Quotes of the Day

Endang Isnanik was stitching away at her sewing machine when she heard news of the Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta last month. Though hundreds of kilometers away in Bali, the 32-year-old widow began to cry, remembering the explosion that took the life of her husband in Kuta two years ago. "We cry every time we hear that a bomb has gone off," says the slight mother of three, trembling with an almost vacant look in her eyes. "I still have trouble sleeping."

Many in Bali are still traumatized by the bombings their island experienced, which left 202 people dead and hundreds more injured or maimed for life. Like many of the Indonesian women who lost their husbands, Endang was a housewife with little education and few skills before the atrocity. But with the help of the government, private charities and concerned individuals, six of the Bali widows, as they are now known, have set up a sewing cooperative that allows them to pay their rent and support their children. Others have learned hairdressing at a new salon, while some sell handicrafts and garments to tourists. "We have seen much progress, but the healing process is going to take years," says Dr. Denny Thong, a psychiatrist who has treated dozens of victims and their relatives. "Many are still suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder."

The Balinese also feel uneasy knowing that many terrorists remain at large, and harbor a simmering sense of injustice: key players in the attack have been allowed to write books, been given space in the press to air their views and even been taken out for coffee by the police as part of an investigation. "We are not looking for revenge, but we do not feel that justice has been served," says Bambang Priyanto, the local traffic official who helped lead a critical rescue effort after the bombings. "The perpetrators who were sentenced to death should be put to death."

Such anger, coupled with public concern that the bombers may be allowed new trials, sparked a backlash against the government. In the Kuta area, outgoing President Megawati Sukarnoputri was resoundingly defeated in the recent presidential election—being the granddaughter of a Balinese, though, she managed to take the island as a whole. "I very much understand how [the victims] feel, but there are many aspects that have to be considered," says I Made Mangku Pastika, Bali's chief of police, whose investigation helped break up the Jemaah Islamiah network blamed for the attack. "We have to think about the psychological impact that an execution might have." The authorities worry that the three bombers on death row in Bali's Krobokan prison may be turned into martyrs if they are executed.

Tourists, by contrast, appear to have moved beyond their fear of traveling to Bali and are now visiting the island in numbers that promise a return to prebombing levels by the end of the year. Arrivals reached nearly 400,000 in the first four months of this year, putting the island on track to its 2001 level of more than 1.3 million foreign visitors. Occupancy rates are above half in most hotels, while bars and clubs are throbbing once again amid improved security—the authorities have more than trebled the number of intelligence operatives on the island, added patrols and acquired new policing equipment provided by foreign governments. "Living in fear would mean the terrorists have won, so I refuse to do it," says Theresa Disimone, a hairdresser from Melbourne. The 21-year-old admits that three of her friends decided not to join her after the Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, but three others did in the end. "Bali needs my support, and people here have actually thanked me for coming," she says while sipping a vodka tonic at Mbargo, a club packed with surfers just down the street from where the Sari Club, destroyed during the 2002 bombings, used to stand.

For the Balinese and visitors alike, getting on with life is the secret to putting the bombs in the past. The two-year anniversary will be marked with prayer and tight security. At the widows' sewing shop, orders are steady for the sarongs, shirts and bags whose sales help Endang and her friends survive a daily struggle with their emotions. "Their recovery has been good," says Dr. Denny. "I think that holds true for Bali as well."

• Jason Tedjasukmana | Kuta
• Indonesia's idyllic island is slowly recovering from 2002's deadly blast, but for its victims, healing may take longer