I have the pleasure to live  (some of the time)   in North West Lombok, Indonesia.   This part of Lombok is most developed in the tourist industry.

For the last four years – pre-Corona – we never heard of any crime here.   We did hear of some robberies and burglaries in the South of the Island.  The villagers here in North-West would say that ‘yea, they are different down there, a different tribe’, my own interpretation however was that the crime level in the North-West was low because everyone who wanted to work could find a job in the hotels or, if not employed, could earn some ‘tourist dollars’ by trading small items to the tourists.

Lately however we hear of some crimes committed ‘near-by’.  The first was in the small shops just adjacent to our house. When the shopkeeper was not looking all the cigarettes disappeared.  Loss around 100 USD. The thief was later caught as he stole of other small shops as well. He was a teenager.

Then recently a farmer was ready to cut the bananas from his trees and take it to the market. Expected value also around 100 USD, but just before he was about to cut it some one else did it for him.

Now in a near-by village a cow was slaughtered in the filed when the owner was not looking. All legs were dismembered and stolen (and the rest of the cow was left on the floor of the field).

Therefore I feel my thoughts were correct. It was not really that ‘the Southerners’ were different. Now, with all hotels empty and all staff sent home life has become difficult.  People try all sort of things, some legal and some not (as above).

Among the legal alternatives we noticed that the villagers, who all used to cook with bottled gas, now go and find wood in the forest again in order to safe the money for the gas bottles.  Villagers who did not bother now try to grow their own vegetables more. And those who can try to catch some fish for their dinner.

(Professional fishers are in trouble too because the hotels, who used to buy their catch, are closed now).

Let’s hope this crazy lock down will end soon.  At the moment Indonesia is ‘closed’ for foreign tourists. No visas are granted and the visa-free travel has halted.  Only when this is reversed can travel start again.  For those tourists that will still have some money that is.

Ah well…   We wish everyone all the best.

Greetings from Lombok.   Where I enjoy the Mangsit Beach all alone.    in my lockdown.