Memorial marks anniversary of Bali nightclub bombings
BALI, Indonesia -- Weeping relatives gathered yesterday on the first anniversary of the Bali bombings to remember the 202 victims, celebrate life, and send a defiant message to terrorists responsible for the worst attack since Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 2,000 people attended the morning service in a cavernous amphitheater on Bali island.
The day ended with a moment of silence at 11:08 p.m., the same time suicide bombers blew up the Sari Club and Paddy's bar, killing mostly young foreigners -- including seven Americans.
Similar memorial services were held across Australia, which lost 88 citizens, the most of any country. In Sydney, several thousand mourners gathered on a wind-swept headland to dedicate a bronze sculpture to the victims.
The attack is attributed to Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror group linked to Al Qaeda and blamed for the August bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12.
"Yours is a loss that can never be recovered," Prime Minister John Howard of Australia said in Bali. "We haven't forgotten you, we never will. Australia will never forget [Oct. 12, 2002]."
The service began with Christian hymns sung by Australian and Indonesian schoolchildren but featured elements of all five major religions.
Twenty-two candles, representing victims' homelands, were lit and the 202 names were read. The service closed with a rousing rendition of the Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda" as mourners hugged and placed flowers at a wading pool.
Relatives -- some wearing black armbands saying "Bali United Forever" and others wearing shirts from rugby teams that lost players in the attack -- walked past portraits of the dead as they left the cathedral-like pavilion.
"It was so sad walking past those photos," said Saari Wedemeyer, a 19-year-old Australian whose friend was killed. "Australians were just here enjoying the island, and [terrorists] took it away."
For many relatives, the ceremony ended a year filled with sadness, depression, and lingering questions.
"It's an ongoing nightmare," said Robert Lewis, an Australian who has been unable to work since his 19-year-old son, Danny, died in the attacks.
"It's always shoved into your face. It's on the news every . . . day," Lewis said. "Hopefully, this will be the end of it and we can get on with our bloody lives."
Chusnul Chatimah, an Indonesian woman whose face and arms were badly burned in the bombings, was comforted by seeing so many survivors from different cultures and backgrounds.
"I feel the support here," said Chatimah, who was joined by 12 other Indonesian survivors. "I look around and see that I'm not the only victim."
Hundreds of police guarded the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, where the ceremony was held. The venue, dominated by huge statues of the Hindu god Wisnu and the mythical Garuda bird, overlooks the tourist playground of Jimbaran beach.
Indonesian authorities have arrested 35 suspects and convicted 21. Three were sentenced to death. 