Comments

Hi and thank you for this, it has been a helpful resource in navigating this space.

I have a question that I was hoping to pick your mind on.

Do you reckon that the ‘majority wins’ mentality is detrimental in our conversation surrounding Chinese privilege? Is this something that needs to be considered when unpacking privilege sorted by Race?

So nice to read an article that actually explains the situation in Bali (also my favorite place in the world). It’s hard to sift through everything that is being written. I do hope what you wrote is correct and there is hope for Bali to recover soon.

Thanks for this report. Last time I got a SIM in Bangkok, in 2019, I needed ID (passport) and several photos were taken of me, so I assume the biometrics are wider than the southern region?

I just find it interesting how some of the author’s reviewing this exhibition seem to actively dismiss the Catholic association when it comes to Philippine identity. Catholicism with all its good and horrid parts is inseparable to Filipino identity. It is a dominant part (a poster boy I dare say) of Filipino beliefs, art, conversation, politics, superstition and the mundane as whitening and fetish of western culture, bodies and the English language is. To dismiss it for the sake of post-colonial discourse is a bit dishonest… Catholicism is here to stay and many Filipinos will take that part of the culture to their grave. Now the lazy attempts at displaying the works is embarrassing and I agree (the lack of research was painful). Also, regarding Tapaya’s work, I have seen a tendency for Filipino artists to fill their compositions to the brim with collages of various symbolic items. (I see many of these that I often see it as a sort of Filipino style lol). Idk, perhaps my opinion might change if I got to see the exhibition and have the amazing knowledge and frame of references that you guys have. I enjoyed reading and thinking about the reviews. Thanks.

As above, any unfavourable comments please let me know of them.

Not a bad piece, life carries on here in Bali and we are running our businesses even at a lower level. We are in immigration, property and baking. Immigration offices closed their doors, which stifles a lot of business, hopefully government services will restart. Our bakery is on line so we carry on delivering, there are a lot of foreigners still here so our Aussie meat pies and steak and cheese pies are selling well, our hot cross buns at easter were a sell out. Property is dead but there are buying opportunities coming up, good time to invest. The skies are clear, we can see the whole island which has not been possible for 10 years. The traffic is light. It is like Bali 20 years ago. Most hotels are shut, but a few tick over and you can still get a 5* meal at some. People are running out of money and street crime and burglary is rising fast, the economy has not stopped but it needs to ramp up fast. We are not dead!!

This is a balanced and well-researched account of the impact of Covid on one of my favorite places in the world. It also hints and the important role that domestic tourism will play in nurturing economies, like Bali and Thailand, that have large tourism sectors hit by the pandemic. Domestic tourism will undoubtedly rebound far faster than international tourism.

The informal sector may not be eqipped to handle the problem but it is what exists.

I was glad to see my sentiments as a local being shared internationally. I particularly liked the encouragement for more Myanmar voices to do more story-telling – both in creating new researchers, as well as supporting the young but growing research community.

However, I think there is already a sizeable chunk of resources that are available to local research groups – but unfortunately it seems to be going only to 1) a small number of topics i.e. federalism, governance and general issues of democracy, 2) the “usual suspect list” of recipient organisations that are working on the formerly mentioned topics, mostly composed of former activist turned scholars after a number of years in exile/studies abroad, and 3) local but not local-led organisations that are funded by foreign donors, and led by foreigners with connections (what the hell does Green Lotus even do?) – how development partners tend to fund people they’re connected to OR even better includes your citizens – as well as a lack of “hand-holding” by donors with local organisations (i.e. expecting high results from the get-go without flexibility nor mentorship)

Running a local think-tank of infrastructure and urban planning myself, the field is very thin for funding, yet the topic is one that always sparks a “ah, that is definitely a much needed field! lots of work to be done!” compliment that one can readily gather from just seeing blocked drains and potholes in the road. It is also a field which is arguably seeing not just fast, but extremely costly and potentially future-changing, plans of development that range from the New Yangon city, or the Hantharwaddy Airport, and certainly not least the various BRI projects with China.
The lack of funding prevents the prospering of local think-tanks that would better help the development of Myanmar.

Have always wanted to write to you Dr Farrelly, we might have met at the Bruma Studies Conference in Bangkok 2018, but would be glad to know more of your thoughts!

Great post,, very nice