Social media issues: Another influencer deported from Bali over offensive behavior

BALI: Local community members have called for a deeper understanding of their culture and a greater respect for its belief after another instagrammer was deported for taking nude pictures of herself under a sacred banyan tree.

Luiza Kosykh, 40, said that she was not aware the tree was sacred. But people in Bali insisted that tourists should appreciate the local culture.

“Bali is our home. Not yours,” an angry Balinese commented on Kosykh’s post.

“Do you think you’ll look cool taking naked picture on our holy trees?

Go back to your country if you can’t respect our tradition and culture!”

Kosykh’s arrest and deportation last week are the latest in a series of cultural clashes between communities living in the world-famous island and “misbehaving” foreign tourists who wade into trouble mainly by misbehavior that includes driving motorbikes dangerously and taking nude pictures of themselves at sacred sites.

Earlier this month, a 24-year-old Russian man was deported after posting a picture of him naked from the waist down, on Mount Agung, Bali’s highest peak.

He was forced to take part in a cleansing session in front of the mountain.

In May 2022, Russian Yoga instagrammer Alina Fazleeva was also deported after she posed naked under a 700-year-old banyan tree at a temple in Tabanan district in Bali.

Fazleena had to take part in a cleansing ceremony in the sacred area before she was sent home with her husband amid reports they would be banned from entering Indonesia for at least six months.

Also last year, a Canadian actor was deported from Bali after a video went viral of him naked at Mount Batur while doing the Haka, New Zealand’s Maori ceremonial dance.