DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Hundreds gathered Wednesday on the Indonesian resort island of Bali to commemorate 20 years since a twin bombing killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.
Services were held simultaneously in several places in Australia and at Bali’s Australian Consulate in the city of Denpasar, where Australian survivors of the 2002 terrorist attack and relatives of the deceased were among the 200 in attendance to pay tribute.
Survivors are still battling with their trauma from the Saturday night in October 2002, when a car bomb in Sari Club and a nearly simultaneous suicide bomb at nearby Paddy’s Pub went off. That night remains seared into the national memories of Indonesians, Australians and many others.
After the attack, the bustling tourist area was quiet for a time, but it has since returned to a state of busy weekends, packed traffic and tourists. What used to be Sari Club is now a vacant lot, while Paddy’s Pub has resumed its operation 100 meters (300 feet) from its original location.
A monument stands less than 50 meters (yards) from the bombing sites with the names of the those who died inscribed on it. People regularly come to pray and place flowers, candles, or flags with photos of their loved ones.
A photo of two women tied with a bouquet of fresh chrysanthemums and roses sits next to a laminated paper that reads: “To our beautiful girls Renae & Simone. It is twenty years on and not a day has gone by without thinking of you both, and how we lost two treasures. Our hearts will cry for you forever. We love and miss you so very much. Your loving Dad and Brothers.”
Twenty years later, the pain is still felt.
“We will always remember those 202 innocent people, most under the age of 40, the youngest just 13 years old. We stand with the survivors, relatives and families and support them at this time. And we remember the valor and the quiet courage of those who saw the worst of humanity and responded with the best,” Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said at the memorial service in Denpasar.
Andrew Csabi, one of the survivors in attendance in Denpasar, said he is grateful to the first responders who issued first aid without self-preservation the night after the bombing, and to the government who medically evacuated them to Darwin, saving many lives.
“So I was granted a second chance at life and I make every minute count. I was often told that my life is…