Hullabaloo on Twitter tonight about this group of foreigners who apparently gathered without masks or social distancing to sing, chant & generally commune at a Bali holistic center this week. Unsurprisingly, they've drawn a lot of angry criticism.
This House of Om Instagram post told people to "Invite as many friends & family as you want" to an "Ecstatic Kirtan" with Jermey (sic) & friends on the 18th June - the day Bali logged what was then a one-day record increase of 66 new #COVID19 cases. Prophetic typo? 
"Our intention is to gather more than 100 Bhakti & Kirtan lovers in order to co-create an amazing celebration together," the screed read. "Participation: 50k (100% of the contribution are collected in order to support the local banjar.)" Venue was this beautiful Sky Shala.
"We are located inside Yoga Amersham, a wonderful resort by the jungle & stunning river where you will surely find your peace." We think they meant Yoga Amertham Retreat & Resort, Jl. Raya Bona, Bona, Gianyar, also the address of House of Om.
House of Om says on its Instagram that it's in Ubud. Ubud is sometimes an all-encompassing locale for things as far afield as the rice terraces of Tegallalang, so why not this place that describes itself on its website as a "Life-changing community & holistic school".
Says on the website that it also offers "Yoga teacher trainings; Co-working & Co-living space; Resort and retreat center; Charity organisation." It's fine to support local Bali communities doing it tough but not to potentially endanger the wider community while you're doing it.
After all, the people of the banjar there would be no different than those all around Bali who are asked by the central & provincial governments to be disciplined, to wear a mask, & to practise social distancing. Applies to expats & stranded tourists too, as they've made clear!
#COVID19 cases in Bali surpassed 1000 today (20 June). To date, only 16 of those are foreigners. Two are dead. One is in care, the rest are said to have recovered. Of the most recent eight cases, six were as a result of local transmission.
Seems House of Om has another fundraiser social gathering - an Ecstatic Dance - planned for (checks notes) TOMORROW, Sunday 21 June. Doors open 3.00pm - 4.00pm for donation-based body painting. Should we hold our breath expecting to see Instagram posts of everyone wearing a mask?
As a tweet storm erupted over the photos & spilled over to other social media where a good many Indonesians vented their anger about these reckless "bule" in Bali, an ill-considered attempt to rewrite history began to unfold.
House of Om Community founder Wissam Barakeh went on the front foot & went to Kumparan to put his group's side of the story. He claimed the photos that have caused such a stir were taken last December, not a few days ago. kumparan.com/kanalbali/foto…
"Obviously, we have photos from last year (before COVID-19) which we used for promotional purposes. So we used the database for promotion or publication in social media," he said in what's known as a #publisherstory that carries a disclaimer about its contents.
Indeed, the Instagram posts show such photos being used in that way to invite people to a very specific event - an "Ecstatic Kirtan" with Jermey (sic) & friends on the 18th June. "Jermey" should have been written "Jeremy", as in Jeremy Sol. "Jeremy & Friends" were "Space Holders"
Important to note that those photos used to advertise the 18 July event on Instagram were not the same as the photos all the fuss was about - the photos that House of Om Community founder Wissam Barakeh said were taken in 2019 as per what was quoted in Kumparan. As you can see.
Wissam Barakeh's explanation for the sudden "reappearance" of these 2019 photos was that a member of their community had taken it upon themselves to dredge up the photos to promote the community on social media without giving a proper explanation they they were "2019 photos".
"They are promoting our program of their own volition because they are happy with our program. I have contacted them and asked them to explain the purpose of their posts in real chronology so that people don't misunderstand," Wissam Barakeh said. Seems they obliged. 👇🏾 🕸️
Asked if the yoga program at the House of Om Community was still ongoing in the midst of the #COVID19 pandemic, Wissam Barakeh said that all of his programs were ongoing but in accordance with health protocols that had been established by the local government.
"We also make rules such as the maximum number of people who can participate in yoga programs and other [events]," he went on. They'd even asked all partipants to have a rapid test. To ensure physical distancing, they'd adjusted sitting positions & the placement of yoga mats.
"The goal is of course to maintain security both within the Yoga environment or between fellow participants and trainers," he was reported to have said. No mention of the wider community - people in the surrounding village of Bona or those who might interact with the HofO "tribe"
The Kumparan piece emerged late in the day yesterday. I didn't see this myself but was told Wissam Barakeh had also posted on social media earlier in the day that the controversial photos were from December 2019. Angry netizens were falling over themselves to prove this was a lie
I saw the now private video with footage that reflected what was shown in the photos - the exact same blissful people in the photos. As YouTube showed when I took this screenshot, it was posted on 19 June by Spela Urbanc Photography who claimed credit for the "movie".
A deep-throated, spiritual voice over - words by Mooji, according to the credits - listed a catalogue of fears that we need to shed from our lives, fear of "this coronavirus" among them. Certainly looked like everyone had left any fears behind. Along with their masks.
Direct from YouTube, & the video entitled "Ecstatic Kirtan with Jeremy & Friends, House of Om - Bali", I clicked the link to Spela Urbanc's website on wixsite.com but there was a darned Error 404. The tracks were being covered. Almost.
Spela Urbanc had also posted on social media about attending the Om Ecstatic Kirtan w/Jeremy & Friends - "so many beautiful souls gathered in the House of OM singing, dancing, loving, opening their hearts, & feeling at home".
Those keen to avoid the spotlight tried to "shoot the messenger", Indonesian screenwriter @JennyJusuf who first posted the photos, calling out the participants. But she came back with more ammo, another video brought forth by followers of the controversy.
After 24 hours of vitreol directed at the HofO community, there came a surprise new development today; an admission & an apology. "I take full responsibility for the event that took place last June 18, 2020," Wissam Barakeh said in the post on Instagram.
"It was a big & unreasonable mistake that happened in this difficult time," he wrote. “Our community truly loves & appreciates Bali & the people of Bali. I'm so sorry for causing a serious risk by our actions. I apologize to all the people in Bali for our irresponsible actions.”
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Wissam Barakeh tried to use the news media & social media to deny that the event happened & to try to discredit @JennyJusuf. Social media reacted harshly. Now the news media is also on his trail. A trail of deception. coconuts.co/bali/news/spir…
Wissam Barakeh was even prepared to lie to a reporter from Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC. Denying the event, he told the ABC's @triplejHack program yesterday that "envy people" with "low vibrations" were trying to shut down the business. abc.net.au/triplej/progra…
Bitera village chief Gede Bagiada confirmed to Tribun Bali that the House of Om Bali was in his area but that he had not known about the mass yoga gathering. He said he was coordinating with other local authorities to find out the truth. bali.tribunnews.com/2020/06/22/yog…
"If it were held when there is #COVID19 pandemic, it was wrong," Gede Bagiada told Tribun Bali. "Even if this is said to be a 'new normal' activity, it is also wrong. There must be coordination with the Covid task force, Bendesa Bitera, and me.
"If the activities are carried out at this time, we are cheated." Gede Bagiada said if events were likely to attract many people, they needed to be approved by the village authorities. Tends to suggest that for all its love for Bali & its people, House of Om didn't seek approval.
Seems the furore has gone beyond village level & the Gianyar regency #COVID19 task force is investigating the House of Om 18 June event too, as it warns about the rising number of local transmission of the coronavirus disease in the regency. bali.tribunnews.com/2020/06/22/dug…
And an update from Kumparan - the other side of the other side of the story! When asked directly if the viral photos were of the 18 June event, Wissam Barakeh said: "I have explained everything on Instagram". 🤔 No he hasn't. Not everything. kumparan.com/kanalbali/pemi…
In the instagram apology that some have described as half-baked, Wissam Barakeh did not explain why he posted on social media & told at least 2 news organisations that the viral photos were from a December 2019 event in what appeared to be an effort to cover up the 18 June event.
Instead, he focussed on the good charitable work he said his community was doing in Bali & tried to justify the 18 June event by saying it was "aiming to raise funds so we can help as much as possible people who need help" during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sure, the House of Om insta post advertising the 18 June event assured that 100% of the 50k (Rp50,000 - about $3.54 USD) admission fee would "support the local banjar". (A banjar is basically a local community group that acts as a village government system and village council.)
Wissam Barakeh said in the insta admission/apology yesterday morning (22 June) that "in the last few months, the community had been distributing 100 boxes of food & groceries every 2 weeks to people in villages "to support those affected by this situation".
Then came a bizarre twist in House of Om's PR strategy. "Much gratitude and respect to all amazing souls who is supporting at this challenging time," says this new post yesterday, but check out the comments alleging the photos were taken in the UAE!
My interpretation of this new insta post is that it's spin designed to make people think that despite the community's "big & unreasonable mistake" last week, amazing souls are still supporting their charity efforts by donating more food to the needy of Bali. They may well be.
Except that anyone who has spent any time in Bali knows there is a single use plastic bag ban in the supermarkets, & that plastic bags that still come out of the markets & small shops are generally red, white, black or black & white striped - not grey.
And Bali's shopping bags & grocery items don't generally have Arabic writing on them...
You need to know that there is another House of Om conscious community center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, apparently also founded by Syrian-born Wissam Barakeh, & that it evidently had a recent food drive & delivery to help stranded migrant workers. thenational.ae/uae/health/cor…
Don't want to detract from that worthy effort but clearly, lying about the photos of the 18 June House of Om Bali event by trying to say they were taken in December 2019 makes claims about all those shopping bags full of groceries being donated for Bali's needy seem unreliable.
To a man who maybe never does any grocery or market shopping, those bags of groceries probably look pretty nondescript - like they could come from anywhere in the world, including Bali. But what else do we see there among the bags? Look at those distinctive cushions & the window.
Now look again at this still of an arty shot from a promo video featuring none other than the man himself, Wissam Barakeh, surrounded by devotees in the Taijitu House of Om in Dubai sometime early in 2017. There are the distinctive cushions, and the window. 🤔
A different video mentioned that the Taijitu House of Om community's many workshops in Dubai included different social & voluntary activities for children and the elderly - and there were more plastic bags presumably containing food donations!
On House of Om Bali's website, there's a section dedicated to "Community and Charity" - The lifestyle, philosophy and charity activities. When you click the link it takes you to the House of Om Bali community enrolment form, and what a detailed form it is.
Begins with a brief introduction: Opportunity to work & live in "the island of the Gods" Bali! Imagine yourself living with purpose, adding value to the world, doing charity and selfless work, improving your wellbeing, elevating your spirituality, being within a loving community
Applicants are asked to tick what activites they wished to sign up for. One is: "Join charity activities (visits to hospitals, and homes for the elderly and children charities)." Does Bali have homes for the elderly? All the dadong I know live in their own homes in their kampung.
House of Om Instagram account update, aside from the the ad promoting the controversial 18 June event and the admission/apology about the event being deleted, that is. Yesterday it was a "Spiritual community". Today it's a "Charity community, yoga & medition school". Magic!
The fanciful post with the shopping bag donations also bit the dust, laden as it was with so many comments calling BS. These developments came after Wissam Barakeh was called before the Bupati (the regent) of Gianyar yesterday over the 18 June gathering. balipuspanews.com/viral-yoga-mas…
Bupati Made Mahyastra revealed he'd been contacted by Bali's Governor, Wayan Koster, after photos of the packed gathering went viral on social media. He threatened House of Om with closure if there was any further transgression in any way. radarbali.jawapos.com/read/2020/06/2…
The regent appears to have accepted Wissam Barakeh's story that House of Om hadn't planned to breach #COVID19 protocols, that it issued only a limited invitation, but that it had effectively been gatecrashed because people invited lots of friends. 🙄 coconuts.co/bali/news/bali…
"Invite as many friends as you want," the now deleted Instagram invitation read, as evidenced by the screenshots higher in the thread. Screenshot from the now private video of the event shows Wissam Barekeh, sans mask, was not too worried about #COVID19 protocols at the time.
Not only was the gathering decried on social media & in news media here, it attracted negative coverage overseas - beyond Australia. The House of Om posted an open invitation on social media for a yogic chanting evening, said Britain's Daily Mail. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8…
The retreat's founder told attendees to "invite as many friends and family as you want" to the event — where people sang in close quarters with no masks on for hours, says this report in Business Insider India yesterday (23 June). businessinsider.in/science/health…
"I apologise for what happened," Wissam Barakeh was reported to have said during yesterday's meeting with the Gianyar regent & other officials. "That's out of my control. I am sorry. I love Bali. I love living in Bali. There was no intention of violating the Covid-19 protocol."
In the now deleted instagram admission/apology on Monday, Wissam Barakeh had said: "I take full responsibility for the event that took place last June 18, 2020." But just 24 hours on, it was "out of my control." [Image captured from Queensland Times 👇🏾] qt.com.au/news/bali-tour…
