Lack of Outpouring Adds to Bali Blast Survivor’s Angst

The burns were superficial, but the nightmares still scar.

William Steven “Crabbie” Cabler still sees corpses rising out of his luggage and young girls on fire flying through the air. But he’s vowed to fight the demons that continue to haunt him since the Oct. 12 Bali bomb blast that killed nearly 200 people, including his best friend.

While victims of Sept. 11 terrorists in New York received the generosity of a nation, Cabler, and the family of Steve Webster of Huntington Beach, who died in the car-bomb attack at the Sari Club, have gotten little. Authorities in Indonesia have arrested 30 suspects in the attack, many linked to the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist group.

Cabler, a 42-year-old Newport Beach musician and singer who went to Indonesia to surf, has bills mounting from his injuries, both physical and mental. He has been unable to work.

Tonight, friends and fellow musicians from Orange County’s punk rock community will hold a benefit concert for Cabler, lead singer of the band El Centro. At least 10 bands are expected to appear at the Grove of Anaheim, including Pennywise, the Role Models and El Nada. The concert starts at 6 p.m.

“I can’t believe all my friends are doing this,” Cabler said. “I got $500 from a fund for victims of violent crime at LAX when I returned. It was like they came, they left and it was over. They told me, ‘This didn’t happen in America. It happened overseas. A different ball of wax. Off our soil.’

“But I got a bunch of punk rockers coming to my aid. I’m proud of that.”

Cabler suffered third-degree burns, a broken shoulder and an injured eardrum that has left him with vertigo. His medical bills total about $5,000, but he needs hearing aids and has unresolved “mental baggage” that makes it uncertain whether he can return to work as an artist and clothing designer.

He bought insurance before his trip, but the carrier has balked at paying his bills because of a warning issued by the U.S. State Department about travel to Indonesia. “As of right now, the bills aren’t paid and [the claim is] still pending,” he said.

Cabler’s friends have tried to seek compensation for him from Sept. 11 victims’ groups, but the answer has been, “Sorry, buddy,” said Adam Grossman, a friend who helped create Surfers4Peace after the bombing to raise awareness of the attacks among surfers.

Two psychiatrists, having heard of Cabler’s plight, have been treating him at no charge for post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems resulting from the bomb blast. Cabler said he prefers not to air his psychological problems in public.

Friends say Cabler looks normal, and even has gone surfing, but mentally is still trapped in his seat at the Sari bar, struggling to rid himself of the images of the carnage.

“He tried to paddle out and surf recently, but man, it did him in. He could hardly stand,” Grossman said.

Officials with charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross and United Way said they have raised more than $1 billion after the Sept. 11 attacks but are restricted to helping victims of the three attacks.

The problem is that Cabler’s injuries happened overseas at a time when U.S. citizens had been warned about the potential for danger in Indonesia, said a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

“People ought to get the message that for the time being, they should be very fearful about traveling to that place,” said Stuart Pitt, a State Department spokesman.

Rohrabacher has gone on record supporting aid, including the federal government’s compensation fund, for Americans attacked overseas by Al Qaeda terrorist groups.

Rohrabacher, who also surfs, has spoken to Webster’s widow, Mona, and believes that she and Cabler are eligible for those funds. “My office would be happy to wade in on his behalf and on Mona’s behalf,” he said.

Cabler plans to sing “No Denial” tonight for Webster, who was the manager for El Centro, because it was his buddy’s favorite song.

“I’ve just got to fight this thing and keep on fighting. If I don’t fight, that means terrorism has beat me, and that ain’t going to happen. I owe it to Webster, to Webbie, to make people remember what happened.”