BALI WANTS TO DEPORT CANADIAN FOR DANCING NAKED ON HOLY SITE
When a video of Jeffrey Craigen dancing naked on top of Mount Batur went viral, he had no idea just how much trouble he was about to be in.
Craigen is a Canadian actor and wellness guru who arrived on the Indonesian island in 2019 as a tourist. He has been studying alternative treatments for osteoporosis while on the island.
He posted a video of himself doing the Haka on top of the mountain. The Haka is a ceremonial dance native to the Maori culture of New Zealand. Mount Batur is considered a holy volcano by many Balinese people.
When complaints came flooding in, Craigen was detained and questioned. He was accused of disrespecting Balinese religious values.
Although authorities in Bali are ready to deport Craigen, airlines are not keen to assist as Craigen hasn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19.
The head of the Denpasar immigration office, Tedy Riyandi, told RTE that Craigen will be put on a blacklist preventing him from entering Bali for the foreseeable future as “airlines have not agreed (to transport him).”
Craigen insists that he didn’t know the mountain was a holy site.
RTE reports that Bali is no stranger to badly behaved tourists. In 2019. A Czech couple was widely condemned after a video showed the woman laughing at a Balinese temple while her partner splashed her backside with holy water. They were required to take part in a purification ritual led by a Hindu priest.
Although tourism is Bali’s main source of income, authorities have requested foreigners visiting the island to act accordingly by respecting the island’s law and cultural values.
Image credit: Dreamstime