Poverty 'surged' after Bali bombing

The Bali terror attacks hit the tourism industry hard

Hundreds of thousands of people were impoverished as a result of the bombs that killed almost 200 people in Bali in October 2002, a new report says.

The report, by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), was released the day after hundreds of survivors and relatives of victims paid an emotional tribute to the victims.

The likelihood, the research says, is that many local workers faced substantial salary cuts or job losses following the attack, and are now too poor to afford healthcare.

And it warns that without tighter security the former "crown jewel" of Indonesian tourism may never return to its former glory.

"It is clear now that the crisis is deeper and longer lasting than at first anticipated," it said, "giving greater urgency to the need for effective action."

Long road back

Overall, the report sets the loss of average income on the island at 43% between October 2002 and May 2003.

More than 30% of schools have seen pupils drop out, presumably to help their families earn money or because paying school fees has become a problem.

The government's response, the report said, had been fragmentary.

Tourism may not recover until next year at the earliest, and even then a "return to past conditions" may be impossible.

Improving security is vital if the tourists are to come back, the report warned.

Higher-scale hotels have introduced measures such as vehicle checks, but security at beachfront bars and restaurants has changed little in the year since Muslim militants exploded a massive car bomb just as a suicide bomber blew himself up on the same road.

Overall, foreign arrivals in Bali were more than a third lower in the first eight months of this year compared with 2002, at 650,723.