslim Indonesia, most of Bali’s three million people are Hindus. Before the ceremony the priests walked towards the site, followed by local political leaders and Balinese women carrying trays of fruit, incense, flower petals and holy water. The trays were laid on a table in front of the flattened Padi’s bar which was the main target of the bomb as the priests and other religious leaders intoned sacred chants. Hindu priests then toured the devastated block, sprinkling holy water on the ruins of buildings, burnt cars and other debris. “I am very satisfied with the turnout. Not only Hindus attended but also Christians and Muslims,” said Made Sumer, the vice regent of the Badung Regency, which covers the district of Kuta. “I hope this will speed up the healing process after this bitter tragedy,” he said.