In Reply to: PLEASE HELP US - BALI PEACE PARK posted by VickiP on Monday, 31. May 2004 at 19:50 Bali Time:
***Bali Peace Park – Answers to questions.***
First of all many thank yous to all who have contacted us to offer assistance.
Answers to questions raised are as follows.
We are planning to purchase the land and register it as a joint venture between Australians and Indonesians – this is currently under discussion and hopefully a decision will be made soon.
We have been advised that the size of the land is 800 square metres and it should not take much for a talented landscaper to turn this site into a beautiful park. There is no plan to have a coffee shop etc on this site. At present the Memorial Plaque is not on the site – it is on the opposite side of the road – (Jl Legian).
We agree 2 million is a lot of money and yes 2 million could go a long way towards a half way house or a school or medical supplies etc etc. However, we did approach the local people regarding this and in the end the feed back was that the local people wanted a park in preference to anything else suggested.
The majority of people who are involved with this Foundation are passionate about Bali and its people and already are involved in other projects where they are contributing-donating in various ways to help the Balinese people. Most have their pet projects but also support others. The Bali Peace Park is not 'just another fundraiser or charity', it is a way for us, the Australians, and the people of Bali to preserve, honour and respect the place where the lives of so many loved ones were lost or destroyed. If we do not buy the land it will eventually be sold to someone else and then what.............????
We also agree that this site is ugly and what happened was ugly but surely it is time to try and lay the tragedy to rest and try and encourage peace.