Coronavirus: Balinese lose cool with celebrity flouters

Bali loses its patience with foreigner exceptionalism and is poised to deport the first expatriate for breaching COVID-19 protocols.

Wissam Barakeh is taken into custody on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Bali has finally lost its patience with foreigner exceptionalism, as authorities are poised to deport the first expatriate for breaching COVID-19 protocols.

The Syrian founder of Ubud’s House of Om yoga retreat hosted a “yogic chanting” evening to raise money for unemployed Balinese.

Immigration officials say more than 60 foreigners attended last week’s event in the retreat’s “tree-top shala” where photographs and video of the gathering initially posted on the House of Om Instagram site showed a large group of Western devotees sitting closely without face masks, chanting and striking yoga poses.

The pictures sparked a furious backlash online amid a spike in local COVID-19 infection rates, and at a time when most Balinese observe a lockdown that has devastated the island’s economy.

Bali’s famously relaxed population has expressed rising frustration at foreigners flouting pandemic regulations such as ­social distancing and masks, even after provincial authorities issued free visa extensions allowing tourists and short-term visa holders to see out the pandemic there.

Thousands of expats and tourists have chosen to remain in Bali during the pandemic, including many Australians.

A 21st birthday party held at a villa north of Canggu in April, ­attended by international models, bloggers and Instagram influencers who posted pictures of the event to thousands of followers, also stoked local anger and calls for the revellers to be punished.

Bali’s Governor overturned a local government decision this month to open surf beaches in the tourist districts of Canggu and ­Uluwatu to foreigners but not ­locals in response to outrage.  Wissam Barakeh, the 45-year-old founder of the House of Om, which describes itself as a “social enterprise, conscious community and charity”, apologised on Monday for the event he said had been intended as an “expression of our love and gratitude to Bali and its people”.

The House of Om event on June 18, 2020.

“It was a big and unreasonable mistake that happened in this difficult time,” Mr Barakeh said in an Instagram post that has since been removed along with all pictures of the event. “We apologise to all Balinese people for our less responsible actions.”

Jamaruli Manihuruk, head of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Bali, said Mr Barakeh was being held in the Denpasar immigration lockup and would be deported to Syria in the next 30 days.

Mr Jamaruli said the House of Om event had clearly violated COVID-19 protocols, which restricts gatherings to no more than 25 people, and requires mandatory social distancing and masks.

“As someone responsible for the event, he did not make any ­attempt to disperse the crowd or cancel the event, even after he found out that the number of ­attendees would be more than is allowed,” he said.

The issue has divided locals with some Balinese saying they believed authorities had overreacted to Mr Barakeh’s mistake.

Ubud restaurateur Dewa Gede Putrawan said seeing pictures of the event plastered over his social media timeline was infuriating at a time when locals were not even permitted to hold proper Hindu funeral ceremonies for their dead.

“Here we are trying our best to avoid people, keeping the older people safe, reducing the number of people for ceremonial events, and these people are holding such an irresponsible event,” Mr ­Putrawan said. “It was like rubbing salt in our wounds, seeing these photos … that showed not even one face mask in sight. We‘re all trying to adjust to the regulations but they must be applied equally to locals and foreigners.

“If mass gatherings aren’t ­allowed for cremations then they shouldn’t be allowed for yoga.”