I have been out of the US, world and Timor Leste news, and today I heard of President Ford's passing through an article from the ETAN listserve (subscribe at the bottom of the page) about his legacy in Timor Leste. Ford took power right before the bloody Indonesian invasion, giving it the go-ahead before jetting out of the archipelago with Kissinger.
I would be interested to hear if this element of his presidency is being discussed in the United States; according to the article, Timor Leste was neither mentioned in the New York Times nor Washington Post obituary.
The radio program Democracy Now did a long piece on this issue which is available as a transcript, MP3 file or a file which needs RealPlayer. The piece also features Alan Nairn who is one of two Americans who witnessed the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre. While he got out alive, his skull was fractured. His testimony is available through Mother Jones.
28 December 2006
To sea
On the 26th, too stiff for more yoga, I headed back to Benoa harbor and the buzz and grime of ship maintenance. Amidst trying to help where I can - cooking, cleaning etc. - I have been reconnecting with ship folks, and taking the time to talk about living in Southeast Asia, hearing about the community and getting good support and feedback about what I doing and learning in Timor Leste.
This has been a tumultuous year for them, and their stories of rebuilding and adjusting since leaving the RV Heraclitus feel particularly present, or at times poignant, because this has also been a year of transitions for me.
Tomorrow morning we will be sailing out of Benoa and heading north-east towards Candidasa where a friend-of-the-ship, Emerald, lives. There the sea will be clean, and we will be far enough off shore to escape the mosquitoes. I am very excited to be on (and in) the water.
This has been a tumultuous year for them, and their stories of rebuilding and adjusting since leaving the RV Heraclitus feel particularly present, or at times poignant, because this has also been a year of transitions for me.
Tomorrow morning we will be sailing out of Benoa and heading north-east towards Candidasa where a friend-of-the-ship, Emerald, lives. There the sea will be clean, and we will be far enough off shore to escape the mosquitoes. I am very excited to be on (and in) the water.
26 December 2006
Christmas Day (Photos Added)
Merry Christmas! On the 25th, I woke up early and used a local telecom to call the family and get a report on the Christmas eve menu. I then headed off to a sweaty, invigorating yoga class overlooking a gorge in Campuan.
On my walk back, the teacher offered me a ride on his motorbike and then invited me to a Christmas party in the New Kuning section of Ubud. Forty-five minutes later, bearing crackers and the smoked gouda I bought the day before, I again jumped on the back of his bike and cruised to the residential neighborhood that I never would have seen on my own.
Robin Lim, who has run the Healthy Mother Earth Foundation/Yayasan Bumi Sahat birthing clinic in Ubud for over a decade, hosted the party at her traditionally constructed home. The crowd was great: tons of beautiful little kids, pregnant women and young couples, mostly with one western and one Balinese partner. It was a great hippie crowd and conversations in a mix of Indonesian and English segued from the topic of wild encounters at South Indian ashrams to Renaissance fairs in the US to organic farming in Timor Leste and Aceh.
People played music; I chatted in bahasa with a middle-aged Indonesian woman who, clasping my hand, said I reminded her of Princess Diana; a thirteen-year-old searched for unopened presents; it rained a little; and everyone waited for the turkey to finish cooking.
It was a great Christmas day, and I owe a debt of thanks to those there for their generosity and for drawing a stranger into the warmth of their community to celebrate the turning of another year.
Below: View from my room in Ubud.
On my walk back, the teacher offered me a ride on his motorbike and then invited me to a Christmas party in the New Kuning section of Ubud. Forty-five minutes later, bearing crackers and the smoked gouda I bought the day before, I again jumped on the back of his bike and cruised to the residential neighborhood that I never would have seen on my own. Robin Lim, who has run the Healthy Mother Earth Foundation/Yayasan Bumi Sahat birthing clinic in Ubud for over a decade, hosted the party at her traditionally constructed home. The crowd was great: tons of beautiful little kids, pregnant women and young couples, mostly with one western and one Balinese partner. It was a great hippie crowd and conversations in a mix of Indonesian and English segued from the topic of wild encounters at South Indian ashrams to Renaissance fairs in the US to organic farming in Timor Leste and Aceh.
People played music; I chatted in bahasa with a middle-aged Indonesian woman who, clasping my hand, said I reminded her of Princess Diana; a thirteen-year-old searched for unopened presents; it rained a little; and everyone waited for the turkey to finish cooking.
It was a great Christmas day, and I owe a debt of thanks to those there for their generosity and for drawing a stranger into the warmth of their community to celebrate the turning of another year.Below: View from my room in Ubud.
23 December 2006
Uluwatu Festival (Photos Added)
Yesterday I checked out of the hotel in Legian and taxied down to Benoa harbor. It was the same place that we had docked in 2001.
About thirty minutes after arriving, RV Infinity's masts appeared above the trees of the spit of land that encloses the harbor. The ship made a gentle turn and slowly slid into Benoa. It is a much more elegant ship that the RV Heraclitus – longer, with sharper, cleaner lines. The hull is a deep blue and does not have the lumpy, rounded look that gave the RVH the aspect of a ceramics project. Inside it is much roomier and more polished; in Singapore the crew finished the woodwork, sanding and varnishing all the floors, doorframes, etc.
I spent much of the afternoon with Heather, and then around 4 pm I headed to the Uluwatu temple at the western tip of the peninsula that dangles to the south of Bali. Riding on the back of a crewmember’s motorbike, keeping up with Orla and Michel in front of us, we quickly moved through touristy strips, between rows of furniture makers and wholesalers, past new developments, and out into farmland.
We arrived at the temple for the final day of a three-day festival. Hundreds of Balinese had come to pray and give offerings. Temples in Bali are not covered, and instead they consist of a complex of courtyards with chest-high stonewalls and small towers and thatch pavilions inside. Even though foreigners are denied access inside the inner gates, we could still listen to the gamelan orchestra, and hang out between the courtyards as people came and went and left offerings in tiny, square, palm frond baskets filled with flowers, bits of crackers and intricately cut and tied palm leaf ornaments.
We were going to leave before it got dark, but we started talking to a lady whose son was performing in the Kecak fire dance put on nightly. Balinese dance, no matter how abridged for tourists, is fantastic and instead of gamelan the music for the performance was made by the percussive chanting of an all-male chorus seated in a circle around the dancers.
I have been absolutely loving being around music and dance. I arrived in Ubud today and wandered into a book exchange attached to a cultural center. After brousing, I hung out and watched a dance class for young girls. Near where I am staying there is a temple and I listened to people playing the gamelan all afternoon.
About thirty minutes after arriving, RV Infinity's masts appeared above the trees of the spit of land that encloses the harbor. The ship made a gentle turn and slowly slid into Benoa. It is a much more elegant ship that the RV Heraclitus – longer, with sharper, cleaner lines. The hull is a deep blue and does not have the lumpy, rounded look that gave the RVH the aspect of a ceramics project. Inside it is much roomier and more polished; in Singapore the crew finished the woodwork, sanding and varnishing all the floors, doorframes, etc. 
I spent much of the afternoon with Heather, and then around 4 pm I headed to the Uluwatu temple at the western tip of the peninsula that dangles to the south of Bali. Riding on the back of a crewmember’s motorbike, keeping up with Orla and Michel in front of us, we quickly moved through touristy strips, between rows of furniture makers and wholesalers, past new developments, and out into farmland. We arrived at the temple for the final day of a three-day festival. Hundreds of Balinese had come to pray and give offerings. Temples in Bali are not covered, and instead they consist of a complex of courtyards with chest-high stonewalls and small towers and thatch pavilions inside. Even though foreigners are denied access inside the inner gates, we could still listen to the gamelan orchestra, and hang out between the courtyards as people came and went and left offerings in tiny, square, palm frond baskets filled with flowers, bits of crackers and intricately cut and tied palm leaf ornaments.
We were going to leave before it got dark, but we started talking to a lady whose son was performing in the Kecak fire dance put on nightly. Balinese dance, no matter how abridged for tourists, is fantastic and instead of gamelan the music for the performance was made by the percussive chanting of an all-male chorus seated in a circle around the dancers.I have been absolutely loving being around music and dance. I arrived in Ubud today and wandered into a book exchange attached to a cultural center. After brousing, I hung out and watched a dance class for young girls. Near where I am staying there is a temple and I listened to people playing the gamelan all afternoon.
21 December 2006
Bali ho!
I arrived without any problems in Bali and I have spent the last two days walking tourist streets with Sally and even *gasp* going to a mall complete with escalator. 
What makes Bali so cool though is that when we came out of a big shopping center at about 9 pm the streets were absolutely packed with people going to temple. Hundreds of women and men, dressed in the formal Balinese style (see photos, from the net) carried painted baskets and bundles of incense through one stone gate, and filed out anther one onto the backs of motorbikes. The scene was lit with the mall's neon lights, and the air smelled of frangiopani, incense, rotting orange and exhaust.I saw Sally off at the airport, and I am excited to begin part B of my Bali vacation. Tomorrow I am going to head down to Benoa harbor and find the new ship!
17 December 2006
Security Update
Not such a great day in Timor security-wise. Today a man was shot,* and the main road heading east was blocked. I ate dinner with some Aussies from UNPOL on Friday and they think that Timor is in for a little rough patch - another good reason to jet to Bali. According to them, the main problem is that aid was discontinued to IDP camps on Friday - an effort to close off camps that will flood once the rains begin in earnest. Also of concern has been the arrival of small explosives: one home-made device and a couple of Indonesian-era grenades. Rock throwing and darts still predominate however.
The officers' other major concern is internal; UNPOL now has representatives from 22 countries, many of which (e.g. Fiji, Thailand and Bangladesh) domestically are struggling with maintaining rule of law. They said that can't rely on the other UNPOL and when things heat up they immediately call one of the other 50 Australian officers.**
Photos: Top - soldiers buying DVDs in Kolmera, a main shopping area. Above - the Jardin/Port IDP camp in the park across from Dili's "five star" hotel, Hotel Timor. The Jardin camp is slated for closure because of flooding and the attendant sanitary concerns.
* I originally wrote that two men were killed; news reports, filed six hours apart, described shootings at two different locations. Now it is clear that only one man died. Thus in news here.
** A clear distinction must be made between the UNPOL and the Joint Defense Force, which includes over 1,000 highly trained Australian and Portuguese military (rather than police) personnel.
Slouching Towards Bali
In the last week or so I have been drifting, anticipating my nearing vacation in Bali. Work has been good - I still really enjoy the people at NDI and my projects have become more interesting - but when it comes down to it, I sit at a desk, and a break from the routine, more so than from life in Timor, is distractingly exciting. The plan is to fly out on Tuesday afternoon, December 19th, with my friend Sally. We will split a hotel room in the Legian area for three nights, after which she will fly home to New Hampshire and I will start to scan Benoa Harbor for the arrival of the RV Infinity, the latest incarnation of "the ship." Seas willing, I will stay on the ship from the 21st to the 2nd, heading back to Timor Leste on the 3rd.
My plan for Bali is modest: buy a few new shirts and new sunglasses, go dancing, go birding, recapture my Indonesian, pick up imported foodstuffs and maybe a blender, grab some books, walk everywhere, and most importantly, reconnect with ship folks.
I have not been to Bali since December 2001. It was my first stop on the RV Heraclitus following a 30 day voyage from Phuket, Thailand. I rented a car with Heather and Carol and went through Ubud and then to the cooler north. In the extensive botanical gardens, I remember standing in a greenhouse and describing to the orchid-curator my mother's gardens and great grandmother's roses. Bali was also my introduction to food "expediting," and I did huge shopping trips with Reka, stocking up on 9 mo. worth of frozen meats and specialty foods, and then buying fresh foods from Denpasar's indoor market, which, like a parking garage, featured big ramps connecting three levels of fruit and vegetable stalls. In 2001, tourism in Bali had been hit hard by 9/11 and people were having a tough time. The bombings in October 2002, which killed over 200 people (including 38 nationals and 88 Australians), further depressed the tourist economy. US travel warnings still caution against going to the clubs in Kuta.
Despite my current preoccupation with getting to Bali, I am leaving Timor after a nice weekend. On Saturday I ran with hash again, and on Sunday put my Tetun to use and helped distribute over 700 excellent Christmas packages (shoe boxes assembled in Australia containing sweets, stuffed animals, soap, toothpaste, sparkly colored pencils, hair clips, etc.) to kids from area orphanages.
I then headed to Tasitolu to watch Timorese-style horse racing, perhaps fodder for another post.
Note on the graphics: Bali has long been subject to American fantasies, and was the subject of a numerous of exploitation/snuff films, known (acording to Wikipedia, natch) as "goona-goona epics." The poster featured above is from the 1933 film "Legong: Dance of the Virgins." I will be taking this time to bone up on my Said!
Below, two maps.
16 December 2006
OMI: Bread shop
As I am crossing the 3 1/2 month mark, I find that I have gravitated towards describing events that defy the norm - public ceremonies, security breakdowns, hikes - and writing less about day-to-day life in Timor. This is good; this means I am adjusting, but it also gives distorted view: just the peaks and the valleys.
Traveliing with Nonnie in Austria in my early teens I kept a journal and in it illustrated the different kind of light switches used in Europe. It is easy to either pretend to be unsurprised by new things or, more commonly, for me to be surprised, and then forget that surprise as I click the light switch each day.
So in the spirit of the quotidian, and recording the small things, here is the first "of minor importance" (OMI) post.
The small loja where I buy bread some mornings; it is about a ten minute walk from NDI. The care taken with the shop is typical.
The best bread place is actually closer, just a window in a small building, but they are always sold out before I get there.
Traveliing with Nonnie in Austria in my early teens I kept a journal and in it illustrated the different kind of light switches used in Europe. It is easy to either pretend to be unsurprised by new things or, more commonly, for me to be surprised, and then forget that surprise as I click the light switch each day.
So in the spirit of the quotidian, and recording the small things, here is the first "of minor importance" (OMI) post.
The small loja where I buy bread some mornings; it is about a ten minute walk from NDI. The care taken with the shop is typical.
The best bread place is actually closer, just a window in a small building, but they are always sold out before I get there.
Kill-ah
Last Sunday I went on what in my family would qualify as a "killer" hike. Crack of dawn start? Check. Multiple summits? Check. Bushwhacking? Hell yeah. Blood loss? Claro que si. We ended up following a dry river bed up the hill, hiking across the ridge of the hills cupping Dili's most popular beach, crossing by the Indonesia-era microwave towers, and then descending into a pig farm.
While there were no bloody, impacted toenails (Matterhorn, c. 1998, Mt. Orsorno, c. 2000) or steigeisen (Mt. Cardigan, any year) or breakfast food involved, I believe that Timor has limitless potential for many more enthusiastically conceived, "killer" activities.
Above: Looking west at Dili. While the coast usually follows the curve of the hills, Dili sits in their span, as if the bay had been filled in.
Above: Looking east down the other side of the ridge. From this height the reefs are clearly visible. This beach, known as "the backside of Jesus" (in reference to the large statue) is almost always empty.
Above: Again looking east.
While there were no bloody, impacted toenails (Matterhorn, c. 1998, Mt. Orsorno, c. 2000) or steigeisen (Mt. Cardigan, any year) or breakfast food involved, I believe that Timor has limitless potential for many more enthusiastically conceived, "killer" activities.
Above: Looking west at Dili. While the coast usually follows the curve of the hills, Dili sits in their span, as if the bay had been filled in.
Above: Looking east down the other side of the ridge. From this height the reefs are clearly visible. This beach, known as "the backside of Jesus" (in reference to the large statue) is almost always empty.
Above: Again looking east.
12 December 2006
Thank you!
A second package arrived today - thank you to those who sent photos, collages, news of PVD, computer parts, dental floss and the New Yorker to the other side of the globe. I am over the moon!And the rain has come, confirming that all good things come from the sky.
Who's Who (Updated: Photos added)
A quick addendum to the last post: The medals were presented to the veterans of the struggle for independence by Timor’s political heavy weights – the President Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, President of Parliament/President of the majority party (Fretilin) Francisco “Lu’olo” Guterrres, and the Acting UN Special Representative to the Secretary General Finn Reske-Nielsen.
In UN news, Atul Khare of India has been appointed as the new SRSG in charge of UNMIT, replacing A-SRSG Reske-Nielsen. Reske-Nielsen, then Deputy SRSG, took over at the end of September when the appointment of SRSG Sukehiro Hasegawa of Japan expired. The new Deputy SRSG is from the Philippines, reflecting the surprisingly strong ties - religious, educational and now military through peacekeepers - between the two nations
The distribution of the medals continued last Friday, this time in the shade of Independence Park. The ceremony was part of a week long celebration of the ten year anniversary of the Horta-Belo Nobel Peace Prize.
Above: F-FDTL
In UN news, Atul Khare of India has been appointed as the new SRSG in charge of UNMIT, replacing A-SRSG Reske-Nielsen. Reske-Nielsen, then Deputy SRSG, took over at the end of September when the appointment of SRSG Sukehiro Hasegawa of Japan expired. The new Deputy SRSG is from the Philippines, reflecting the surprisingly strong ties - religious, educational and now military through peacekeepers - between the two nations
The distribution of the medals continued last Friday, this time in the shade of Independence Park. The ceremony was part of a week long celebration of the ten year anniversary of the Horta-Belo Nobel Peace Prize.
Above: F-FDTL
04 December 2006
28 November
When I took the pictures of Laclubar off my camera I noticed that I had pictures from Independence Day. A little retroactive posting is in order:
On the 28th we had the day off to celebrate Independence Day. The holiday commemorates the 1975 unilateral declaration of independence made by the Fretilin movement during the brief gap between Portuguese rule and Indonesian occupation. Timor Leste again will celebrate its independence - this time from
I spent the morning at the stadium, where political leaders awarded medals and President Xanana (Sha-nah-nah) Gusmao spoke. The national military and police stood in the field absolutely melting, while I pretended to have an invitation and took a seat among the ex pat diplomatic corps in the shade. (The Timorese leaders were in an adjacent section, and hoi poloi in a third).
Note: Almost all the pictures on this blog are high resolution. If you click on them they will open in a new window and you can see more detail!
Trip to Laclubar (Updated)
I spent the weekend in the foho - what translates to mountains but really means boondocks.
I drove up to Laclubar with my friend Sally where we visited Judith, who is doing research towards her PhD in anthropology. Judith is a student of of Timor Leste's culture, language and history; since spending time with her I have been making resolutions to improve my Tetun, read more history, and work diligently to learn this place.
The afternoon we arrived we went for a walk around Laclubar. Everyone knows Judith, so were thrice invited to sit in people's home, drink coffee, eat snacks and talk a little. Much of the conversation involved asking where people were - Is your wife's sister in Dili? Has the man who lives in the yellow house gone to Manatutu yet? Laclubar lacks electricity, and at night, when two young men came to return Judith's cellphone, we all drank coffee, ate snacks and talked by candlelight.
I liked being up high and feeling the mountain air, and that night I felt cold for the first time since coming here.
After spending breakfast we walked to the town of Funar, which is where Judith lives. It was the market day and people with tiny rugged horses and lots of packages were winding their way up the steep paths back to their villages - some more than nine hours away.
We left around 2 pm, and as a favor, gave an acquaintance of Judith's a ride to Dili. Laclubar is a center for palm wine production, and the guy put two big containers of the spirit in the back of the SUV. The road is terrible, and after four hours of bumping and jostling, by the time we got back to the big city, the whole car smelled as if we had gone on a weekend bender. Back in Dili, I fumigated the car with bathroom spray. The next morning I told Elsty (the office manager) that it might smell "not so good" and we went together, opened the car, and sniffed around. She agreed it smelled "not so good." A little embarrassing.
Regardless of the palm wine issue, the most significant thing about the ride back was that it rained. Ten minutes of hard rain - now the second time I have seen rain in three months. The rainy season is almost a month late and in the foho people are worried about their corn; they must have been pleased. I can only hope that dusty Dili gets the same relief soon.
Photos: On the way to Laclubar.
28 November 2006
Third Spaces
In recent emails home I have complained that there are no bookstores in Timor-Leste. Last week I saw a book seller on a side street – but does he count? I am talking about bookstores with little step ladders or niches where I can sit and cruise through the first fifty pages of a book. Bookstores with sections on anthropology, on food writing, on gender theory, on international relations; walls of glossy (or better yet, matte), quarterly magazines.
A space to stop and think.
* And these may only be the dreams of malae like me – even so, let there be libraries. Also, to be fair to the government, they have been working on redoing the park in front of the government building.
25 November 2006
Odds and Ends
This journal has been quiet for a while for a few reasons – first we lost internet for a week, then my laptop power cord fried, and I also have been a bit busier. So there are a few odds and ends, starting with security and rambling onward:
After being so sanguine about the events of the 12th, I have been disappointed to see that violence has resumed in Dili and also picked up in the districts. A week ago a 25 year-old Brazilian evangelical missionary was shot with an arrow and died. He was traveling with his sister and three Timorese orphans. Unbelievable – la fiar.
He is the first ex pat to have been explicitly targeted. The gang that stopped his car made threats against Australians, and the next morning many ex pats showed the limits of their solidarity by slapping British and American flags onto their SUVs.
The violence in the districts has been between martial arts groups (massive youth groups that practice loose forms of martial arts together) and at least one youth group (Kolimau 2000) that has been active since the Indonesian occupation. Houses were burnt and a half-dozen young men were killed.
I hung out with the guys last night at the office (a bunch of staff are staying at NDI right now, for a variety of reasons) watching a tiny television. The main report involved the leaders of these groups renouncing violence.
Politics in Timor Leste is more emotive than in the US. The President has cried on a number of occasions, and the language of the Prime Minister’s office is often about how he is feeling. Headlines in the newspaper say that The Government it is “sad” about the violence. Perhaps because of the influence of the Catholic Church, narratives of guilt, contrition (confession), and forgiveness predominate. These public outpourings are even more affecting when viewed in contrast – or maybe in concert – with the brutal history of Timor: the repression, the sacrifice, the fight for freedom, etc.
But I have to learn to be less of sucker – to recognize that the emotion behind Timorese politics is akin to the bravado that flavors statecraft in America.
The bravado of American politics goes hand in hand with a culture of confidence, speed, individuality and litigiousness. I mention the later because NDI recently fired a driver who is now contesting his severance pay. He has come to the office over five times, often bringing his wife and other family members, and always bringing his polished and politically connected brother-in-law.
They are advocating what translates to a “family solution” – meaning that NDI should consider him a member of its family rather than an employee. By contrast, my reaction has been typically American: follow the employee manual, don’t be brow-beaten into breaking step with the minimum obligation, don’t set a bad precedent, put your foot down.
In a place where the script of confession and forgiveness is so strong, this approach perhaps interrupts the natural flow of this kind of conflict. But again, I have to remember not to be a sucker – not to romanticize and unduly elevate alternate systems of reconciliation.
Timor is a hybrid, complex and changing, a fact made abundantly clear, when, in the last meeting, smiling and surrounded by all the NDI staff and driver’s family, the brother-in-law announced the driver's intention to sue.
So it still will be a “family solution,” just American-style.
After being so sanguine about the events of the 12th, I have been disappointed to see that violence has resumed in Dili and also picked up in the districts. A week ago a 25 year-old Brazilian evangelical missionary was shot with an arrow and died. He was traveling with his sister and three Timorese orphans. Unbelievable – la fiar.
He is the first ex pat to have been explicitly targeted. The gang that stopped his car made threats against Australians, and the next morning many ex pats showed the limits of their solidarity by slapping British and American flags onto their SUVs.
The violence in the districts has been between martial arts groups (massive youth groups that practice loose forms of martial arts together) and at least one youth group (Kolimau 2000) that has been active since the Indonesian occupation. Houses were burnt and a half-dozen young men were killed.
I hung out with the guys last night at the office (a bunch of staff are staying at NDI right now, for a variety of reasons) watching a tiny television. The main report involved the leaders of these groups renouncing violence.
Politics in Timor Leste is more emotive than in the US. The President has cried on a number of occasions, and the language of the Prime Minister’s office is often about how he is feeling. Headlines in the newspaper say that The Government it is “sad” about the violence. Perhaps because of the influence of the Catholic Church, narratives of guilt, contrition (confession), and forgiveness predominate. These public outpourings are even more affecting when viewed in contrast – or maybe in concert – with the brutal history of Timor: the repression, the sacrifice, the fight for freedom, etc.
But I have to learn to be less of sucker – to recognize that the emotion behind Timorese politics is akin to the bravado that flavors statecraft in America.
The bravado of American politics goes hand in hand with a culture of confidence, speed, individuality and litigiousness. I mention the later because NDI recently fired a driver who is now contesting his severance pay. He has come to the office over five times, often bringing his wife and other family members, and always bringing his polished and politically connected brother-in-law.
They are advocating what translates to a “family solution” – meaning that NDI should consider him a member of its family rather than an employee. By contrast, my reaction has been typically American: follow the employee manual, don’t be brow-beaten into breaking step with the minimum obligation, don’t set a bad precedent, put your foot down.
In a place where the script of confession and forgiveness is so strong, this approach perhaps interrupts the natural flow of this kind of conflict. But again, I have to remember not to be a sucker – not to romanticize and unduly elevate alternate systems of reconciliation.
Timor is a hybrid, complex and changing, a fact made abundantly clear, when, in the last meeting, smiling and surrounded by all the NDI staff and driver’s family, the brother-in-law announced the driver's intention to sue.
So it still will be a “family solution,” just American-style.
19 November 2006
Security Update
Last Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre. In the morning I saw long lines of people walking along the main road; in the evening I went to bed early.
That night, youth from Comoro – one of the most conflict-marred parts of Dili – marched to two of the central refugee camps. A colleague who watched the mob move by (and who eventually joined them), said he and his brother feared the group's intentions. At the Obrigado Barracks IDP camp, the group pushed against the gates, demanding entry.
Another friend said that men in the front of the march were carrying lengths of pipe.
But rather than more violence, the young men pounding on the gates renounced East/West divisions. Crying, embracing, they savaged Timorese politicians as the source of the conflict and pledged “Timor Ida Deit” – “Just one Timor.” However, in the dark of Dili’s unlit streets, and in the insecurity of an IDP camp, I can only believe that this “spontaneous outpouring” of contrition was terrifying.
As I have noted before, the explanation of the violence in Dili as the result of East/West rivalries has the utility of simplicity, but upon further inspection the explanation appears a-historical and unconvincing. Most here believe that higher-ups have funded the violence and that regional divisions have been invoked to clothe their naked interest in Timor’s instability.
So I put “spontaneous outpouring” in quotations, but I can only hope that whatever the cause behind this event that the peace holds. It does seem different in Dili – more people on the streets, and generally quiet (although there recently was violence in Ermera district). Since the 12th, Dili has been the calmest since I arrived.
That night, youth from Comoro – one of the most conflict-marred parts of Dili – marched to two of the central refugee camps. A colleague who watched the mob move by (and who eventually joined them), said he and his brother feared the group's intentions. At the Obrigado Barracks IDP camp, the group pushed against the gates, demanding entry.Another friend said that men in the front of the march were carrying lengths of pipe.
But rather than more violence, the young men pounding on the gates renounced East/West divisions. Crying, embracing, they savaged Timorese politicians as the source of the conflict and pledged “Timor Ida Deit” – “Just one Timor.” However, in the dark of Dili’s unlit streets, and in the insecurity of an IDP camp, I can only believe that this “spontaneous outpouring” of contrition was terrifying.
As I have noted before, the explanation of the violence in Dili as the result of East/West rivalries has the utility of simplicity, but upon further inspection the explanation appears a-historical and unconvincing. Most here believe that higher-ups have funded the violence and that regional divisions have been invoked to clothe their naked interest in Timor’s instability.
So I put “spontaneous outpouring” in quotations, but I can only hope that whatever the cause behind this event that the peace holds. It does seem different in Dili – more people on the streets, and generally quiet (although there recently was violence in Ermera district). Since the 12th, Dili has been the calmest since I arrived.
10 November 2006
Winners & Losers
The midterm elections made the news here, and around NDI people are pretty excited.
As an organization affiliated with the Democratic party, the change of power could mean more funding. The rise of Nancy Pelosi also comes as good news; when few others were discussing the struggles in Timor Leste, Pelosi was involved. Speaking before Parliament yesterday, the Prime Minister described his close relationship with the new House Speaker and offered his congratulations.
Those feeling the burn? Definitely IRI (International Republican Institute), NDI's counterpart across the aisle. The IRI Country Director hosted a party to watch the returns - complete with hor d'oeuvres and a Q & A - at the US Embassy, and he took the opportunity to grab the mike and assiduously educate the Timorese present about how there will be nothing but hideous deadlock if different parties controlled the House and Senate.
This was a pretty dumb message to send in a country that currently suffers from having a single, dominate political party (Fretilin), and not a particularly democratic message either. Mercifully, the translation left both the questions and the answers horribly garbled. I can only hope that the Parliamentarians and others present were, like me, tuning out and were instead transfixed by the big screens, enormous couches, excessive tinsel, chicken McNuggets and free soda.
A little slice of the ol' US of A in Timor Leste.
As an organization affiliated with the Democratic party, the change of power could mean more funding. The rise of Nancy Pelosi also comes as good news; when few others were discussing the struggles in Timor Leste, Pelosi was involved. Speaking before Parliament yesterday, the Prime Minister described his close relationship with the new House Speaker and offered his congratulations.Those feeling the burn? Definitely IRI (International Republican Institute), NDI's counterpart across the aisle. The IRI Country Director hosted a party to watch the returns - complete with hor d'oeuvres and a Q & A - at the US Embassy, and he took the opportunity to grab the mike and assiduously educate the Timorese present about how there will be nothing but hideous deadlock if different parties controlled the House and Senate.
This was a pretty dumb message to send in a country that currently suffers from having a single, dominate political party (Fretilin), and not a particularly democratic message either. Mercifully, the translation left both the questions and the answers horribly garbled. I can only hope that the Parliamentarians and others present were, like me, tuning out and were instead transfixed by the big screens, enormous couches, excessive tinsel, chicken McNuggets and free soda.
A little slice of the ol' US of A in Timor Leste.
Go Fish
On the road trip I found myself falling into some old habits – scoping out the fish markets, eying the make of outboard motors, taking note of the presence and nationality of large fishing vessels, and asking people about the aquarium (or live-fish) trade.
These habits formed while living on the RV Heraclitus. Traveling from port to port, north to south in Southeast Asia, the crew used the size of fish in the markets and their desirability as food fish as a barometer for reef health. What ships were in the harbor and what methods were used by locals also served as signposts for the steady, southward, advance of the East Asian fishing industry (Japanese long-liners in Papua New Guinea, for example) and the proliferation of hi-tech, highly destructive fishing methods (cyanide and dynamite, in particular).
In Com, on the road trip, my alarm bells sounded when I saw a pile of red plastic boats stacked on the beach. In the Hermit Islands, Papua New Guinea, the community had been supplied similar boats and cyanide tablets by a company either looking for live aquarium fish or live grouper and wrasse to be sold at restaurants. Had the same problems reached Timor?
As far as my Tetum could get me, it seemed like all the fish being caught were for eating, even the small ones. And while cyanide – favored by the live-fish trade because it leaves no marks on the fish – may not be in use here, a man who I spoke with last night said that dynamite fishing (blow up the reef and the fish float to the surface) was popular until a few years ago and was probably still being carried out in remote areas.
My hope remains that, like cellular phone technology leapfrogging the development of landlines, Timor Leste will be able to avoid the period of destruction that so often (as it did in the Hermit Island) precedes greater environmental protections.
Note: Thinking of technology, I was delighted to see that people in Com had refashioned one of the “modern” plastic pre-fabricated boats with some PVC and turned it into a serviceable – if a bit stubby – outrigger.
These habits formed while living on the RV Heraclitus. Traveling from port to port, north to south in Southeast Asia, the crew used the size of fish in the markets and their desirability as food fish as a barometer for reef health. What ships were in the harbor and what methods were used by locals also served as signposts for the steady, southward, advance of the East Asian fishing industry (Japanese long-liners in Papua New Guinea, for example) and the proliferation of hi-tech, highly destructive fishing methods (cyanide and dynamite, in particular).In Com, on the road trip, my alarm bells sounded when I saw a pile of red plastic boats stacked on the beach. In the Hermit Islands, Papua New Guinea, the community had been supplied similar boats and cyanide tablets by a company either looking for live aquarium fish or live grouper and wrasse to be sold at restaurants. Had the same problems reached Timor?
As far as my Tetum could get me, it seemed like all the fish being caught were for eating, even the small ones. And while cyanide – favored by the live-fish trade because it leaves no marks on the fish – may not be in use here, a man who I spoke with last night said that dynamite fishing (blow up the reef and the fish float to the surface) was popular until a few years ago and was probably still being carried out in remote areas.My hope remains that, like cellular phone technology leapfrogging the development of landlines, Timor Leste will be able to avoid the period of destruction that so often (as it did in the Hermit Island) precedes greater environmental protections.
Note: Thinking of technology, I was delighted to see that people in Com had refashioned one of the “modern” plastic pre-fabricated boats with some PVC and turned it into a serviceable – if a bit stubby – outrigger.
05 November 2006
Road Trip
“I’ th’ East my pleasure lies.”
(Antony and Cleopatra, 2:3)
Just back from a massive, wonderful road trip to the far eastern tip of Timor Leste. Sunburnt, tired, feeling happy to have had such harmonious companions, I am settling back into Dili.
As always, going away shows me where I came from. The daily security concerns of Dili, the restaurants with beautiful lattes, the peacekeepers in the supermarket check-out line, the foreigners, and the two-story shops – they all have a certain bizarreness now that I have seen that they are truly endemic to Dili. These quantities have defined my life in Timor Leste, and now they seem strikingly exceptional, atypical.
I will write more about the trip, but I just want to mention that I was able to visit the NDI security guard, Eugenio, who had been so kind to me in my first weeks here. We visited his town of Poros and sat in his home for an hour sipping sweet black coffee and shooing flies off of the plates of cassava.
Above is a rough map of the trip.
(Antony and Cleopatra, 2:3)
Just back from a massive, wonderful road trip to the far eastern tip of Timor Leste. Sunburnt, tired, feeling happy to have had such harmonious companions, I am settling back into Dili. As always, going away shows me where I came from. The daily security concerns of Dili, the restaurants with beautiful lattes, the peacekeepers in the supermarket check-out line, the foreigners, and the two-story shops – they all have a certain bizarreness now that I have seen that they are truly endemic to Dili. These quantities have defined my life in Timor Leste, and now they seem strikingly exceptional, atypical.
I will write more about the trip, but I just want to mention that I was able to visit the NDI security guard, Eugenio, who had been so kind to me in my first weeks here. We visited his town of Poros and sat in his home for an hour sipping sweet black coffee and shooing flies off of the plates of cassava.
Above is a rough map of the trip.
31 October 2006
INAP Photo
I was editing Ilidio's monthly report today and came across this photo from the INAP training in early October. Although I look like I know what is going on - don't be fooled! At this point I was making endless Tetun word lists, nodding and smiling, nodding and smiling.
My favorite slip, made later that week: "Hau kaben moris" (I am a living wife) when I wanted to say "Hau kabun moras" (I have a sick stomach).
I love the movement in the man to my left's hand, the turquoise.
My favorite slip, made later that week: "Hau kaben moris" (I am a living wife) when I wanted to say "Hau kabun moras" (I have a sick stomach).
I love the movement in the man to my left's hand, the turquoise.
30 October 2006
Mail Culpa
This post is really a big apology and long overdue. I want to thank everyone who sent mail and apologize that it took me this long to figure out. Just as Dili has no trash collection (hence the robust, fecund street-pig population) there is no mail delivery. There is also lingering confusion over whether Timor Leste is an independent country (yes, since 2002) and all mail, unless directed otherwise, festers in Jakarta. It may work its way loose in a year.
There are three ways to avoid this, although any packages will ALWAYS be opened, inspected and maybe sampled. These options are listed in order of reliability:
1. Send letters to Kourtney Pompi at NDI in Washington, making clear that they are to be forwarded to Timor Leste. The address: National Democratic Institute, 2030 M Street NW, Fifth Floor, Washington D.C. 20036-3306.
2. Send letters using FedEx or DHL to Rua De Nu Laran No. 20, Bairro Dos Grilos, Dili, Timor Leste. FedEx takes roughly two weeks
3. Send letters to me c/o National Democratic Institute, P.O. Box 405, Dili, Timor Leste via Darwin NT Australia (must write "via Darwin NT Australia")
Again my apologies! Note: The stamps are from 1938 and 1911, respectively, well before Portugal withdrew (1974).
29 October 2006
NPR Piece (updated)
Last night I successfully used Skype to call phones (2 cents per minute vs. over $2 using a landline, Skype name: kate_roll), and I caught Dad just as he was writing me an email about a piece that he heard on National Public Radio about Timor Leste.
The four minute segment follows Admiral William Fallon (left), head of the U.S. Pacific Command, as he is given a driving tour by Major Ron Sergeant, who happens to be both the only representative of the U.S. army stationed in Timor and a friend of mine.
The segment was striking for a few of reasons. First, it cautions against driving at night and mentions the use of gang checkpoints for extortion - the driver has to pay a "toll" to get through the block - of which I was already well aware. Ron then goes on to describe abductions following checkpoints, which happened to two Timorese easterners moving through a western gang's roadblock. When I get a chance to speak with Ron, I will ask him if this has occurred again and if this has become more of a concern for "malae" (foreigners).*
The other striking thing was how unimpressed the Admiral was with President Xanana Gusmão. It sounded like blasphemy to me - Xanana is absolutely revered here.
Finally, more and more people (including the announcer) have been using the term "failed state" to describe Timor Leste. As I read more about this designation, it appears more and more fitting. The journal Foreign Policy identifies unequal development, delegitimization of the state ("when state institutions are regarded as corrupt, illegal, or ineffective"), and population pressure either from high reproductive rates (*check* highest in the world) or internally displaced persons (*check* more than 1 in 10 Timorese are IDPs) as key indicators of state failure. The one thing that Timor Leste, thankfully, does not have is environmental degradation. Foreign Policy did not rank Timor Leste in its 2006 Failed State Index, but I could make an educated guess of where on the list it would fall.
* I am interested in whether or not foreigners are targeted for selfish reasons, not to suggest that abductions are not a problem and do not deserve mention until they happen to someone non-Timorese.
One confusing part of the NPR piece for me was whether Ron was describing the security situation for malae or Timorese. He says "you will..." but the reality here is that who "you" are matters tremendously. Indonesians living in TL and easterners are, by far, the most vulnerable, and all of the eastern staff in the office are either living in the office (Karlito) or living with relatives. Unrecorded IDPs.
The four minute segment follows Admiral William Fallon (left), head of the U.S. Pacific Command, as he is given a driving tour by Major Ron Sergeant, who happens to be both the only representative of the U.S. army stationed in Timor and a friend of mine. The segment was striking for a few of reasons. First, it cautions against driving at night and mentions the use of gang checkpoints for extortion - the driver has to pay a "toll" to get through the block - of which I was already well aware. Ron then goes on to describe abductions following checkpoints, which happened to two Timorese easterners moving through a western gang's roadblock. When I get a chance to speak with Ron, I will ask him if this has occurred again and if this has become more of a concern for "malae" (foreigners).*
The other striking thing was how unimpressed the Admiral was with President Xanana Gusmão. It sounded like blasphemy to me - Xanana is absolutely revered here.
Finally, more and more people (including the announcer) have been using the term "failed state" to describe Timor Leste. As I read more about this designation, it appears more and more fitting. The journal Foreign Policy identifies unequal development, delegitimization of the state ("when state institutions are regarded as corrupt, illegal, or ineffective"), and population pressure either from high reproductive rates (*check* highest in the world) or internally displaced persons (*check* more than 1 in 10 Timorese are IDPs) as key indicators of state failure. The one thing that Timor Leste, thankfully, does not have is environmental degradation. Foreign Policy did not rank Timor Leste in its 2006 Failed State Index, but I could make an educated guess of where on the list it would fall.
* I am interested in whether or not foreigners are targeted for selfish reasons, not to suggest that abductions are not a problem and do not deserve mention until they happen to someone non-Timorese.
One confusing part of the NPR piece for me was whether Ron was describing the security situation for malae or Timorese. He says "you will..." but the reality here is that who "you" are matters tremendously. Indonesians living in TL and easterners are, by far, the most vulnerable, and all of the eastern staff in the office are either living in the office (Karlito) or living with relatives. Unrecorded IDPs.
27 October 2006
Helicopters
With all the chaos in Dili, it felt good to get out of town and into the districts on Thursday. It was a relief to be in the high, cool, open mountains, an escape from both from the heat of Dili and the "situation."
That is not to say that I encounter or witness violence frequently. From my seat in the courtyard, my only direct indication of trouble is helicopters moving overhead, sometimes hovering in the distance over some clash. It reminds me of watching terns hover over patches of dimpled water; I know that something is going on beneath the surface, but all I can see is the bird waiting above.
So my knowledge of the roadblocks, stone throwing, and gangs comes through my computer or cellphone (text messages from the US Embassy), and were it not for the helicopters it would be difficult to connect the reports to the very here and now; the sun is still shining, roosters are still crowing and the mangos are still falling, rotting.
But in Quequerasa, Aileu district, there were no helicopters flying.
Note: The above picture was taken in Suai by the World Food Program in 2000. It has nothing to do with the Blackhawks that I see in Dili, but I liked the picture.
That is not to say that I encounter or witness violence frequently. From my seat in the courtyard, my only direct indication of trouble is helicopters moving overhead, sometimes hovering in the distance over some clash. It reminds me of watching terns hover over patches of dimpled water; I know that something is going on beneath the surface, but all I can see is the bird waiting above.
So my knowledge of the roadblocks, stone throwing, and gangs comes through my computer or cellphone (text messages from the US Embassy), and were it not for the helicopters it would be difficult to connect the reports to the very here and now; the sun is still shining, roosters are still crowing and the mangos are still falling, rotting.
But in Quequerasa, Aileu district, there were no helicopters flying.
Note: The above picture was taken in Suai by the World Food Program in 2000. It has nothing to do with the Blackhawks that I see in Dili, but I liked the picture.
25 October 2006
Weekend Rehash
Here's a little retroactive blogging, written on Sunday:
“I woke up at 8:30am this morning. Got dressed; read the NY Times; read the Timor Post; drank some coffee, and now, at 2:10 pm, I am back in my cotton bathrobe, taking it slow.
Yesterday was busy. In morning, I went with Karlito to the Hotel Timor (posh, Portuguese) to hear the Prime Minister Ramos Horta (see photo) and Bishop Belo (see photo below, as a young man) – in from Mozambique for a visit – speak about peace. These men shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Impressive speakers.
After lunch I headed to Dare, high in the hills overlooking Dili, to join the Hash House Harriers for a some group trail-running. The route is set by “hares” who earlier in the day mark the trail with biodegradable paint. They also make false trails, so at intersections the quickest runners explore the different paths calling out ‘On-on’ when they come across a blaze.
I loved the running. The route had us scramble up embankments and rumble down dusty fields past understandably addled Timorese. It felt great to barrel headlong down a tiny path looking for the orange and blue dots; hashing combined the manic excitement of the hunt with the momentum of a group.
Not that some parts weren’t a little strange. The group invaded little Dare – 10 SUVs, 30 expats, two Timorese. This was a group of big, white Australians (90%) – some with the physiques of top grade rowers. Kids, with littler kids on their hips, watched us stampede past their small homes. Imagine giants coming over the back gate, jumping the fence, and disappearing down the road!
A little grotesque.
The running was followed by the standard drinking, machismo and singing (none with the wit, I will note, of Brown women’s rugby). These kinds of clubs are part of the expat life in Timor – and in the case of HHH – across the globe. And I have decided to explore it as such, as part of the world to which I have access.”
I did not post this on Sunday because I felt like I was trying a little too hard to justify taking part in the hash club. So it goes.
“I woke up at 8:30am this morning. Got dressed; read the NY Times; read the Timor Post; drank some coffee, and now, at 2:10 pm, I am back in my cotton bathrobe, taking it slow.
Yesterday was busy. In morning, I went with Karlito to the Hotel Timor (posh, Portuguese) to hear the Prime Minister Ramos Horta (see photo) and Bishop Belo (see photo below, as a young man) – in from Mozambique for a visit – speak about peace. These men shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Impressive speakers. After lunch I headed to Dare, high in the hills overlooking Dili, to join the Hash House Harriers for a some group trail-running. The route is set by “hares” who earlier in the day mark the trail with biodegradable paint. They also make false trails, so at intersections the quickest runners explore the different paths calling out ‘On-on’ when they come across a blaze.
I loved the running. The route had us scramble up embankments and rumble down dusty fields past understandably addled Timorese. It felt great to barrel headlong down a tiny path looking for the orange and blue dots; hashing combined the manic excitement of the hunt with the momentum of a group.
Not that some parts weren’t a little strange. The group invaded little Dare – 10 SUVs, 30 expats, two Timorese. This was a group of big, white Australians (90%) – some with the physiques of top grade rowers. Kids, with littler kids on their hips, watched us stampede past their small homes. Imagine giants coming over the back gate, jumping the fence, and disappearing down the road!
A little grotesque.
The running was followed by the standard drinking, machismo and singing (none with the wit, I will note, of Brown women’s rugby). These kinds of clubs are part of the expat life in Timor – and in the case of HHH – across the globe. And I have decided to explore it as such, as part of the world to which I have access.”
I did not post this on Sunday because I felt like I was trying a little too hard to justify taking part in the hash club. So it goes.
Can you guess.....?
Another Security Update!
There has been more violence today in the Comoro area and at the airport IDP (refugee) camp. All the expats are taking notice because the fighting closed the airport; it is expected to be closed tomorrow as well.
In response to the escalation, US NGOs were moved from security Phase I to Phase II. I am not a huge fan of the system, as there seems to be missing some steps in between “send families home” (Phase II) and “everyone get moving” (Phase III). The US State Department at least distinguishes between essential and non-essential personnel (like me!). They so far have been mum.
The Australians are always a bit quicker, and they issued a new travel warning today although they did not change the threat level. Like the rest of us, they are waiting to see how things go.
I would be really bummed to leave. I can’t imagine adjusting to mammoth Jakarta after falling for the small, scrappy, seaside city of Dili.
There has been more violence today in the Comoro area and at the airport IDP (refugee) camp. All the expats are taking notice because the fighting closed the airport; it is expected to be closed tomorrow as well.
In response to the escalation, US NGOs were moved from security Phase I to Phase II. I am not a huge fan of the system, as there seems to be missing some steps in between “send families home” (Phase II) and “everyone get moving” (Phase III). The US State Department at least distinguishes between essential and non-essential personnel (like me!). They so far have been mum.
The Australians are always a bit quicker, and they issued a new travel warning today although they did not change the threat level. Like the rest of us, they are waiting to see how things go.I would be really bummed to leave. I can’t imagine adjusting to mammoth Jakarta after falling for the small, scrappy, seaside city of Dili.
23 October 2006
Security Update, cont.
This afternoon I received word that the report about the two bodies was inaccurate. Instead of two, dismembered corpses, one, complete, body was found.
I some ways this news is neither here nor there. People are still being killed, and unless the correction breaks on the front page of the Timor Post most people just wont know.
On the other hand, it gives me a sense of relief. The nature of the reported killings had crossed an unarticulated and unanticipated line for me. They made me think about Dili in the context of mass violence, not as a city with some unsafe neighborhoods as in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles.
I am clearly avoiding the hot spots and staying in the loop, but I am still going out (I just got back from yoga). Tomorrow is a day off and I'll be going to the district of Liquiça with friends. If all goes well I'll also be in the districts at the end of the week to see our trainers in action.
I some ways this news is neither here nor there. People are still being killed, and unless the correction breaks on the front page of the Timor Post most people just wont know.
On the other hand, it gives me a sense of relief. The nature of the reported killings had crossed an unarticulated and unanticipated line for me. They made me think about Dili in the context of mass violence, not as a city with some unsafe neighborhoods as in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles.
I am clearly avoiding the hot spots and staying in the loop, but I am still going out (I just got back from yoga). Tomorrow is a day off and I'll be going to the district of Liquiça with friends. If all goes well I'll also be in the districts at the end of the week to see our trainers in action.
Security Update
Last night I crashed really early, tired from a good weekend. In the evening I received two text messages from the US Embassy about avoiding the Comoro area, the site of frequent flare ups, which, as I was already in bed, I didn't think too much about.
This morning I read the news - after two mutilated bodies, just torsos, were found in sacks, furious groups clashed in Comoro. The young men killled were from eastern districts, and according to the reports, were killed after going through a gang checkpoint in Dili. This is by far the most chilling incident to happen while I've been here.
Foreigners have not been targeted, and the clashes appear to be between gangs from the east and west. However, nothing is never as simple as "east vs. west" (especially considering that these are seen as relatively new divisions) and the question remains who is benefiting from the instability and who is providing financial incentives or support.
I'll be watching this closely.
Above, the door of my room.
This morning I read the news - after two mutilated bodies, just torsos, were found in sacks, furious groups clashed in Comoro. The young men killled were from eastern districts, and according to the reports, were killed after going through a gang checkpoint in Dili. This is by far the most chilling incident to happen while I've been here.
Foreigners have not been targeted, and the clashes appear to be between gangs from the east and west. However, nothing is never as simple as "east vs. west" (especially considering that these are seen as relatively new divisions) and the question remains who is benefiting from the instability and who is providing financial incentives or support.
I'll be watching this closely.
Above, the door of my room.
20 October 2006
UN Pol
My Tetun teacher, who after a month of 8 am classes I consider a friend, has started working for the UN Police as an interpreter.
Just imagine. Its late, you’re scrunched in a car with four guys with guns, they are Malaysian or Bangladeshi or Pakistani and may have just arrived in Timor Leste the night before. And when you come across some angry people, you are the voice of the soldiers.
This is white-knuckle work, and my friend is scared to start.
But it’s a job with the UN, so at least it must pay well. Right?
1,100 USD per annum.
Note: In large part becuase of the UN mission and NGO presence, East Timor has a tremendously stratified, cash-based economy. Goods that foreigners want - for example processed food or apartments in Dili - go for US prices or higher. Paying 600 USD in rent for month is not outrageous. Food is similar; a can of coke costs 1.50 USD in the supermarket and Häagen-Dazs is 14 USD per pint.
The UN pays foreigners salaries that make it possible for them to pay the rent, buy the ice cream, and go for a dive. While 1,100 USD may be three times the average per capita income (making, by that measure, East Timor the poorest country in the world), in the context of Dili and UN work, it simply fails to impress.
Just imagine. Its late, you’re scrunched in a car with four guys with guns, they are Malaysian or Bangladeshi or Pakistani and may have just arrived in Timor Leste the night before. And when you come across some angry people, you are the voice of the soldiers.
This is white-knuckle work, and my friend is scared to start.
But it’s a job with the UN, so at least it must pay well. Right?
1,100 USD per annum.
Note: In large part becuase of the UN mission and NGO presence, East Timor has a tremendously stratified, cash-based economy. Goods that foreigners want - for example processed food or apartments in Dili - go for US prices or higher. Paying 600 USD in rent for month is not outrageous. Food is similar; a can of coke costs 1.50 USD in the supermarket and Häagen-Dazs is 14 USD per pint.
The UN pays foreigners salaries that make it possible for them to pay the rent, buy the ice cream, and go for a dive. While 1,100 USD may be three times the average per capita income (making, by that measure, East Timor the poorest country in the world), in the context of Dili and UN work, it simply fails to impress.
18 October 2006
(Inter)national Enquirer
This report is clearing up more than a few question:
"122. The evidence establishes that armed men under the command of Abilio Mesquita initiated the attack on the residence of Brigadier General Ruak on 24 May, as described in paragraphs 69 and 70 above. The Commission has not been able to establish the identities of all these men...
123. The Commission recommends that the following persons be prosecuted: Abilio Mesquita, Artur Avelar Borges, Almerindo da Costa, Pedro da Costa, Valente Araújo and a person described as Elvis."
Stop the presses - the King is alive and eating lamb* in Timor Leste!
* Thanks Dad for the correction.
"122. The evidence establishes that armed men under the command of Abilio Mesquita initiated the attack on the residence of Brigadier General Ruak on 24 May, as described in paragraphs 69 and 70 above. The Commission has not been able to establish the identities of all these men...
123. The Commission recommends that the following persons be prosecuted: Abilio Mesquita, Artur Avelar Borges, Almerindo da Costa, Pedro da Costa, Valente Araújo and a person described as Elvis."Stop the presses - the King is alive and eating lamb* in Timor Leste!
* Thanks Dad for the correction.
17 October 2006
Release of Tension
The UN released its report today at 4 pm, and as far as I have heard, things are calm and people are lying low.
I went to Parliament with Karlito, my boss and his wife (who is visiting) for the release. Unlike the other times that I have been to Parliament the seats were filled and the members were attentive. The Acting Special Representative of the Secretary General Finn Reske-Nielsen (A-SRSG, top UN official) gave a short speech and then helpers handed out big yellow envelopes to all the Parliamentarians.
This is a digital, decentralized world, and within an hour a notorious Lusophone blog had posted the report. It got it off the site of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), but I like that Karlito found it on the blog first. UNMIT – the putative author – has not posted a copy. Hard copies will be available tomorrow, but by that time the papers will have excerpted the good bits for general consumption.
There were lots of UNPol around after the session ended, almost all Malaysian units. In Timor Leste, there are currently about 800 personnel under the banner of UN Police (which will increase to 1,608 for the April elections) and 1,000 Australian Defense Force/New Zealand Joint Task Force personnel (which will decrease to 600 at the elections). The Portuguese troops (GNR) are now counted in the UNPol number. Right now, 900 Timorese police (PDTL) are being retrained and slowly redeployed.
I am interested to read the report and then to read what the newspapers have to say.
I went to Parliament with Karlito, my boss and his wife (who is visiting) for the release. Unlike the other times that I have been to Parliament the seats were filled and the members were attentive. The Acting Special Representative of the Secretary General Finn Reske-Nielsen (A-SRSG, top UN official) gave a short speech and then helpers handed out big yellow envelopes to all the Parliamentarians.
This is a digital, decentralized world, and within an hour a notorious Lusophone blog had posted the report. It got it off the site of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), but I like that Karlito found it on the blog first. UNMIT – the putative author – has not posted a copy. Hard copies will be available tomorrow, but by that time the papers will have excerpted the good bits for general consumption.
There were lots of UNPol around after the session ended, almost all Malaysian units. In Timor Leste, there are currently about 800 personnel under the banner of UN Police (which will increase to 1,608 for the April elections) and 1,000 Australian Defense Force/New Zealand Joint Task Force personnel (which will decrease to 600 at the elections). The Portuguese troops (GNR) are now counted in the UNPol number. Right now, 900 Timorese police (PDTL) are being retrained and slowly redeployed.I am interested to read the report and then to read what the newspapers have to say.
16 October 2006
Security Update
Things have been a bit tense of late, in large part because of a damn report.
The UN’s Commission of Inquiry was supposed to release the results of its investigation into the causes of the violence in April and May a couple of weeks ago. The report is important – and it lists over 100 persons involved in the violence – but after all the delays, it has acquired outsized significance.
Right now some people are worried that if the big guys are named that they will cause trouble; others worry that if only the small fry are named, the people will cause trouble; a few think that it doesn’t matter who is named, just as long as something happens to them.
I thought it would be released today, but now it has been delayed again.
The irony is not lost on anyone that the UN has formulated an evacuation plan in anticipation of its own report. And of course, the plan is for foreigners only.
With everyone abuzz about the report, the US Embassy called a security meeting for Americans living in Timor Leste. About 40 people were in attendance, which is probably over 90% of the group.
The information from the meeting itself was stale, the security officer frumpy, and the décor hotel-ish, but I really liked hearing people give their views on the situation. There was a mix of interns, young families, and career international aid workers/consultant-types.People who are (more) in the loop think that things will be fine. Regardless, at NDI we have again been in touch with Washington, and the new evacuation plan is that instead of a Balinese vacation, I would head to the NDI office in Jakarta.
I’ll keep everyone posted.
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