Bloggracy is creating some panic
Bloggracy is causing some pain
Bloggracy is good and bad lumped together
Have you read the latest news that OZ athletes will be banned from blogging at da Olympics?
What happened to good ole freedom of speech? Or did it ever exist? Was it merely a figment of imagination? or a higher morality code imposed upon others but secretly depised by the imperialist? I like what blogging has brought us even though like all good things, it comes with lots of bad stuff too ... like spam, like bad writing, like foul content. Yet, it has also given a powerful tool to those who previously had no voice. The pen really is rather mighty, so much so that governments now keep a tab on blogs (no kidding!), and monitor what the netizens say. Sometimes the truth can hurt too much and the powerful are angry with the rampant freedom to publish any thoughts - left, centre, right. Yet, we are now flourishing in this floodgate of unfethered writing - like a breath of fresh air.. however, be warned, write at your own risk because there are countless ways to trip a blogger, in ways unseen and unknown, yet able to set off a chain of events too sinister to imagine. Paranoia? Why not? Spy movies aren't so far from the truth.
Like it or not, blogging is here to stay and may well evolve into a different animal. Can't beat them, join them, which is what some have done. The blogosphere is now a cacophony of opinions, jostling to gain attention, to get the most hits. Some try so hard, they have to dig into their armoire of shocking stories. They write sensational stuff, expose their lurid private lives, sink to the depths of tabloid journalism except that it's all reporting about themselves - they have turned into their own paparazzi, enthralled in their own self-made stardom, shining not with talent, but raw, naked sadness.
But i digress. i meant to say that for all its ugliness, bloggracy is truly beautiful. It waves the flag of words and its calvary are the fingers that race across keyboards. It is not a battle against oppression it should be worried about - this it will win (as it has shown in many places around the world) , but the real battle is within - against abusers of bloggracy, who given free will burst out of their chains like maniacs and their words are like acid that do nothing but burn and destroy even itself.
The lil tumbleweed
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
bookworm
this little monk and his friends were so eager to join in to read that they perched outside the classroom when PADETC volunteers gave out storybooks for children at the Dong Luang Primary School. The whole morning, this novice had been escaping from my lens (automatic lah!) but when he got the book, he was so absorbed, he didn't bother running away. I love it when young people pick up the reading habit... myself a beneficiary of 100 (i think) Enid Blytons when i was 8.
My mother's colleague had so kindly donated her daughter's old Enid Blytons to me and my sister. We were overwhelmed when we were led to the musty bookshelf and saw the stacks of books. Wah! i remember the two of us practically with our noses in the books for days after that. Those books, i like to believe, were the books that changed my life. I don't care what people say about Enid Blyton being imperialist or racist etc. But her books were fun and engaging for an 8 year old and i became a bookworm thanks to her. So i am eternally grateful.
Of course, these days with development minded people all around, there has been an increase in locally/ indigenously developed books. but hey, in my days, having a book was already good fortune, never mind where it came from. As a result, i grew up reading about Mallory Towers, Five find-outers and dog, famous five, secret seven, the flying chair, and got to know mr moon face, jupiter jones, alfred hitchcock etc. i also knew what scones were without ever tasting one - so much imbibed was i in british culture that when i first went to London at 17, i didn't even need to 'know' many new things because it all felt so 'old' like i knew it all along. Imperialist, or western-centric, or not, at least those books did not purvey violence, all they did were to encourage young people to care, to be curious, to investigate.
So i do not have complains about those British or american writers i grew up reading, although i now, do appreciate good Indian writers like Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie.
Oh and i really should add, that i finally conquered A SUITABLE BOY after 7 long years. I had borrowed the book from a friend, read it halfway, and then it stayed shut for years, but always on the bookshelf reminding me of its scorned fate. When i left for timor a 1.5 ago, i decided to pack it with me, thinking that the long lonely nights might stir up my interest in Seth's uber thick book. It did, but only after my other shorter novels were read, and my friends' books were thumbed. I had no choice, but to face up to the book. Finally, sitting on a friend's verandah over a few days, i managed to actually get into the book, and when it ended, i was somewhat poignant, wishing it would go on longer as by then i had become intertwined in the lives of the character and was curious to know how the marriage between Latha and Haresh would work out.
Ah books. I wonder if this new generation of bloggers might spell the end of well-written books. What do you think? Will the verbal diarrhea of bloggers such as I, dilute the talent that might be lingering within us? Too much of a good thing kind of syndrome? I don't know.
I only hope that my children (if i do have any) would also grow to love the written word as much as i do. Start them young i say. But most importantly, it helps if the parent loves to read aloud to the child.
Ok, gotta go back to my book now. I'm reading Seth's Two Lives now.
My mother's colleague had so kindly donated her daughter's old Enid Blytons to me and my sister. We were overwhelmed when we were led to the musty bookshelf and saw the stacks of books. Wah! i remember the two of us practically with our noses in the books for days after that. Those books, i like to believe, were the books that changed my life. I don't care what people say about Enid Blyton being imperialist or racist etc. But her books were fun and engaging for an 8 year old and i became a bookworm thanks to her. So i am eternally grateful.
Of course, these days with development minded people all around, there has been an increase in locally/ indigenously developed books. but hey, in my days, having a book was already good fortune, never mind where it came from. As a result, i grew up reading about Mallory Towers, Five find-outers and dog, famous five, secret seven, the flying chair, and got to know mr moon face, jupiter jones, alfred hitchcock etc. i also knew what scones were without ever tasting one - so much imbibed was i in british culture that when i first went to London at 17, i didn't even need to 'know' many new things because it all felt so 'old' like i knew it all along. Imperialist, or western-centric, or not, at least those books did not purvey violence, all they did were to encourage young people to care, to be curious, to investigate.
So i do not have complains about those British or american writers i grew up reading, although i now, do appreciate good Indian writers like Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie.
Oh and i really should add, that i finally conquered A SUITABLE BOY after 7 long years. I had borrowed the book from a friend, read it halfway, and then it stayed shut for years, but always on the bookshelf reminding me of its scorned fate. When i left for timor a 1.5 ago, i decided to pack it with me, thinking that the long lonely nights might stir up my interest in Seth's uber thick book. It did, but only after my other shorter novels were read, and my friends' books were thumbed. I had no choice, but to face up to the book. Finally, sitting on a friend's verandah over a few days, i managed to actually get into the book, and when it ended, i was somewhat poignant, wishing it would go on longer as by then i had become intertwined in the lives of the character and was curious to know how the marriage between Latha and Haresh would work out.
Ah books. I wonder if this new generation of bloggers might spell the end of well-written books. What do you think? Will the verbal diarrhea of bloggers such as I, dilute the talent that might be lingering within us? Too much of a good thing kind of syndrome? I don't know.
I only hope that my children (if i do have any) would also grow to love the written word as much as i do. Start them young i say. But most importantly, it helps if the parent loves to read aloud to the child.
Ok, gotta go back to my book now. I'm reading Seth's Two Lives now.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Kin Koum dance
Kin Koum dance
Originally uploaded by tumbleweeed.
An interesting dance by the Tai Daeng (RED TAI) people at last week's festival at Feungfa. PADETC had organised an open-air festival of sorts to bring all its volunteers from 13 provinces, as well as villages and schools in Vientiane together. It was quite exciting to see everyone and the cultural performances they put up. There was also plenty of local tidbits that i sampled, ranging from sausages (made with heart & liver : which i found out only after biting into it!!!), khao loum (sweet porridge with coconut milk), khao nom pan (like singapore's ang ku kueh), and lots of other specialties from the provinces. The atmosphere was simply great. Young people were also picking new skills like trying to get the secret recipes of certain food, and learning how to make paper lanterns, rice husk brooches, and rattan baskets
One of my colleagues told me that usually the Khammouan people are hesitant to share the secret of making their famous Khao Nom Pan but at the fair, they were really forthcoming.. it was almost like a tourism fair and i think it ocurred to some officials who were invited that this could really be quite a tourist-puller.
I really enjoyed the performances by the volunteers including the Kin Koum dance which is like a ritual to offer food up to the Gods to appease them. There were the coffee harvesting folk dances from Champassak, Lao classical dance (with candles balancing on the head), and even Muay-Lao (lao boxing) made into a dance.
I could feel and see the great energy of the volunteers - as they hawked their wares and sang almost non-stop! it was rather noisy but very fun, and really was like a huge village festival where everyone knew everyone else. In fact, i did not have breakfast in the morning, and thought that i would go hungry initially. but once i arrived at the fair, every stall was inviting us to join in with their breakfast. so there was a lot of sticky rice eating with bare hands - with fish, veg, egg etc... kinda indian/ malay style sitting down on straw mats and pinching food with our fingers... needs a little getting-used to since i've been so brainwashed on hygiene (since growing older and living in more developed environments & the SARS scare a few years back). I remember the days at home when we still drank from communal bowls of soup and dug our chopsticks into the same dishes without a care... these days, it's almost a crime to eat without common serving utensils in the FIRST world.... Anyways, i just felt really accepted and comfortable at the fair. the people were really so hospitable. Kudos to PADETC!
Friday, January 26, 2007
Outlawed
"Leally? are you sure?" "You want to eat lice?" this was what my japanese friend used to say, which would crack me up without fail each time. Here in Lao PDR, it's much the same. Many people also can't roll their tongues to pronounce the letter R and so when they speak English, they tend to sound like the Japanese with short tongues. I used to think it was because, like the japanese, they simply don't have the R in their language until someone told me that it's because the letter R was outlawed by the revolutionaries when they established LAO PDR! How intriguing! the Revolutionaries outlawed the R...... why i wonder? is it because the letter R evokes images of the bourgeois? because the letter R spells RRRRich? RRRResplendence? RRRococo? which were all not in line with the socialist school of thought? Or maybe they were afraid the R would Revolt against them, leading the people (who had lost their Rs) to Rise up and Rebel. Yes, it must be that the letter R just has too many incendiary references that could cause Real disturbance in this country.
Anyways, because the R was banned from the alphabet, the new generation of Lao people don't quite know how to roll their tongues but the older ones can still do it. Apparently you were not allowed to roll your tongues in public before, but now, i think it's quite safe because the gym i go to is called SENGDARA although of course, all the tuk tuk drivers call it SENGDALA.... They also have a song called Ragone Ragone (Goodbye Goodbye) which perhaps was a befitting ode sung to the letter R when they banned it from the Lao alphabet.
Oh the R, rest in peace, maybe one day it may be Resurrected when the young leaders of LAO Please Don't Rush have completely embraced the new world of capitalism that its market doors opened to about a decade ago.
Anyways, because the R was banned from the alphabet, the new generation of Lao people don't quite know how to roll their tongues but the older ones can still do it. Apparently you were not allowed to roll your tongues in public before, but now, i think it's quite safe because the gym i go to is called SENGDARA although of course, all the tuk tuk drivers call it SENGDALA.... They also have a song called Ragone Ragone (Goodbye Goodbye) which perhaps was a befitting ode sung to the letter R when they banned it from the Lao alphabet.
Oh the R, rest in peace, maybe one day it may be Resurrected when the young leaders of LAO Please Don't Rush have completely embraced the new world of capitalism that its market doors opened to about a decade ago.
Friday, January 19, 2007
development monks
isn't that a cool title? the development monk project is one of PADETC's work and it builds on the concept of monks giving back to society through developmental work. monks have long been a source of education in the Buddhist countries and increasingly they have, in some countries, been getting involved in development work like HIV/AIDS education. Today, i met a monk, who heads the Development Monk project and he spoke of how they teach dharma to primary school kids. 
It was very interesting when I visited the Thong Kang primary school last week and saw a young monk conducting lessons. One of the first thing he asked them to do was to meditate for 10 minutes and the entire class simply fell silent and began to focus on their breathing. This was a class of 9 year olds, mind you. Would the spoiled first world kids do the same? I wonder.... i don't want to generalise so i leave it to you - who come from different country- to judge for yourself. At least the kids from my country would find it hard to sit still and meditate.
I'm all for creative learning in children and having fun and play and some level of noise in school. i find that all very exciting, and in fact, that's what PADETC's Quality School project espouses - where children learn through activities and young volunteers assist teachers to teach in a child-friendly and centred way. The monks also contribute by adding in the aspect of moral studies which we used to have in secondary school (but i'm not sure if schools still hv them now?) and i was very impressed to see how the children learnt the concept of discipline at the age of 9. there is a time and place for all things, and learning the value of silence is something that children of the first world probably do not really appreciate.
Silence can truly be golden.
Have you noticed how many children cannot tolerate silence? I once brought a group of 14 year olds to stay in a Cambodian village where there were no electricity and the night was pitch black and everything was quiet. I think it very nearly freaked them out.
A segue: a bell at the Simpanthong (Copper Brick) temple in Vientiane - it's made out of an exploded shell that was strewn all over Lao during the Vietnam War by American fighter jets. Nice twist to a sad sad past..
Here, a "tung" or flag that's used to symbolise a dead person's spirit moving upwards towards heaven or towards the highest level. Bits of sticky rice offering are placed right at the top of the flag post.
I think that religion can be used in a positive way for the moral education of young children. sorry, i am not a liberal being a Catholic myself, i truly believe in the value of religion. I just think that too many people shun religion simply cos they don't understand its purpose well enough or maybe they were forcefed with it before. Also, being religious can be rather "uncool" in some societies these days right? But when westerners turn buddhist and become yoga teachers, suddenly it is quite hip. i don't understand. I just know that religion can serve as a good way to guide a young person's growth if mentored properly. What's wrong with having moral values? Again, in this 'liberal' world we live in, sometimes i feel that the M word has become a dirty word. it's almost wrong to have values. people are so afraid to dare to say 'this is wrong' anymore. It's not the same as being judgemental, but having a strong sense of what's right and what's wrong e.g. robbing someone is wrong! and killing another person is wrong!
Anyways, i digress... yeah, i had a good time interviewing four monks while trying to sit with my legs demurely tucked to the side. Of course, i made the mistake firstly of wearing a low slung jeans (yeah very nearly butt crack!!!) that are UBER not suitable for sitting on a straw mat in a temple, secondly, of having legs of unsuitable size (read: rather thick) and there fore i had to switch sides ever so often while talking to the monks. Luckily no one sat behind me to see the sight... But i loved the little kittens that came to sit in my lap while i was scribbling away. :-)
It was very interesting when I visited the Thong Kang primary school last week and saw a young monk conducting lessons. One of the first thing he asked them to do was to meditate for 10 minutes and the entire class simply fell silent and began to focus on their breathing. This was a class of 9 year olds, mind you. Would the spoiled first world kids do the same? I wonder.... i don't want to generalise so i leave it to you - who come from different country- to judge for yourself. At least the kids from my country would find it hard to sit still and meditate. I'm all for creative learning in children and having fun and play and some level of noise in school. i find that all very exciting, and in fact, that's what PADETC's Quality School project espouses - where children learn through activities and young volunteers assist teachers to teach in a child-friendly and centred way. The monks also contribute by adding in the aspect of moral studies which we used to have in secondary school (but i'm not sure if schools still hv them now?) and i was very impressed to see how the children learnt the concept of discipline at the age of 9. there is a time and place for all things, and learning the value of silence is something that children of the first world probably do not really appreciate.
Silence can truly be golden.
Have you noticed how many children cannot tolerate silence? I once brought a group of 14 year olds to stay in a Cambodian village where there were no electricity and the night was pitch black and everything was quiet. I think it very nearly freaked them out.
A segue: a bell at the Simpanthong (Copper Brick) temple in Vientiane - it's made out of an exploded shell that was strewn all over Lao during the Vietnam War by American fighter jets. Nice twist to a sad sad past..
Here, a "tung" or flag that's used to symbolise a dead person's spirit moving upwards towards heaven or towards the highest level. Bits of sticky rice offering are placed right at the top of the flag post. I think that religion can be used in a positive way for the moral education of young children. sorry, i am not a liberal being a Catholic myself, i truly believe in the value of religion. I just think that too many people shun religion simply cos they don't understand its purpose well enough or maybe they were forcefed with it before. Also, being religious can be rather "uncool" in some societies these days right? But when westerners turn buddhist and become yoga teachers, suddenly it is quite hip. i don't understand. I just know that religion can serve as a good way to guide a young person's growth if mentored properly. What's wrong with having moral values? Again, in this 'liberal' world we live in, sometimes i feel that the M word has become a dirty word. it's almost wrong to have values. people are so afraid to dare to say 'this is wrong' anymore. It's not the same as being judgemental, but having a strong sense of what's right and what's wrong e.g. robbing someone is wrong! and killing another person is wrong!
Anyways, i digress... yeah, i had a good time interviewing four monks while trying to sit with my legs demurely tucked to the side. Of course, i made the mistake firstly of wearing a low slung jeans (yeah very nearly butt crack!!!) that are UBER not suitable for sitting on a straw mat in a temple, secondly, of having legs of unsuitable size (read: rather thick) and there fore i had to switch sides ever so often while talking to the monks. Luckily no one sat behind me to see the sight... But i loved the little kittens that came to sit in my lap while i was scribbling away. :-)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
learning a new lingo
it's always very self-challenging to pick up a new lingo, especially after you have crossed the 3-0 threshold... i can sorta understand why some aid workers i have met have given up picking up a new language since they move from country to country every 3-4 years and their brains are already half packed with at least 4 languages or more! i hope my lil brain still has space cos i find these new languages absolutely fascinating... and i hope learning them keeps Alzheimer's at bay (??)
but what i like about new languages is to pick out the similarities with the other lingos i know.. already i have found some pretty interesting ones e.g. MA - means horse in Mandarin and also in Lao except the tones are different. the words i list below are same sounding except for tones. e.g.Fu - to float; geng - smart (in Hokkien); ka - foot (in Hokkien); mai - to come (in Tetum);baw - no (in Hainanese); hao - i (in Tetum); sam - 3 (in Cantonese); khao- 9 (in Cantonese); si-4 (in Cantonese). And the more i listen to my LAO friends speak, the more i feel that it sounds like the Hainanese dialect especially the open vowel sounds like 'Baw'. Reminds me of my relatives yakking away.
The tricky thing about Lao language is also that there can be like two or three inflexions in a single word, so the word 'sister' is pronounced as 'er(2)' and 'ai(2)' and a lilt at the end. Anyways, why do i bother when i only have less than a month here? some people think this way ya. but i guess, i'm just curious and of course, speaking bad Lao breaks the ice quickly. Except, as my Lao friend warned, when you ask for less milk (nom noi) in your coffee, make sure you don't end up asking for small boobs (also nom noi but different tones!).
but what i like about new languages is to pick out the similarities with the other lingos i know.. already i have found some pretty interesting ones e.g. MA - means horse in Mandarin and also in Lao except the tones are different. the words i list below are same sounding except for tones. e.g.Fu - to float; geng - smart (in Hokkien); ka - foot (in Hokkien); mai - to come (in Tetum);baw - no (in Hainanese); hao - i (in Tetum); sam - 3 (in Cantonese); khao- 9 (in Cantonese); si-4 (in Cantonese). And the more i listen to my LAO friends speak, the more i feel that it sounds like the Hainanese dialect especially the open vowel sounds like 'Baw'. Reminds me of my relatives yakking away.
The tricky thing about Lao language is also that there can be like two or three inflexions in a single word, so the word 'sister' is pronounced as 'er(2)' and 'ai(2)' and a lilt at the end. Anyways, why do i bother when i only have less than a month here? some people think this way ya. but i guess, i'm just curious and of course, speaking bad Lao breaks the ice quickly. Except, as my Lao friend warned, when you ask for less milk (nom noi) in your coffee, make sure you don't end up asking for small boobs (also nom noi but different tones!).
Saturday, January 13, 2007
khao soi luang prabang
hmmm yummy i think i will be gaining some pounds here in Lao... sigh... there goes my new year resolution which was to get fitter before i return to Timor. It's been quite a few sumptuous days for me since my host has a wonderful cook and she whips up different stuff everyday. one day is Khao Piak (porridge), the other was Tamahom (papaya salad), and then Paa (fish) hmmm... and yesterday, i followed some Lao colleagues to a place near Padetc to have Luang Prabang noodles called Khao Soi. I felt that it was similar to burmese Shan Kao Suet (as far as i can recall) and also a bit like Chinese Zha Jiang Mian. It's a good thing that I am an absolute noodle-fan. I can have noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner so this month here will be my noodles-pig out month. I used to yearn for noodles in the morning while in Timor but now, hohoho, i can easily get my hands on them..... yummy. and out on the streets the noodles are like 10,000 kip (slightly more than US1) while the large bowl in the picture is only 12,000 kip!!! of course, i lurrve the fact that there's always lots of veggies on the side. k, i'm off to hunt for nice kafe! tata
Friday, January 12, 2007
sunset on the mekong
here's the uber cool view from the garden of my kind host who lives along the Mekong River or Nam Kong. Right across us is Thailand and in fact, when the tide is very low, there is a sandbund (called DoneChan) that is revealed higher up the river, where kids play football on, much like a beach. As I sat sipping on my coconut juice at the MOON the NIGHT restaurant (*guffaw*) with two Lao colleagues, I wondered how easy it would be to cross over - as it's really a matter of a few strokes from the sandbund and you're over in Thailand. Anyways, i was tickled by the restauran's name: imagine mooning the night. You must think it's a real happening, sexy place where people MOON the night but nah, it's just a typical seafood restaurant next to the Nam Kong. 
on the left, Cute kids from the Nongboua thongtai Primary School that I visited yesterday. Wished i had better internet connection to upload all the great photos i had from there. But i am running low on laptop battery and the internet connection here crawls....but yeah, i was really impressed by the school yesterday as it had baskets of books set out on tables for the children to read during their break times, and this was the first school that allowed PADETC volunteers to conduct classes from Lao dance, to storytelling, to basic english, to aerobics! A smart move obviously as it is clear that the children were happy and keen to come to school because of these exciting new classes they have. 
And here's what i found really nice about the school i visited - WATER for the children to drink! it was wonderful seeing them come and get water and drink them in gulps. I mean, this would be a rarity in Timorese school wouldn't it? In my brief period in Timor, I never saw a school where water is aplenty for the kids, especially drinking water. It has been proven that clean water for drinking, and water for toilet use actually attracts children to attend school. In some schools in Bali, children bring about 5 litres of water to school each day if the school has no water. Hardly possible in Timor where many families don't have access to clean water.
Here are the boys playing chess with bottle caps. They were really cute and of course the swivelling LCD screen of the A640 was able to attract them towards the camera. Cheap thrill i know....couldn't help it. Have not done this in a long while.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Sa Bai Diiiiiii
It seemed like a déjà vu - sitting in a roomful of people and not understanding a single word of what's spoken. It was only 1.5 years ago that I experienced this in Timor and now I was putting myself through the 'torture' again in Lao PDR. I sometimes wonder if I have something for pain as I seem to enjoy putting myself in these uncomfortable positions. But now, in the evening as I sit here in S's house, which overlooks the Mekong River, I realize that it is this willingness to be 'uncomfortable' that has helped me to continually grow and learn. How else would I be seeing new things and meeting new people? It is no wonder that when I was much younger (and skinnier), I could never sit still in a chair because my tailbone would ache and my mom would always say my backside is itchy and thus can never linger long enough in one spot. Yeah… that's why I'm tumbleweed. But for the record, this tumbleweed is definitely gonna tumble right back to Timor very soon.
Tumbleweed is here in Lao because she's volunteering at one of the biggest national NGO here called PADETC. I was offered the opportunity while speaking to its founder Mr Sombath Somphone, a Ramon Magsaysay award winner in 2005 for his efforts in building youth leadership. Sombath has been involved in youth work for more than 20 years and I hope that my month stay here will benefit him as much as it will me.
The Lao language is definitely much more complex than Tetum or any other language I have endeavoured to learn, which included Khmer (much simpler because it's monotonal), Burmese (I think I found it easy because I was 8 years younger than now and thus had more grey cells to capture new info), Spanish (way easier because of the Latin roots), Indonesian (growing up in Singapore helped because there is a lot of Malay mixed into everyday Singlish) and Tetum( easy because of the mix of latin and malay languages, plus it's monotonal!). Of course, this doesn't include Mandarin which I grew up learning. But I still think Lao must be more complex since it has 6 tones while Mandarin only has 4.
Anyways, my task here is to write for PADETC which was essentially what I did in Timor. I hope that I won't disappoint since time is short. Of course, I then really should not be blogging too much but instead writing those stories! Ok, wish me luck y'all and yeah, I'll try to upload as many pictures as possible since I got myself a new Canon Powershot A640 last week.
Hey kolega sira, diak ka lae? Hau hein katak hau sei fila ba Timor lalais tamba hau hanoin barak imi. Hau senti lian Tetum fasil liu lian Lao, no hau sempre hakarak koalia Tetum maibe laiha kolega sira bele komprende! Okay, se ita lee hela blog ida ne'e, favor hakerek oituan iha 'comments' ya? Okay, maromak hela ho imi! Ate fulan Marsu (Hau esperansa!)
Tumbleweed is here in Lao because she's volunteering at one of the biggest national NGO here called PADETC. I was offered the opportunity while speaking to its founder Mr Sombath Somphone, a Ramon Magsaysay award winner in 2005 for his efforts in building youth leadership. Sombath has been involved in youth work for more than 20 years and I hope that my month stay here will benefit him as much as it will me.
The Lao language is definitely much more complex than Tetum or any other language I have endeavoured to learn, which included Khmer (much simpler because it's monotonal), Burmese (I think I found it easy because I was 8 years younger than now and thus had more grey cells to capture new info), Spanish (way easier because of the Latin roots), Indonesian (growing up in Singapore helped because there is a lot of Malay mixed into everyday Singlish) and Tetum( easy because of the mix of latin and malay languages, plus it's monotonal!). Of course, this doesn't include Mandarin which I grew up learning. But I still think Lao must be more complex since it has 6 tones while Mandarin only has 4.
Anyways, my task here is to write for PADETC which was essentially what I did in Timor. I hope that I won't disappoint since time is short. Of course, I then really should not be blogging too much but instead writing those stories! Ok, wish me luck y'all and yeah, I'll try to upload as many pictures as possible since I got myself a new Canon Powershot A640 last week.
Hey kolega sira, diak ka lae? Hau hein katak hau sei fila ba Timor lalais tamba hau hanoin barak imi. Hau senti lian Tetum fasil liu lian Lao, no hau sempre hakarak koalia Tetum maibe laiha kolega sira bele komprende! Okay, se ita lee hela blog ida ne'e, favor hakerek oituan iha 'comments' ya? Okay, maromak hela ho imi! Ate fulan Marsu (Hau esperansa!)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
bling on the blood
BLING BLING
Good fortune can spell great disaster as many nations around the world blessed richly in natural resources have shown. (See country named TIMOR-LESTE for a good case study of natural resource exploitation, political manipulation, corruption and human rights abuse.)
I finally caught my first big screen movie in a year and it happened to be Blood Diamond. The story ain't new but I guess sometimes it does take a powerful mainstream film like this one to spread the message more widely. I mean, the average Joe or Jane probably would not be bothered about where the diamonds came from with the occasional news piece, but movies like this one can really widen the consciousness. Seems like there have been a gradual increase in such films with a 'conscience'like documentaries except much more interesting and they don't bring on the Z monster and bring you to dreamland within 5 minutes.... Speaking of diamonds, there was a newsflash in August last year about the possibility of finding diamonds in the Timor Sea.....in the Tiwi Islands.... thankfully not anywhere near Timor-Leste if not, the little half-island might suffer another round of marauding from its 'friends'.
I once met a guy who gave me a ring (white gold, with a trendy wave on the top) studded with 8 little diamonds, after we had dated for two weeks. yeah, he was kinda creepy cos what kind of guy gives a diamond ring so soon? anyways, his Miata and the diamond ring did nothing to save the ill-fated 'relationship' (if i may even use the word) and i hope he realises that diamonds may be a girl's best friend but they sure can't buy her heart. I never returned the ring - it's gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere at home.
I read with interest that Jennifer Connelly the actress in the film wore 'conflict-free' diamonds from Bulgari to the press conference for the film. wow! shameless advertising!!! She could have simply said "conflict free diamonds" but she slipped in the B word. Anyways, the film is a big big product placement success and surely heavily financed by the diamond industry eager to clean up its tainted reputation. A PR exercise that will be rather successful after the widespread distribution of the film - and of course, they will make sure it is dubbed in major languages where diamonds are sought after.... like Japan for instance... where women are buying diamonds for themselves because many are single, wealthy and rather lonely. Oh and with 'conflict-free' diamonds, i am sure, the prices are higher than ever cos to ensure their conflict free status, there is actually a paper trail and tamper proof rough diamond boxes and all, adding more costs surely and a perfect excuse to hype up the prices. But this IS an ostentatious good so the pricier the better! You know how the young people find affordable diamonds completely offensive!
Anyways, i wonder which genius first popularised the act of putting a stone on the woman's finger and making that stone so uber expensive. It does shine real nicely though, and a big huge one can be a good self-defense weapon in disguise. (has to be well-cut!)
Accoprding to this website, we can "blame it on Archduke Maximilian of Austria. He started the diamond ring trend in 1477 when he presented one to his beloved, Mary of Burgundy."
I guess what struck me most about the film was the scenes where the gunmen were spraying their bullets all over and wiping out lives ruthlessly. It was only then that i realised that the May 25th incident in Timor has really left a deep mark in me. Although i don't have nightmares of what happened or fear looking at blood, but the minute the guns went off in the film, i really felt something inexplicable going on inside my body - everything welled up inside me and for a few scenes, i could not help the tears from flowing. It was strange cos i knew the film was fake and i have always stomached violence in celluloid pretty well - like in Black Hawk Down. But that day in the theatre, i felt something inside me i could not explain. It woke up a deep fear in me, which i thought had been wiped away. I still can't help thinking of the few police officers that we did basic first aid on are now. I heard that one of them (whose thighs were shattered completely cos of the point blank shots) is recovering well and actually got married (to a timorese) while in Darwin. He's still there i presume and it may be a while before he can walk without aid.
A most touching scene was when the father Solomon Vandy spoke to his son who had been brainwashed into being a child soldier, and seeing the little boy finally decide to open his heart again to his father. It made me wish that every parent in Timor would go up to their sons and do the same and bring them away from violence too. Africa has its child soldiers.... how far is Timor from having a similar generation of children wielding machetes and culling without fear? Already the resistance against Indonesia has marred the childhood of an entire generation, a cycle not easy to break. It will take much political will and also great humanity and love to move out of this viciousness.
Timor timor... never far from my mind. Today, A returns to Timor. Hope he stays safe there.
Good fortune can spell great disaster as many nations around the world blessed richly in natural resources have shown. (See country named TIMOR-LESTE for a good case study of natural resource exploitation, political manipulation, corruption and human rights abuse.)
I finally caught my first big screen movie in a year and it happened to be Blood Diamond. The story ain't new but I guess sometimes it does take a powerful mainstream film like this one to spread the message more widely. I mean, the average Joe or Jane probably would not be bothered about where the diamonds came from with the occasional news piece, but movies like this one can really widen the consciousness. Seems like there have been a gradual increase in such films with a 'conscience'like documentaries except much more interesting and they don't bring on the Z monster and bring you to dreamland within 5 minutes.... Speaking of diamonds, there was a newsflash in August last year about the possibility of finding diamonds in the Timor Sea.....in the Tiwi Islands.... thankfully not anywhere near Timor-Leste if not, the little half-island might suffer another round of marauding from its 'friends'.
I once met a guy who gave me a ring (white gold, with a trendy wave on the top) studded with 8 little diamonds, after we had dated for two weeks. yeah, he was kinda creepy cos what kind of guy gives a diamond ring so soon? anyways, his Miata and the diamond ring did nothing to save the ill-fated 'relationship' (if i may even use the word) and i hope he realises that diamonds may be a girl's best friend but they sure can't buy her heart. I never returned the ring - it's gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere at home.
I read with interest that Jennifer Connelly the actress in the film wore 'conflict-free' diamonds from Bulgari to the press conference for the film. wow! shameless advertising!!! She could have simply said "conflict free diamonds" but she slipped in the B word. Anyways, the film is a big big product placement success and surely heavily financed by the diamond industry eager to clean up its tainted reputation. A PR exercise that will be rather successful after the widespread distribution of the film - and of course, they will make sure it is dubbed in major languages where diamonds are sought after.... like Japan for instance... where women are buying diamonds for themselves because many are single, wealthy and rather lonely. Oh and with 'conflict-free' diamonds, i am sure, the prices are higher than ever cos to ensure their conflict free status, there is actually a paper trail and tamper proof rough diamond boxes and all, adding more costs surely and a perfect excuse to hype up the prices. But this IS an ostentatious good so the pricier the better! You know how the young people find affordable diamonds completely offensive!
Anyways, i wonder which genius first popularised the act of putting a stone on the woman's finger and making that stone so uber expensive. It does shine real nicely though, and a big huge one can be a good self-defense weapon in disguise. (has to be well-cut!)
Accoprding to this website, we can "blame it on Archduke Maximilian of Austria. He started the diamond ring trend in 1477 when he presented one to his beloved, Mary of Burgundy."
I guess what struck me most about the film was the scenes where the gunmen were spraying their bullets all over and wiping out lives ruthlessly. It was only then that i realised that the May 25th incident in Timor has really left a deep mark in me. Although i don't have nightmares of what happened or fear looking at blood, but the minute the guns went off in the film, i really felt something inexplicable going on inside my body - everything welled up inside me and for a few scenes, i could not help the tears from flowing. It was strange cos i knew the film was fake and i have always stomached violence in celluloid pretty well - like in Black Hawk Down. But that day in the theatre, i felt something inside me i could not explain. It woke up a deep fear in me, which i thought had been wiped away. I still can't help thinking of the few police officers that we did basic first aid on are now. I heard that one of them (whose thighs were shattered completely cos of the point blank shots) is recovering well and actually got married (to a timorese) while in Darwin. He's still there i presume and it may be a while before he can walk without aid.
A most touching scene was when the father Solomon Vandy spoke to his son who had been brainwashed into being a child soldier, and seeing the little boy finally decide to open his heart again to his father. It made me wish that every parent in Timor would go up to their sons and do the same and bring them away from violence too. Africa has its child soldiers.... how far is Timor from having a similar generation of children wielding machetes and culling without fear? Already the resistance against Indonesia has marred the childhood of an entire generation, a cycle not easy to break. It will take much political will and also great humanity and love to move out of this viciousness.
Timor timor... never far from my mind. Today, A returns to Timor. Hope he stays safe there.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
away from timor........ramblings
away from timor, i realise that i am constantly hopping onto cabs to make appointments on time because I forget that it now takes more than ten minutes to get anywhere in town.....so i am kinda retuning my clock back to a bigger city and a faster pace in life generally.
away from timor, life is simpler and complicated in different ways. christmas lights adorn the trees and the streets are brightly lit in all colours, throughout the night. there is no more need to prepare candles and matches in case of 'ahi mate' and life seems unimaginable without airconditioning here... it's too ***** cold here in the tropics! all weird! the air conditioning in church was so cold I thought i was in canada or something. People wear jackets for mass here while in timor, we try to wear the loosest and airiest tops which can catch the slightest breeze to take the pearls of sweat away.
away from timor, i finally gargle my mouth with tap water for the first time in months...i still have to remind myself that i CAN drink from the tap. and of course, here, where every drop of bottled water is imported, the prices of EVIAN and AQUA isn't heaven and earth, just a dollar in difference ;-)
away from timor, i find that i now need a good Sudoku book to keep me occupied while waiting for the trains and buses to bring me home. Everyone has a mobile phone attached to the ear or their thumbs. Everything is so noisy, bright and busy.
away from timor, i find that i now need more clothes each day i venture out and see such nice stuff enticing me in the shop windows - ON SALE! 20% discount! half price! post christmas specials! ....or how about that new 3G phone (which will be useless back in Timor) that is now so much more affordable if you buy it with a 2-year plan? or that Motorola (red) phone that will give $17 back to a worthy cause?
Oh so many choices now, it gives me a headache.
just a few days home and already i feel tired out. everywhere looks different - new buildings, new malls, new everything. I had to hunt for the pharmacy i usually frequent because it's been moved. I had to ask a cab driver what those bright lights over yonder were (a new golf course) and i had to find out that a friend discovered she had cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy, two elderly friends died from cancer, and a former schoolmate is now divorced. of course, there were also the nice surprises - like new babies added to the brood in my social circles and how suddenly all conversations have become 'how old is he/she?' 'how heavy was he/she when first born?' 'ooo can he/she walk now?' 'what's the first word?' goo goo gaaaa gaaa...
i guess, i am just feeling a little out of touch. it comes with the choice i made when i decided to venture overseas for my adventures and now for work. i do lose touch with my friends and each time i come back, i desperately try to claw back into the fold, but each time i slip a little further. Hmm... relationships.... you really do need time to build them. I can't be a good godma if i only see my godson once every year.....
maka ne'e deit....
away from timor, life is simpler and complicated in different ways. christmas lights adorn the trees and the streets are brightly lit in all colours, throughout the night. there is no more need to prepare candles and matches in case of 'ahi mate' and life seems unimaginable without airconditioning here... it's too ***** cold here in the tropics! all weird! the air conditioning in church was so cold I thought i was in canada or something. People wear jackets for mass here while in timor, we try to wear the loosest and airiest tops which can catch the slightest breeze to take the pearls of sweat away.
away from timor, i finally gargle my mouth with tap water for the first time in months...i still have to remind myself that i CAN drink from the tap. and of course, here, where every drop of bottled water is imported, the prices of EVIAN and AQUA isn't heaven and earth, just a dollar in difference ;-)
away from timor, i find that i now need a good Sudoku book to keep me occupied while waiting for the trains and buses to bring me home. Everyone has a mobile phone attached to the ear or their thumbs. Everything is so noisy, bright and busy.
away from timor, i find that i now need more clothes each day i venture out and see such nice stuff enticing me in the shop windows - ON SALE! 20% discount! half price! post christmas specials! ....or how about that new 3G phone (which will be useless back in Timor) that is now so much more affordable if you buy it with a 2-year plan? or that Motorola (red) phone that will give $17 back to a worthy cause?
Oh so many choices now, it gives me a headache.
just a few days home and already i feel tired out. everywhere looks different - new buildings, new malls, new everything. I had to hunt for the pharmacy i usually frequent because it's been moved. I had to ask a cab driver what those bright lights over yonder were (a new golf course) and i had to find out that a friend discovered she had cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy, two elderly friends died from cancer, and a former schoolmate is now divorced. of course, there were also the nice surprises - like new babies added to the brood in my social circles and how suddenly all conversations have become 'how old is he/she?' 'how heavy was he/she when first born?' 'ooo can he/she walk now?' 'what's the first word?' goo goo gaaaa gaaa...
i guess, i am just feeling a little out of touch. it comes with the choice i made when i decided to venture overseas for my adventures and now for work. i do lose touch with my friends and each time i come back, i desperately try to claw back into the fold, but each time i slip a little further. Hmm... relationships.... you really do need time to build them. I can't be a good godma if i only see my godson once every year.....
maka ne'e deit....
Thursday, December 21, 2006
tribute to Caicoli
'Been passing by this setup for the last few days while on the way to work. It's right outside the old UN house in Caicoli. Ironic huh, a scene of love, sacrifice and goodness that the Holy Family embodied, yet set in the most contrasting environment - a home that used to be but now burned, pillaged, destroyed and down to its skeletal remains, with graffiti decorating it. You can see it both ways - the Holy Family healing the wounds or someone with a real bad sense of humour. 
I have a special thing for this area because I used to eat at the warung right across the old UN house every single day. The ibu used to sell the yummiest (and most unhealthy) fried chicken and for $1 only, you can get kangkong & banana flowers (for warding off malaria), 1 piece of fried chicken, rice, and sometimes even bean soup! A West Timorese, she would also go to English Mass every Sunday at Igreja Aimutin where we would see her and chat with her too. But since the crisis, her shop is now closed, and we hardly see her anymore in church. Last I heard, she's now living with her husband and son in Balide. I miss her $1 meals.... This area is also particularly heartwrenching for me because I have seen it in much better days. There is a small loja here selling snacks, soft drinks and where people would sit and gossip after lunch. Now, it's always shut.
There was also an English school in a small shack that some of my colleagues would go to after work. It doesn't exist anymore. This was how it looked in better days... One of my colleagues lived a few doors away and his house too was completely destroyed, and everything was stolen, down to the last piece of zinc on his roof. It's kinda sad that i only knew where he lived after his house was looted, when other colleagues pointed it out to me each time we drove past. It must be so painful, to see your house, yet be unable to return. He told me that when the crisis erupted, he didn't want to leave at all, but when the houses nearby started burning, he had to run away with his family.
He brought nothing at all, safe for the clothes on their back and a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Of course, everyone kinda knows that those whose homes were not destroyed belonged to the right group. Amidst the empty shells of homes in Caicoli, you still see the families whose homes were left untouched, so it's kinda awkward when you pass through, and you know who is aligned to whom.
Dang, i'm getting super nostalgic here........... I guess, it's like death you know... they always say you see a bright light at the end of the tunnel and your memories of your life start flashing before you. I guess, that's me now. Although i know i will be back, but i can't help feeling the nostalgia...for the good ole days when i could walk home without feeling anxious, take a microlet and go shopping in Comoro Market (where are my market shots???), sit on the beach eating ayam bakar....
Anyways, i haven't done this for a long time - going around with my tiny camera. I took these shots yesterday after my 'Timorese dad' told me he had bought some Akar from Atabae. What's Akar? Apparently it's sago from palm trees, which is processed into solid cakes. 
You have to soak them in water, dry them and then use them for making dosi or cake.I'm more accustomed to seeing Sago made into round balls and used in desserts in thailand, singapore, malaysia etc. Not in cakeform.... intriguing. Incidentally, the akar was one of the most essential food used during the resistance. The women in the OPMT (Popular Organisation of Women in TL)
used to harvest and prepare sago in sacks and distribute them to the Falintil fighters so that they could survive for long periods in the bush without exposing their cover and stay alive. Cost for each block of akar - $1 ONLY!!!! You can ask the Timor Travel guys who ply the Kupang - Dili route to help you buy some since they pass Atabae on the way.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Sit until it disappears syndrome
Ok, i couldn't help but blog about this after Living Timorously mentioned Jam Karet and the Amananha attitudes that have been inherited by the Timorese and practised to perfection. I love my Timorese friends and many of them extremely bright, but in my 1.5 years here, i have noticed that some are afflicted with the "sit until it disappears" syndrome. What are the symptoms?
1) The person nods 'yes' to all your requests - there is little clarification
2) The person busies him/herself with other smaller, easier tasks and your request gets buried into the back of the mind
3) The person then tries not to remind you of your requests - this is the 'sitting on it hoping it will disappear' part
4) The job never gets done for weeks
5) When you rememeber your request and hunts down the responsible person, he/she says 'oh, i wasn't quite clear what you meant then' or 'i'll do it this afternoon' then the cycle goes back to (2). To stop the endless cycle of procrastination, i've found that i literally have to be in their face several times a day, until they finally beat the inertia to get off the starting block.
This extreme procrastination happens even for those who are highly educated and are definitely capable of performing the tasks. It seems to be a mental block or fear of inability or simply knowledge that it's an unpleasant task that stops them, and they have picked up the idea that if they sit on it long enough, the task will peter away into nothingness. I've had serious confrontations with close Timorese friends about this bad bad habit because it really paralyses them into inaction. It's getting them to realise that the worst monsters melt away when you face up to them, and they do grow larger and larger when you run away.
I guess, maybe it's not just the Timorese who are afflicted with this syndrome. Plenty of people around the globe try to run away from their fears without realising it breeds their monsters. I've had serious procrastination issues before when i was freelancing but i grew so tired of the mental stress of undone work bearing on me (no matter how i tried to sit on it it wouldn't disappear!) that i finally decided to hack, slash and slaughter the 5-headed monster with my sabre. So far, it's worked quite well. Just hope that those of my friends afflicted with the syndrome will eventually pick up the courage to battle their fears too.
Perhaps then, this country will move faster along in decision-making, and the homeless and displaced and the poor don't have to wait much longer for the powers above to make their critical and sometimes hard decisions.
1) The person nods 'yes' to all your requests - there is little clarification
2) The person busies him/herself with other smaller, easier tasks and your request gets buried into the back of the mind
3) The person then tries not to remind you of your requests - this is the 'sitting on it hoping it will disappear' part
4) The job never gets done for weeks
5) When you rememeber your request and hunts down the responsible person, he/she says 'oh, i wasn't quite clear what you meant then' or 'i'll do it this afternoon' then the cycle goes back to (2). To stop the endless cycle of procrastination, i've found that i literally have to be in their face several times a day, until they finally beat the inertia to get off the starting block.
This extreme procrastination happens even for those who are highly educated and are definitely capable of performing the tasks. It seems to be a mental block or fear of inability or simply knowledge that it's an unpleasant task that stops them, and they have picked up the idea that if they sit on it long enough, the task will peter away into nothingness. I've had serious confrontations with close Timorese friends about this bad bad habit because it really paralyses them into inaction. It's getting them to realise that the worst monsters melt away when you face up to them, and they do grow larger and larger when you run away.
I guess, maybe it's not just the Timorese who are afflicted with this syndrome. Plenty of people around the globe try to run away from their fears without realising it breeds their monsters. I've had serious procrastination issues before when i was freelancing but i grew so tired of the mental stress of undone work bearing on me (no matter how i tried to sit on it it wouldn't disappear!) that i finally decided to hack, slash and slaughter the 5-headed monster with my sabre. So far, it's worked quite well. Just hope that those of my friends afflicted with the syndrome will eventually pick up the courage to battle their fears too.
Perhaps then, this country will move faster along in decision-making, and the homeless and displaced and the poor don't have to wait much longer for the powers above to make their critical and sometimes hard decisions.
Friday, December 15, 2006
more tumbling tots..............
Finally, the wind has stopped blowing this tumbleweed madly upside down and everywhere..
I'm five days before my contract here breaths its last....my last major 'deliverable' is done, and I am now catching my breath to pack up and see what else needs to be done. But i will return to Timor again next year, even if i don't get a job....this land is rather addictive ain't it?
A few issues popped into my mind, after glancing at the large number of ETAN mails in my mailbox and i am attempted to respond to them... or at least get them off my chest.
email "Whitlam asked to 'tell truth'" reminded me that the Balibo 5 were murdered on the day i was born... a great way to remember significant historical facts huh? It also reminded me of how ignorant I was of the happenings in ET all my life until 2 years ago even though my country is a close neighbour, yet,geopolitics caused my country's weak media to report little on ET's independence struggle... Other birthdays i know: Tia M was born on 28 November, and she celebrated her 16th birthday in 1975, while A was born on 7 December, and he was 4 when the Indonesians invaded Timor.Everytime I look at them, i see the miracle that they are still alive and breathing, knowing how thousands of Timorese were brutally slaughtered.
email "It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" had a really cynical comment from an anonymous reader about the fence at City Cafe. I would like to counterpose it. Recently, I met an Aussie woman who has been living in Timor for 7 years, and had met all kinds of awful people who did awful things to her, and so she had become really skeptical of all NGOs and UN staff. So when I first met, her fangs and claws were sharpened and ready to shred me apart. There was much bitterness in her. I had to gently remind her that i used to be a volunteer too, and eventually, through our interactions, she realised that I am indeed not evil or a bloodsucker, or what the anonymous reader described as " expats using the recipient country as a stepping stone for career advancement, paying off mortgages, financing expensive holidays, satisfying personal expenses and as a safe heaven sexual fraternisations..."
What i want to say, is, for every baddie out there, there are also many GOODIES! I've met so many great malaes who have truly embraced their Timorese brothers and sisters as their own, and are doing many good things here in Timor. perhaps Mr Anonymous Reader needs to stop hanging out at City Cafe and meet the other nice malaes i know, who are dedicated, passionated and sincere. And when i say malaes, let's try to think out of the box. Black-haired, brown-eyed Asians and Africans are also malaes. I think that while some people choose to volunteer (like i did) and find great satisfaction in that, there are others who prefer to have a career from international development - and they should not be burnt at the stake for that choice.
Remember, it is a CHOICE. I despise how some volunteers get all high-falutin about their 'sacrifices' and scoff at those who receive a salary. To each their own, i say. YOU chose to be a volunteer, nobody forced you to. (You can still fight for social justice if you receive a salary.) To be honest, i don't think there is such a thing as 'true altruism' in this world. When we volunteer, we DO get something back in return - a nice warm feeling in our hearts, and some people also get awards, recognition, and more warm feelings from others. So it's NOT for nothing, so stop getting all romantic about volunteerism. I dare say this, cos I have been volunteering since 1998, and I have never told anyone that it's ALTRUISTIC cos it's not. I do feel good about it, and that's the reward.
That said, i must admit that there are many baddies that exploit the system to linger on and get posted from one country to another. BUT there are also volunteers who are like that! So it's not about whether you have been PAID or not, but what YOU, your character is like, and what harm you do in the country. In a cowboy town like Timor where the laws are not loophole-free yet, there will always be opportunitists earning a fast buck at the expense of others. But that feeling of being in a frontier town (and lawlessness!)does make it all the more exciting to be here.
Okay, that felt good. I'm normally not this vitriolic.
Last one on my list: the doctor with a stethoscope round his neck.
one day, my father came to visit and he was climbing up to the Jesus statue. As he was going up the last flight of steps, he saw a man, and asked in amazement, "Is he really a doctor?" because this man was climbing up the hill with a stethoscope slung around his neck. We all know who this man is. Apparently, he's a bit of a legend in ET's neighbour to the east and many doctors volunteer at his clinic. He's also very popular with the Timorese people. I'm writing about him because recently there was a story by Jill Joliffe in The Age about women being trafficked into Syria.
There was a mention of the women being AIDS-tested before they were recruited. After this article was circulated around, someone sent me the FULL copy of what Jill Joliffe had written before her article was slashed down to exclude these few paragraphs:
Whoaaa....I don't have to say what's wrong here, do i? Will I get in trouble for posting this here? Maybe The Age was afraid of being sued that's why these paragraphs were deleted? Or maybe it's because the doctor mentioned is so popular in that country to our east? Or they just didn't trust Jill Joliffe's professional skills and her ethics? Hmmm.. makes me wonder if the media in the 'free, and developed world' is any freer than those in developing countries?
Anyways, just some rambling tots... before i pack up and wave tata. I should be in Laos in January volunteering there for a month before seeing what else i can do back here in Timor. So until then..................adios!
I'm five days before my contract here breaths its last....my last major 'deliverable' is done, and I am now catching my breath to pack up and see what else needs to be done. But i will return to Timor again next year, even if i don't get a job....this land is rather addictive ain't it?
A few issues popped into my mind, after glancing at the large number of ETAN mails in my mailbox and i am attempted to respond to them... or at least get them off my chest.
email "Whitlam asked to 'tell truth'" reminded me that the Balibo 5 were murdered on the day i was born... a great way to remember significant historical facts huh? It also reminded me of how ignorant I was of the happenings in ET all my life until 2 years ago even though my country is a close neighbour, yet,geopolitics caused my country's weak media to report little on ET's independence struggle... Other birthdays i know: Tia M was born on 28 November, and she celebrated her 16th birthday in 1975, while A was born on 7 December, and he was 4 when the Indonesians invaded Timor.Everytime I look at them, i see the miracle that they are still alive and breathing, knowing how thousands of Timorese were brutally slaughtered.
email "It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" had a really cynical comment from an anonymous reader about the fence at City Cafe. I would like to counterpose it. Recently, I met an Aussie woman who has been living in Timor for 7 years, and had met all kinds of awful people who did awful things to her, and so she had become really skeptical of all NGOs and UN staff. So when I first met, her fangs and claws were sharpened and ready to shred me apart. There was much bitterness in her. I had to gently remind her that i used to be a volunteer too, and eventually, through our interactions, she realised that I am indeed not evil or a bloodsucker, or what the anonymous reader described as " expats using the recipient country as a stepping stone for career advancement, paying off mortgages, financing expensive holidays, satisfying personal expenses and as a safe heaven sexual fraternisations..."
What i want to say, is, for every baddie out there, there are also many GOODIES! I've met so many great malaes who have truly embraced their Timorese brothers and sisters as their own, and are doing many good things here in Timor. perhaps Mr Anonymous Reader needs to stop hanging out at City Cafe and meet the other nice malaes i know, who are dedicated, passionated and sincere. And when i say malaes, let's try to think out of the box. Black-haired, brown-eyed Asians and Africans are also malaes. I think that while some people choose to volunteer (like i did) and find great satisfaction in that, there are others who prefer to have a career from international development - and they should not be burnt at the stake for that choice.
Remember, it is a CHOICE. I despise how some volunteers get all high-falutin about their 'sacrifices' and scoff at those who receive a salary. To each their own, i say. YOU chose to be a volunteer, nobody forced you to. (You can still fight for social justice if you receive a salary.) To be honest, i don't think there is such a thing as 'true altruism' in this world. When we volunteer, we DO get something back in return - a nice warm feeling in our hearts, and some people also get awards, recognition, and more warm feelings from others. So it's NOT for nothing, so stop getting all romantic about volunteerism. I dare say this, cos I have been volunteering since 1998, and I have never told anyone that it's ALTRUISTIC cos it's not. I do feel good about it, and that's the reward.
That said, i must admit that there are many baddies that exploit the system to linger on and get posted from one country to another. BUT there are also volunteers who are like that! So it's not about whether you have been PAID or not, but what YOU, your character is like, and what harm you do in the country. In a cowboy town like Timor where the laws are not loophole-free yet, there will always be opportunitists earning a fast buck at the expense of others. But that feeling of being in a frontier town (and lawlessness!)does make it all the more exciting to be here.
Okay, that felt good. I'm normally not this vitriolic.
Last one on my list: the doctor with a stethoscope round his neck.
one day, my father came to visit and he was climbing up to the Jesus statue. As he was going up the last flight of steps, he saw a man, and asked in amazement, "Is he really a doctor?" because this man was climbing up the hill with a stethoscope slung around his neck. We all know who this man is. Apparently, he's a bit of a legend in ET's neighbour to the east and many doctors volunteer at his clinic. He's also very popular with the Timorese people. I'm writing about him because recently there was a story by Jill Joliffe in The Age about women being trafficked into Syria.
There was a mention of the women being AIDS-tested before they were recruited. After this article was circulated around, someone sent me the FULL copy of what Jill Joliffe had written before her article was slashed down to exclude these few paragraphs:
27 girls were tested in Bui Kiak’s group, all signing forms filled in by others. She did not know she was being AIDS-tested, or might have suspected the job was not babysitting. Syrian visas do not require AIDS clearances, unlike some Middle Eastern countries.
Known as a champion of the poor, Dr M (deletion of full name, mine) said he ‘had no idea’ of the identity of the people who approached his clinic.
He said medical tests are usually free for Timorese but ‘because this was so unusual we tried to negotiate a contract, of 5USD per patient. It was not paid by the patient, but by those requesting the tests’.
He admitted women should not have been tested without informed consent. ‘They should have had VCT, voluntary counselling and testing’ he said, ‘we should have been more careful’.
Whoaaa....I don't have to say what's wrong here, do i? Will I get in trouble for posting this here? Maybe The Age was afraid of being sued that's why these paragraphs were deleted? Or maybe it's because the doctor mentioned is so popular in that country to our east? Or they just didn't trust Jill Joliffe's professional skills and her ethics? Hmmm.. makes me wonder if the media in the 'free, and developed world' is any freer than those in developing countries?
Anyways, just some rambling tots... before i pack up and wave tata. I should be in Laos in January volunteering there for a month before seeing what else i can do back here in Timor. So until then..................adios!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
PR Faux Pas? or Refreshing Honesty
it's always refreshing to read media releases from the PM's office as they run the gamut from announcements of scrap metal sale bans to everything else under the sun... today's latest release is about cuban docs.... BUT what's the most scintillating were these 2 paragraphs:
Although i do agree that the Peace Corp volunteers left pretty early and really abruptly - some of them without the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to their counterparts and host families (according to my knowledge) - I think that these few paragraphs are too generalised and simplistic and very inaccurate. It was NOT the volunteers who decided to leave - it was the organisation Peace Corp which is in turn funded by the US Govt. As for JICA, it's the same. It was funded by the Japanese Govt. I, too at that time, was a volunteer funded by my country. As a volunteer - i didn't have a choice to leave or stay. If i want to respect my terms with the organisation, i have to go when the organisation says so. If i stay on, it means I am cutting my ties with the organisation and my safety nets like security, insurance, post-volunteer stipends etc might be cancelled out. For me, luckily my contract was due to end 30th May anyways and i left on 26th May.
It's not quite fair to pinpoint the VOLUNTEERS as the ones abandoning ship. The same goes for the UN. When the JICA people left, they left only 1 or 2 days BEFORE the UN declared that all non-essential international staff would leave for their safe haven - Darwin. Isn't that the same? Also, JICA for example, don't hv the same kind of security setup that the UN has to protect its workers in case things worsen. In fact, i was impressed that JICA actually booked an entire ISOS plane to get its people out together. I took that plane.
I respect the Cuban docs for staying and i have seen many of them work ceaselessly during the emergency period in the IDP camps. perhaps the PM's media unit should have simply praised them and left it at that- there was no need to 'compare and contrast.'
I also don't agree with the statement that there was no threat or danger in rural areas for foreigners. Yes, i know that many foreigners in the districts were ok, as were us all in the city. But, there were many weapons that had been distributed across the country and till now at least 200 police weapons are missing. Police men were killed in Ermera too. With the complete breakdown of govt institutions during those 2 months, can we really blame other governments for reacting this way? For Peace Corp especially, if they did not pull their volunteers out and someone got hurt or killed, how will it explain to a family in the US what happened? Yes, perhaps they over reacted or were overly cautious, but i don't think they deserve to be disparaged in a press release.
Mak ne'e deit. Back to work now.
“During the worst of the crisis in May, June and July our Cuban doctors stayed unconditionally in the villages and hospitals with the patients and the people, providing the much-needed moral, medical and psychological support,” Dr Ramos-Horta said.I must say i am shocked that the PM's office being the highest diplomatic office in the country would say something like this. I'm weirdly impressed by the (naive?) display of honesty, yet slightly concerned about the effect these rather undiplomatic statements would have upon those mentioned.
“This is in contrast with American Peace Corp volunteers, who, even though there was not the slightest threat to their safety and well-being in rural areas, were given orders by the US administration to leave our country.
“The Cuban courage and commitment is also in contrast with the Japanese. JICA, the Japanese International Co-operation Agency, abruptly interrupted its co-operation in Timor-Leste, even though there was never any threat to Japanese nationals, particularly in the rural areas.”
Although i do agree that the Peace Corp volunteers left pretty early and really abruptly - some of them without the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to their counterparts and host families (according to my knowledge) - I think that these few paragraphs are too generalised and simplistic and very inaccurate. It was NOT the volunteers who decided to leave - it was the organisation Peace Corp which is in turn funded by the US Govt. As for JICA, it's the same. It was funded by the Japanese Govt. I, too at that time, was a volunteer funded by my country. As a volunteer - i didn't have a choice to leave or stay. If i want to respect my terms with the organisation, i have to go when the organisation says so. If i stay on, it means I am cutting my ties with the organisation and my safety nets like security, insurance, post-volunteer stipends etc might be cancelled out. For me, luckily my contract was due to end 30th May anyways and i left on 26th May.
It's not quite fair to pinpoint the VOLUNTEERS as the ones abandoning ship. The same goes for the UN. When the JICA people left, they left only 1 or 2 days BEFORE the UN declared that all non-essential international staff would leave for their safe haven - Darwin. Isn't that the same? Also, JICA for example, don't hv the same kind of security setup that the UN has to protect its workers in case things worsen. In fact, i was impressed that JICA actually booked an entire ISOS plane to get its people out together. I took that plane.
I respect the Cuban docs for staying and i have seen many of them work ceaselessly during the emergency period in the IDP camps. perhaps the PM's media unit should have simply praised them and left it at that- there was no need to 'compare and contrast.'
I also don't agree with the statement that there was no threat or danger in rural areas for foreigners. Yes, i know that many foreigners in the districts were ok, as were us all in the city. But, there were many weapons that had been distributed across the country and till now at least 200 police weapons are missing. Police men were killed in Ermera too. With the complete breakdown of govt institutions during those 2 months, can we really blame other governments for reacting this way? For Peace Corp especially, if they did not pull their volunteers out and someone got hurt or killed, how will it explain to a family in the US what happened? Yes, perhaps they over reacted or were overly cautious, but i don't think they deserve to be disparaged in a press release.
Mak ne'e deit. Back to work now.
Friday, November 10, 2006
There is HOPE!
It's been a great day to end the week! This morning, the First Lady and the Prime Minister welcomed a role model for girls' rights - MARTA - who was finally 'born' after 3 years in the making. She's going to be the vehicle for any agencies or organisations in ET to promote children and girls' rights. In fact, the First Lady herself promised to use Marta in Alola Foundation's advocacy for women.
In the afternoon, at the beach, it was the final day of a week of sports (tug o war and beach volleyball)organised by Joao Choque Becora's new youth group to commemorate 12th November - the Santa Cruz massacre. When i arrived it was the OZ diggers versus the Kiwis - they put down their guns on the sand and dug their heels into the sand and pulled like crazy. Both teams proved to be as beefy as each other and the marker never moved beyond the winning line so it was a draw next up, was the exciting one. PNTL (Police) versus F-FDTL (army). I couldn't help but feel slightly tense. But Mr X was there - oozing charm as usual to work the crowd which by then had swelled to hundreds. 
He asked them not to shout 'Police' or "army' but just 'forsa' for both teams. At the blow of the whistle, both teams began tugging the rope. Incidentally none were dressed in their uniforms, preferring to wear the "timor unidade nasional" tee. The police won and the crowd cheered and then it was really touching when the POLICE and ARMY guys lined up and hugged each other. 
That was a GREAT GREAT moment that gave us all so much hope for a better future. This is IT , i thought. That's IT. That's what we all need now. Such moral and psychological support and great SHOW of reconciliation through sport. And there was no doubt, the President's charisma provided the glue and stabiliser for the event. And then for one more great RALLYING moment for ALL the timorese there at the beach - police AND army VERSUS the international forces. It was absolutely fantastic. Kudos to Joao Choque and his team! Suddenly, you could feel that the national pride was really at stake cos it was now US versus YOU. It was just elevating to see the police and army officers lined up as ONE to............ BEAT the international forces TWICE TWICE TWICE TWICE.......
"Timor oan kiik liu maibe forsa bot!" Someone even said, "malae isin bot maibe mamar oituan." haha hilarious. But it was more than words can express when the crowd roared with triumph when the skinny officers hauled their much bigger counterparts' arses across the winning line in the sand.
Timorese police and army officers UNITED as one in a tug of war against the international forces. 10th Nov 2006
International forces digging their heels deep into the sand as they compete with the Timorese forces.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Scrapping sale of scrap
Yes, you heard it right. ET has temporarily banned the sale of scrap metal according to a press release just in from the PM's office.
Perhaps this explains the recent story "Timor Telecom becomes victim of theft" in Diario that said TT (the monopoly telecom provider) has lost some 9.5 kilometres of telephone cables, and has reported 43 cases of stolen cables and solar panels! [ my own primitive translation] The spokesperson even said that after they had replaced the stolen phone cables, they were stolen again, therefore TT has stopped replacement services until the authorities can guarantee some security. Perhaps that's why after a month of waiting for a new internet connection, our Becora home remains unconnected to the virtual world (albeit a very slow one even if we got online).
Speaking of internet, TT has been putting out adverts in the local papers "Is our internet is expensive? $2 = 1 hour" I can't help but suspect this is a reaction to Ramos-Horta's stab at the monopoly telcom company for having such skyhigh prices. JRH had said about a few weeks ago that he's requested for World Bank experts to look into the contract with TT to explore how prices esp for internet can be lowered. Coincidentally after those remarks, TT introduced a new $5 top up card to commemorate it's 4th anniversary but unfortunately the price per minute remains the same. I had to explain this to a disappointed colleague who couldn't understand why TT bothered to introduce a new card if the price remains the same. The local papers also interviewed a local economist to explain to the people that the new $5 top up card is NOT cheaper. Oh, when, when will we be liberated from the evil clutches of TT's US$0.20 per minute phone calls?
Rogue scrap metal traders buying valuable cabling and other materials suspected to have been stolen have forced the Government of Timor-Leste to temporarily ban the export of all scrap metal.Apparently, collection and trading of scrap metal has sky rocketed after the civil unrest obviously due to the deluge of damaged properties and the govt is having trouble policing which of the scrap metal being traded is bona fide scrap or simply stolen scrap. A colleague laughed and said,"you know now scrap metal is US$3/kg so the kids in the neighbourhood are all hunting for scrap metal to sell to the traders." So if your pots and pans start walking, you know where they've gone ;-)
Perhaps this explains the recent story "Timor Telecom becomes victim of theft" in Diario that said TT (the monopoly telecom provider) has lost some 9.5 kilometres of telephone cables, and has reported 43 cases of stolen cables and solar panels! [ my own primitive translation] The spokesperson even said that after they had replaced the stolen phone cables, they were stolen again, therefore TT has stopped replacement services until the authorities can guarantee some security. Perhaps that's why after a month of waiting for a new internet connection, our Becora home remains unconnected to the virtual world (albeit a very slow one even if we got online).Speaking of internet, TT has been putting out adverts in the local papers "Is our internet is expensive? $2 = 1 hour" I can't help but suspect this is a reaction to Ramos-Horta's stab at the monopoly telcom company for having such skyhigh prices. JRH had said about a few weeks ago that he's requested for World Bank experts to look into the contract with TT to explore how prices esp for internet can be lowered. Coincidentally after those remarks, TT introduced a new $5 top up card to commemorate it's 4th anniversary but unfortunately the price per minute remains the same. I had to explain this to a disappointed colleague who couldn't understand why TT bothered to introduce a new card if the price remains the same. The local papers also interviewed a local economist to explain to the people that the new $5 top up card is NOT cheaper. Oh, when, when will we be liberated from the evil clutches of TT's US$0.20 per minute phone calls?
Thursday, November 02, 2006
no more violence
FCJ at Balide organised a day of wall painting for the boys in the 'hood last Friday. Apparently the boys have been running to FCJ as a shelter each time they fight, using the walls as their shield. Instead of turning the boys away, FCJ got them and others in the neighbourhood to paint the walls turning it into a montage of colourful anti-war messages. A real lift for those passing through the area - on the way to Santa Cruz or towards Balide Church. Amen to small acts like this one!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Survey on Youth Groups and Gangs
ETAN has posted the report at this link : A SURVEY ON GANGS AND YOUTH GROUPS. Enjoy reading it! It's a great 'resource' map for the kind of groups and gangs that young people are involved in. Really quite insightful although I'm not sure if I agree that Choque is SIMPLY a youth group that runs sports activities as the author puts it. Choque does run a 'security' business and Joao Becora isn't exactly a youth leader in the most innocent sense. But i've heard from a reliable source that Joao's been largely responsible keeping Becora quite safe adn trouble-free in recent times because he's issued warning to the 'kids' to keep out of trouble.
Anyways, what's the difference between a gang and a group?
What saddened me most when reading this report was seeing the pictures of little kids giving the third finger and belonging to some of the groups, also the fact that many of the groups have bad reputation for getting drunk. You wonder what kind of influence they are growing up under and how this might affect their formation as adults.
Anyways, what's the difference between a gang and a group?
What saddened me most when reading this report was seeing the pictures of little kids giving the third finger and belonging to some of the groups, also the fact that many of the groups have bad reputation for getting drunk. You wonder what kind of influence they are growing up under and how this might affect their formation as adults.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Painful reporting
The latest allegation against the Ozs has been that their forces were responsible for killing 2 youths last Friday. The headline on STL made the accusation sound like fact which was really unfortunate. C told me that the day the bodies were found her husband was the one who interviewed a youth who said he saw the 2 young men killed and then ran away. The next day, this youth spun a completely different story to the media leading one to suspect if a few extra dollars lining his pocket had something to do with the story change.
The local newspapers today also had such conflicting headlines - one of Taur Matan Ruak accusing OZs of failing to secure peace for TL; yet the bottom front page story was the affirmation by the Government to support OZ and Kiwi troops in the country. Obviously both hands ain't clapping so well here.
Anyways, a blogger had wanted info about the survey done on Gangs and Youth Gangs. I have the PDF to send it to whoever wants it. I just don't have the technical saavy to upload it somewhere! sorry. so if you want that report, leave your email address!
The local newspapers today also had such conflicting headlines - one of Taur Matan Ruak accusing OZs of failing to secure peace for TL; yet the bottom front page story was the affirmation by the Government to support OZ and Kiwi troops in the country. Obviously both hands ain't clapping so well here.
Anyways, a blogger had wanted info about the survey done on Gangs and Youth Gangs. I have the PDF to send it to whoever wants it. I just don't have the technical saavy to upload it somewhere! sorry. so if you want that report, leave your email address!
Sunday out
Went kayaking yesterday.........only paid $2 for 1.5 hours. it was good exercise. i can't believe that i've waited so long to try it out. i guess having a willing companion made a difference. S was willing to paddle out far away with me. the water was really clear near the bend before Cristo Rei but when it got rougher the two of us chickened out and paddled back! when i laid on my front on the kayak, it reminded me so much of my days in Hawaii when i would go surfing every other day! wowo... those were the days man! i miss Hawaii! i miss the surf! Had promised C that i would join in the frisbee session, even brought my own frisbee but somehow those pumped up guys with their testostorone overflowing (!!!) seemed too intimidating for me. Maybe it's my sad little inferior self, but i knew that i wouldn't even get to smell the frisbee if i joined in. Hee hee. so i just threw my frisbee with a few others.
Oh and to cap off an exciting day, just as we were taking off, there was a loud crash and I saw that outside the Sol de Mar (???) a motorbike had crashed into a car and an old Malae Mutin had jumped INTO the car after forcing open the driver's door,-from afar i could see the car actually shaking about as the two men went for each other. Suddenly, a swarm of big beefy guys all in sexy tight shorts rushed towards the scene and extricated the old man out of there. He was rabid. He was shouting accusations at the chinese timorese guy who had by then gotten out of the car too. The malae mutin had blood streaking down his face and shirt - probably a broken nose - but the younger man looked unhurt. The best thing - the police commissioner Antero Lopes was there - enjoying his sunday (oh the weekend had been quiet by the way - no gangwars whatsoever) - when this happened. There were many GNRs around too. So it was not a real well planned attack really. Too many witnesses saw the old guy jump the young one. It was really a dramatic end to the day. AS the sun set, the crowd melted away, leaving a few 'kaypohs' hanging around for the last morsel of juicy gossips. Haha, does that include me? Anyways, i learnt that it was really a family feud, the 2 men were actually related and had some court case between them, and money was involved. The old man must have been so furious and felt so unjust to have jumped this guy infront of everyone - using his own body & bike to stop the car. It's hard to say who's right or wrong.
I've learnt in Timor, at least, the black and white isn't so clearcut all the time. Mostly it's gray here.
Oh and to cap off an exciting day, just as we were taking off, there was a loud crash and I saw that outside the Sol de Mar (???) a motorbike had crashed into a car and an old Malae Mutin had jumped INTO the car after forcing open the driver's door,-from afar i could see the car actually shaking about as the two men went for each other. Suddenly, a swarm of big beefy guys all in sexy tight shorts rushed towards the scene and extricated the old man out of there. He was rabid. He was shouting accusations at the chinese timorese guy who had by then gotten out of the car too. The malae mutin had blood streaking down his face and shirt - probably a broken nose - but the younger man looked unhurt. The best thing - the police commissioner Antero Lopes was there - enjoying his sunday (oh the weekend had been quiet by the way - no gangwars whatsoever) - when this happened. There were many GNRs around too. So it was not a real well planned attack really. Too many witnesses saw the old guy jump the young one. It was really a dramatic end to the day. AS the sun set, the crowd melted away, leaving a few 'kaypohs' hanging around for the last morsel of juicy gossips. Haha, does that include me? Anyways, i learnt that it was really a family feud, the 2 men were actually related and had some court case between them, and money was involved. The old man must have been so furious and felt so unjust to have jumped this guy infront of everyone - using his own body & bike to stop the car. It's hard to say who's right or wrong.
I've learnt in Timor, at least, the black and white isn't so clearcut all the time. Mostly it's gray here.
Friday, October 27, 2006
kape timor
we needed a shot of coffee desperately for our magazine - which actually has nothing to do with coffee - go figure! anyways, so i had a brainwave and poured some of my own coffee into a nice weaved basket i have at home and worked on the shots last night. i kinda like the shots man! especially the purple and pink accents of the basket!
speaking of coffee, some of my friends needed a big dose of caffeine today after the extraordinary disturbances last night when they hardly got a wink of sleep. Their neighbourhood has been a gang battlefield in past months but last night, the gangs turned onto their house - attacking them three times; presumably because they were the ones who called the police and caused a guy to be arrested for his antics. This chap had apparently been arrested 3 times and of course will be released yet again.
frustrations are abound with the apparent impotence of the international forces to get the troublemakers away from the rest of the people. the forces themselves are frustrated too - it must be beyond ordinary folks like us to understand what constraints they are under - but fingers have increasingly been pointing to the judicial system or the lack of it as the reason behind this inaction on the offenders.
so getting attacked three times in a night isn't something to be proud of. what rubbed salt in their wounds was that the third time they called for police intervention, they didn't show up! i guess there were too many 'fires' to fight the entire night. also, for doing what the UNPOL asked people to do - to call and inform them of such disturbances. So for being civic minded - they are now the gangster's latest targets.
And as i write this, there is an sms going round saying that bodies were recovered near the Beach Road market and that has led to another row in that area near the Malaysian Embassy. It must be God's grace that the heightened tensions in the Pantai Kelapa and Fatuahad areas coincided wtih the week i decided to move from there back to Becora - which is really safe and undisturbed now, except that we get regular power cuts.
Oh, by the way, i must regularly remind folks reading this blog that this is not NEWS, i.e. i don't have the most accurate stuff here all the time cos i'm no reporter out on the street getting the latest - just an ordinary person sharing my thoughts and what i perceive to be fact.
;-)
speaking of coffee, some of my friends needed a big dose of caffeine today after the extraordinary disturbances last night when they hardly got a wink of sleep. Their neighbourhood has been a gang battlefield in past months but last night, the gangs turned onto their house - attacking them three times; presumably because they were the ones who called the police and caused a guy to be arrested for his antics. This chap had apparently been arrested 3 times and of course will be released yet again.
frustrations are abound with the apparent impotence of the international forces to get the troublemakers away from the rest of the people. the forces themselves are frustrated too - it must be beyond ordinary folks like us to understand what constraints they are under - but fingers have increasingly been pointing to the judicial system or the lack of it as the reason behind this inaction on the offenders.
so getting attacked three times in a night isn't something to be proud of. what rubbed salt in their wounds was that the third time they called for police intervention, they didn't show up! i guess there were too many 'fires' to fight the entire night. also, for doing what the UNPOL asked people to do - to call and inform them of such disturbances. So for being civic minded - they are now the gangster's latest targets.
And as i write this, there is an sms going round saying that bodies were recovered near the Beach Road market and that has led to another row in that area near the Malaysian Embassy. It must be God's grace that the heightened tensions in the Pantai Kelapa and Fatuahad areas coincided wtih the week i decided to move from there back to Becora - which is really safe and undisturbed now, except that we get regular power cuts.
Oh, by the way, i must regularly remind folks reading this blog that this is not NEWS, i.e. i don't have the most accurate stuff here all the time cos i'm no reporter out on the street getting the latest - just an ordinary person sharing my thoughts and what i perceive to be fact.
;-)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Reconciliation might have a chance?
From the PM's office - press release dated 25th October
He was writing in response to the airport closure and expressed his deep disappointment in the troubles.
Let's see some political will going boys!
He was writing in response to the airport closure and expressed his deep disappointment in the troubles.
Today’s closure is ironic, as we survived the worst of the crisis without any closure, and now due to a gang of common criminals, who deliberately targeted defenceless citizens, we had to close it.
"Timor-Leste’s Armed Forces, the F-FDTL, led by Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, demonstrated that courageous spirit, in a public statement issued today. They apologised to all Timorese for all the damage caused directly and indirectly by them during the crisis and they also offered their condolences to the families of the people who died during that time. They also stressed the need for us all to strengthen our national unity and our supreme interests as a people and a nation."
I also spoke with many other Timorese religious, civic and political leaders including Secretary General of Fretilin and former Prime Minister Dr. Mari Alkatiri, who indicated to me his readiness to help lessen the tension and violence. He said that he would visit the Airport IDP camp to talk to people there, to seek their cooperation. I fully support this initiative.
Let's see some political will going boys!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
airport under seige
It sounds a bit dramatic but i kinda get that feeling from the reports coming in from Lusa the portuguese news agency and other sources. Apparently the gang war ranging in the airport area has become so bad that the Comoro bridge was blocked off and the airport actually shut down, and attacked by the people living in the camp nearby. The AirNorth flight was cancelled and apparently 2 international soldiers were hurt in the fray, and that real bullets (not GNR rubber ones) were flying about. One of my colleagues visited the airport in an armoured vehicle to inspect our stores there. We have our logistics base there holding hundreds and thousands of supplies for the emergency. He got there through the backroad and managed to ensure that the supplies were safe but for now, we won't be able to get those school bags to the kiddies out in the districts which is a bummer. I'm really quite disappointed with the state of affairs here. Just last week, things were still quite calm but now the #$%%^^&* are out making trouble again. And with the airport closed - it's bad bad bad PR in the world man! It's like Lebanon being attacked by Israel except our airport got attacked by angry disenfranchised locals.
It blows my mind when I think of the people destroying their own country's properties - i guess when you can't see any hope in the future, you just don't feel like you have a STAKE in the country and thus don't see a point protecting the economy or the nation. The reasons are so multi-faceted and complex it's hard to pin down a reason for this. Is it just poverty? or the culture of violence nurtured through hundreds of years of resistance and wars? or the lack of education? We're frustrated. Our Timorese friends even more so. This sense of insecurity weighs on our minds daily.
Oh lord, bless this nation.
It blows my mind when I think of the people destroying their own country's properties - i guess when you can't see any hope in the future, you just don't feel like you have a STAKE in the country and thus don't see a point protecting the economy or the nation. The reasons are so multi-faceted and complex it's hard to pin down a reason for this. Is it just poverty? or the culture of violence nurtured through hundreds of years of resistance and wars? or the lack of education? We're frustrated. Our Timorese friends even more so. This sense of insecurity weighs on our minds daily.
Oh lord, bless this nation.
Monday, October 23, 2006
church attacked
Yesterday while on our way to Aimutin Church in the notorious Comoro neighbourhood, as we were nearing Landmark Supermarket, we spotted people lining the streets and knew immediately there was trouble ahead. We stopped at the supermarket where some kind hearted souls had placed a whole lamp post across the road to stop vehicles from crossing, picked up a friend, and did a u-turn to try to get to church via the beach road.
We could see ahead that lots of people had gathered - presumably at the comoro market which has been a flashpoint for ethnic conflict since Day 1. We went around and actually got to church but saw lots of UNPOL and oz soldiers already gathered there. The church looked deserted and the gates were closed. Gradually more and more soldiers arrived and A took out his media pass to get closer to find out more. We then heard that the church itself was attacked in the morning right after the tetum mass was over. People had came into the compound and attacked the church goers as they were exiting. but news that the church was destroyed was wrong because i checked out and there wasn;t any broken glass. EVentually at about 1130 (one hour late) the priest began mass with about 30 of us. We were small but our voices were strong and it gave me great satisfaction that Mass was celebrated despite the destructive efforts of some. it was a memorable mass knowing that outside the gates, a ethnic storm was brewing.
At this point in time, i had no idea what happened to cause the attacks but according to news reports, 2 easterner boys were killed, beheaded and their limbs cut off by westerners - the grisly deaths inciting revenge attacks. Sigh. It's awful. Last night too, the timorese family i live with received news that one of their relatives in railaku was murdered. i don't know whether it has been confirmed or was it just rumours. but i know when it hits you that close, it's hard to stay level-headed and 'calm' and allow justice to take its course. easier said than done.
We could see ahead that lots of people had gathered - presumably at the comoro market which has been a flashpoint for ethnic conflict since Day 1. We went around and actually got to church but saw lots of UNPOL and oz soldiers already gathered there. The church looked deserted and the gates were closed. Gradually more and more soldiers arrived and A took out his media pass to get closer to find out more. We then heard that the church itself was attacked in the morning right after the tetum mass was over. People had came into the compound and attacked the church goers as they were exiting. but news that the church was destroyed was wrong because i checked out and there wasn;t any broken glass. EVentually at about 1130 (one hour late) the priest began mass with about 30 of us. We were small but our voices were strong and it gave me great satisfaction that Mass was celebrated despite the destructive efforts of some. it was a memorable mass knowing that outside the gates, a ethnic storm was brewing.
At this point in time, i had no idea what happened to cause the attacks but according to news reports, 2 easterner boys were killed, beheaded and their limbs cut off by westerners - the grisly deaths inciting revenge attacks. Sigh. It's awful. Last night too, the timorese family i live with received news that one of their relatives in railaku was murdered. i don't know whether it has been confirmed or was it just rumours. but i know when it hits you that close, it's hard to stay level-headed and 'calm' and allow justice to take its course. easier said than done.
Friday, October 20, 2006
where to get the report
Thanks to John from ETAN - here's the link for the Independent Commission's Inquiry on what happened here in Timor. It's also available in Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, and of course Tetum. On my way in today, i saw a cleaning lady reading a document, with her brows furrowed in concentration. Hours later, i walked past her again and this time she was surrounded by at least 4 others who were keenly listening to her as she read out word by word the report in Tetum. I would say she's about halfway through - probably past the juicy stuff and into the more technical boring literature.
I myself felt that the report gave a lot of insight into what was actually happening on those days 28th APril, 23rd May - 25th May because we ourselves being here and with bad communications and unreliable media and no reliable source of information at that time were not completely aware of the battles being raged up the hills, or even in Tibar or Comoro. Dili is small but not that small. A lot of stuff happening in those corners you wouldn't hear unless you actually ventured out. At least now I know what was all that boom boom boom going on in Becora on 24th and 25th May exactly was about. And the report also clearly stated the ambiguities of loyalties for the Police and Army - we can't anymore say for sure (as before)that the police is pro-alkatiri and army pro-xanana anymore really. the subtleties are really intriguing and insightful. It also broke my heart to think that one of our timorese police friend who was shot was actually called back to the police hq that morning of 25th almost deliberately into the line of fire!
ETAN (East Timor & Indonesia Action Network) has also posted a response at this link I haven't read it as yet so i won't say anything except that I'm not from ETAN and linking this does not represent my personal views! ;-)
I myself felt that the report gave a lot of insight into what was actually happening on those days 28th APril, 23rd May - 25th May because we ourselves being here and with bad communications and unreliable media and no reliable source of information at that time were not completely aware of the battles being raged up the hills, or even in Tibar or Comoro. Dili is small but not that small. A lot of stuff happening in those corners you wouldn't hear unless you actually ventured out. At least now I know what was all that boom boom boom going on in Becora on 24th and 25th May exactly was about. And the report also clearly stated the ambiguities of loyalties for the Police and Army - we can't anymore say for sure (as before)that the police is pro-alkatiri and army pro-xanana anymore really. the subtleties are really intriguing and insightful. It also broke my heart to think that one of our timorese police friend who was shot was actually called back to the police hq that morning of 25th almost deliberately into the line of fire!
ETAN (East Timor & Indonesia Action Network) has also posted a response at this link I haven't read it as yet so i won't say anything except that I'm not from ETAN and linking this does not represent my personal views! ;-)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Calm for now
For now that is. Last night we all sped home bracing ourselves for some violence but like what the UNPOL chief said everyone's probably reading the report for its final details and has yet to react or mobilise a group reaction to the report. Me too. I have only just read the summary page which names some names like Rogerio Lobato, Mari Alkatiri, Paulo Martins, Xanana, Roque Rodrigues, Tau Matan Ruak. No surprises really but everyone's waiting too for a judiciary response from the government as a test of its political will. The President has also appealed once again for political parties not to use this to create more trouble. You can get your hands on the report for 79 pages of reading at the UNHCR website. Sorry i don't have the link now but will update this blog once i do. It's quite a pain to hunt for it!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Rabbits & Chickens
so everyone's waiting for D-DAY when the results of the independent commission's inquiry will be released. Apparently the delay in the release has been due to the commission's decision to translate the findings in 4 languages - Portuguese, English, Indonesian and Tetum. A really good idea i must say because publishing it in Portuguese would probably mean 5% of the population will understand anything! An interesting report by the International Crisis Group has been published - so if you want the lowdown on the Timor crisis - click on this link : Resolving Timor-Leste's crisis. You will find some interesting references to rearing rabbits and chickens, soap and handwashing (without particular concern to hygiene!), and monkeys.
Friday, October 13, 2006
ain't a burning plastic bag
This ain't so flamin' plastic bag! it's a "kong ming deng" or Kong Ming Lantern which is kinda like a hot air balloon. (And my blog entry is resembling its haphazard flight path cos of my tech illiteracy!) 
I've always been fascinated by how it works and finally one day, SM brings one home and showed me how it works. 
it's real simple. Just make a light weight lantern out of plastic, make a ring at the bottom, with a very light candle and wick - light the candle and let the hot air fill up the plastic bag and then give a light push.
once the hot air balloon catches a slight wind, off it goes flying to the moon! It was a pretty sight and at least one nice evening to cheer us all up! Hurray to Kong Ming who must have invented this lantern if not why is it named after him? Anyone knows?
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Foamed
Okay the foam was delivered to Bali 3 days after I arrived and then was sent up to UBUD where I had a most wonderful few days staring out into green ricefields... ahhh... the life.... It was quite surreal plonking down with my luggage and sitting at the verandah of the guesthouse and enjoying the sight of green stalks of rice swaying in the gentle breeze...the cliche however didn't last too long and soon I was back on the plane and back to ET.Sometimes it's more cruel to take a break as it leaves me wanting more...in fact, i am still experiencing a bit of the returning blues -- from being able to lounge in a cool restaurant, and walking the streets of Ubud at night alone, to having WIFI --- to being back in 'house arrest' or sorts every night here in ET. I know there are people who still go out for dinner etc but hey these are people with cars and big brave hearts. I only have my 2 'kars' or legs (in Hokkien!) and i have courage of a mouse!
It's also getting a little discouraging to hear news of killings and fighting every single day. I can sense the morale really creeping far south for my Timorese friends. Just 2 days ago, someone was knifed to death outside the Fitun Maubara supermarket in Colmera. That afternoon i passed by and there was a pool of blood outside the supermart -lying next to it was a stack of styroam boxes -the victim's shopping.
But we have to keep our chins up! LUTA HAMUTUK (struggle on!). Well, at least the magazine i'm working on is looking rather good thanks to our 1st class designer. I'm turning 31 too.........gosh.... time flies....i hope my birthday won't be too 'bloody' cos we're expecting big trouble when the Independent Commission of Inquiry is announced next week.
Monday, October 02, 2006
lost and FOAM
i was going to upload some nice futuristic looking pictures of the new Thailand airport suvarnbhumi or something like that .... except that the people there LOST MY POLYFOAM!!! argggh...... if you read my previous entry, i had gone ALL the way to bangkok to buy polyfoam (ok it was for the workshop but still!) and then after spending time and money buying it and hauling it around with me in Bangkok...... the PEOPLE there lose it.... argghh... i think by the end of the month, the new airport will have enough "LOST" ( and never found) items to fill an entire warehouse...
the irony was that while on the nice plane to Bali i had been thinking "hmm what should i do with the polyfoam while in bali? store in at the airport until i leave or what?" well, my stooopid question was answered unfortunately with the foam lost in transit somewhere. maybe it's on its way to Dubai??? or London? Sigh. so it looks like i might have to buy some foam here in indonesia instead.
Bleh.....
the irony was that while on the nice plane to Bali i had been thinking "hmm what should i do with the polyfoam while in bali? store in at the airport until i leave or what?" well, my stooopid question was answered unfortunately with the foam lost in transit somewhere. maybe it's on its way to Dubai??? or London? Sigh. so it looks like i might have to buy some foam here in indonesia instead.
Bleh.....
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
tumbled into Bangkok
wah... i m like a jungle bunny here in bustling Bangkokkkkk! it's scary actually. this morning i took a walk out from my (terribly overrated and horribly ugly and expensive) hotel BANGKOK CITY INN (don't go there!) randomly towards the main shopping stretch and even at 8am, people were jostling in the narrow sidewalks buying fake goods! can't believe the spirit of entreprise and the great consumerism here. i forget what it's like in singapore - except in singapore we really don't have people buying fake Pradas at 8am. the streets were also packed with itinerant hawkers selling all sorts of unhealthy deep fried stuff that i could only watch but cannot taste cos i'm still recovering from a sore throat from last week's vitriol-induced illness. i finally got onto the light rail and headed towards the central pier and hopped onto a a VERY slow boat to Phra Athit Road where UNICEF's regional and thai office is strategically located along the Chao Praya river. I got there, met a thai colleague who brought me shopping for POLYFOAM CORE (yes... we don't even have these in timor) but K did remind me that it's a good thing too cos the foam core is really unenvironmentally friendly.
after a brief shower (rain i mean!) and a very light lunch, i went to shop! or i thought i would. what did i pick up? hmm... pills for my incessant phelgm and chesty cough. bleh... everything looked so expensive and glossy and loud. I really forget what sleepy timor does to one. now i understand why when i once brought my parents out for a movie back in singapore, they asked me why the sound was so loud and i laughed! now i have a buzz in my ears from all the traffic noise blended with arcade effects, and promotional ads that run nonstop in these malls.
all afternoon i wanedered aimlessly in the malls, searching for a fine pair of leather sandals that would suit my feet - something low and yet classy. nope couldn't find a pair that was like that OR everything was too big! i was even prepared to splurge on a pair of Clarks if there was a good pair. oh well. too bad.
i really have not walked so much in a long while - i have forgotten what atheleticism in a city is. luckily i wore my comfy sandals - also no nonsense but already looking rather well worn. it's refreshing to get out of dili once in a while - reminds you of how reality for different people can really b extremely unsimilar. while i am glad to have a break out of dili and from hearing depressing reports everyday of fights, stone throwing and stabbings, i kinda miss the ocean waves that pound ceaselessly as i fall asleep to its rhythms. one day away, and i already miss Timor - yikes - have i really become a jungle bunny????
after a brief shower (rain i mean!) and a very light lunch, i went to shop! or i thought i would. what did i pick up? hmm... pills for my incessant phelgm and chesty cough. bleh... everything looked so expensive and glossy and loud. I really forget what sleepy timor does to one. now i understand why when i once brought my parents out for a movie back in singapore, they asked me why the sound was so loud and i laughed! now i have a buzz in my ears from all the traffic noise blended with arcade effects, and promotional ads that run nonstop in these malls.
all afternoon i wanedered aimlessly in the malls, searching for a fine pair of leather sandals that would suit my feet - something low and yet classy. nope couldn't find a pair that was like that OR everything was too big! i was even prepared to splurge on a pair of Clarks if there was a good pair. oh well. too bad.
i really have not walked so much in a long while - i have forgotten what atheleticism in a city is. luckily i wore my comfy sandals - also no nonsense but already looking rather well worn. it's refreshing to get out of dili once in a while - reminds you of how reality for different people can really b extremely unsimilar. while i am glad to have a break out of dili and from hearing depressing reports everyday of fights, stone throwing and stabbings, i kinda miss the ocean waves that pound ceaselessly as i fall asleep to its rhythms. one day away, and i already miss Timor - yikes - have i really become a jungle bunny????
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Busy B
How long has it been since I had the luxury of time to open up the blogger page? Loooong. So looong i nearly forgot the password to my site! and last night, i had a dream that people left comments on my blog that they're longer visiting my site cos it doesn't have anymore Timor updates. Yikes! I wrung my hands in despair in my dream and vowed to wake up to do something concrete. So here i am - 9am on a saturday morning - in the office typing away, listening to Stephanie Sun croon away.
The truth is, i've been wanting to say a lot - my mind has been racing with thoughts except i never had the time these days to put them all down - sooo busy sometimes i do0n't even log onto the internet the entire day and then it's 6pm time to go home before it gets dark. SO i leave home with thoughts boiling over in my little brain and with no outlet - no wonder i fell horribly sick last 3 days - must have been the excessive vitriol i haven't been able to expunge via the blog.
OKay - first updates on Timor. Since the farcical escape of Alfredo from jail, this country's journalism has slipped many bars downwards. So bad the press is these days, i fear to see what the next headline might be every day the papers are sent in to the office. I hope Jeremy Wagstaff reads this blog cos months ago he asked what the Timorese reporters felt about the whole civil unrest. The fact is that many of them have become LAZY or unethical. choose whichever one suits you. Many of their reports have been lop-sided - going as far as to quote one person, or one party entirely who sling accusations at another and never so much as get a comment from the acccused. It's terrible!
FOR EXAMPLE - Mass for Alfredo. I gawped the day the AUstralian press went on about how the FNJP was organising a mass for Alfredo. I quickly scanned the papers and discovered that there was indeed an ad about a mass for Alfredo in Gleno, Ermera district. It was to 'give courage and power to Alfredo to speak the truth.' I quickly asked a colleague and he checked with the parish priest in Ermera who said, 'it is just propaganda. the mass is for those who died in the unrest.' so obviously the church had been hijacked for political purpose here. I feared that the Timorese who largely see the church as authoritative would then think that the church was behind Alfredo and thus he is RIGHT. How scary. So why was it that we could easily check with the priest in question but the newspapers couldn't? 2 days later, there was a new ad, this time it was "for those who died in the unrest of Arpril 28 and May 25th and to give courage to those who seek the truth.' AHh..... much better. But still, i wonder how much damage has been done?
Another disturbing thought these days ------------- that many Timorese actually think that Alfredo is not a criminal! their sense of justice is quite different from ours (meaning the west? i dunno!) but perhaps because of their guerilla resistance past, the sense of right and wrong is not aligned with conventional legality. Ok, for example, Alfredo went AWOL with his men up to Maubisse. Instead of being chastised, he was endorsed by Xanana for doing the right thing. IN at least my country, a military commander who takes men away with weapons would be in real hot soup. But ok, considering the great chaos then, let's cut him some slack. And then, on May 24th in Fatuahi, Alfredo fires upon a bunch of soldiers who had come into Dili to collect their pay. He was caught on film counting down and firing on them and possibly killing one. AGain, this doesn't seem to have taken any brownie points from him. And then when he came back to Dili and surrendered weapons, the international forces found 9 more unsurrendered weapons and threw him into Jail. Wait, and then he walks out of jail in an elaborately planned scheme and tells the world that he is not a criminal. Guess what, many highly educated Timorese agree with him! They say, he left because after 30 days in jail no action had been taken and that he had been threatened in jail.
i agree that the justice system here sucks - which is why gangsterism has flowered to take justice in their own hands - and why men like Alfredo are revered. So far, even though Alfredo and many others have critised the incumbent but have not submitted any real concrete action plan. ironically, when Mari Alkatiri was in power, Jose Ramos-Horta said that he himself was more suitable. Now, Alfredo says Ramos-horta is no different from Mari and that he Alfredo can do a better job. Oh dear. Sounds like a broken record.
i ask my Timorese friends, so what is it that they want as a nation? More violence? They must stand up to DENY violence if they want this nation to thrive. UNfortunately, this small half island has been taken hostage by all different interests and of course its predators have jumped in to take advantage of the rocky situation.
TIMOR TIMOR! Were the lessons of 1975 not hard enough?
Phew, all that vitriol spent. more to come soon. now gotta get back to work. TA
The truth is, i've been wanting to say a lot - my mind has been racing with thoughts except i never had the time these days to put them all down - sooo busy sometimes i do0n't even log onto the internet the entire day and then it's 6pm time to go home before it gets dark. SO i leave home with thoughts boiling over in my little brain and with no outlet - no wonder i fell horribly sick last 3 days - must have been the excessive vitriol i haven't been able to expunge via the blog.
OKay - first updates on Timor. Since the farcical escape of Alfredo from jail, this country's journalism has slipped many bars downwards. So bad the press is these days, i fear to see what the next headline might be every day the papers are sent in to the office. I hope Jeremy Wagstaff reads this blog cos months ago he asked what the Timorese reporters felt about the whole civil unrest. The fact is that many of them have become LAZY or unethical. choose whichever one suits you. Many of their reports have been lop-sided - going as far as to quote one person, or one party entirely who sling accusations at another and never so much as get a comment from the acccused. It's terrible!
FOR EXAMPLE - Mass for Alfredo. I gawped the day the AUstralian press went on about how the FNJP was organising a mass for Alfredo. I quickly scanned the papers and discovered that there was indeed an ad about a mass for Alfredo in Gleno, Ermera district. It was to 'give courage and power to Alfredo to speak the truth.' I quickly asked a colleague and he checked with the parish priest in Ermera who said, 'it is just propaganda. the mass is for those who died in the unrest.' so obviously the church had been hijacked for political purpose here. I feared that the Timorese who largely see the church as authoritative would then think that the church was behind Alfredo and thus he is RIGHT. How scary. So why was it that we could easily check with the priest in question but the newspapers couldn't? 2 days later, there was a new ad, this time it was "for those who died in the unrest of Arpril 28 and May 25th and to give courage to those who seek the truth.' AHh..... much better. But still, i wonder how much damage has been done?
Another disturbing thought these days ------------- that many Timorese actually think that Alfredo is not a criminal! their sense of justice is quite different from ours (meaning the west? i dunno!) but perhaps because of their guerilla resistance past, the sense of right and wrong is not aligned with conventional legality. Ok, for example, Alfredo went AWOL with his men up to Maubisse. Instead of being chastised, he was endorsed by Xanana for doing the right thing. IN at least my country, a military commander who takes men away with weapons would be in real hot soup. But ok, considering the great chaos then, let's cut him some slack. And then, on May 24th in Fatuahi, Alfredo fires upon a bunch of soldiers who had come into Dili to collect their pay. He was caught on film counting down and firing on them and possibly killing one. AGain, this doesn't seem to have taken any brownie points from him. And then when he came back to Dili and surrendered weapons, the international forces found 9 more unsurrendered weapons and threw him into Jail. Wait, and then he walks out of jail in an elaborately planned scheme and tells the world that he is not a criminal. Guess what, many highly educated Timorese agree with him! They say, he left because after 30 days in jail no action had been taken and that he had been threatened in jail.
i agree that the justice system here sucks - which is why gangsterism has flowered to take justice in their own hands - and why men like Alfredo are revered. So far, even though Alfredo and many others have critised the incumbent but have not submitted any real concrete action plan. ironically, when Mari Alkatiri was in power, Jose Ramos-Horta said that he himself was more suitable. Now, Alfredo says Ramos-horta is no different from Mari and that he Alfredo can do a better job. Oh dear. Sounds like a broken record.
i ask my Timorese friends, so what is it that they want as a nation? More violence? They must stand up to DENY violence if they want this nation to thrive. UNfortunately, this small half island has been taken hostage by all different interests and of course its predators have jumped in to take advantage of the rocky situation.
TIMOR TIMOR! Were the lessons of 1975 not hard enough?
Phew, all that vitriol spent. more to come soon. now gotta get back to work. TA
Friday, September 08, 2006
4 september
Last Monday, when I went back to Becora, I was greeted by seemingly endless rows of candles on both sides of the road. Their flames flickered brightly ing in the pitch darkness as the electricity was off - creating a beautiful ghostly scene. Children were lighting up candles and gathered outside their homes chatting - we almost forgot that we were still in a 'crisis'. Somehow Becora has emerged to be one of the safest neighbourhoods in recent months. The candles were lit to remember the many who were massacred on 4 September 1999 by the militia when Timorese voted to have their own independence, after 24 years of Indonesia rule foisted upon them. Apologies for the bad photo but I ain't got a fancy camera or a tripod! Anyways, it's poignant to think that now, the nation has once again plunged into dark times. Yeah, these days, it's a little more stressful working when at the back of your mind, you're wondering when the next trouble spot would be. This afternoon, i was at Alola Foundation interviewing the First Lady when 2 youth gangs (yup of course loro sae versus monu) began stoning each other just on the road outside. Apparently this has been happening everyday. The international forces say they need hard evidence to capture anyone but with ROCKS come on who are we kidding??? The police told Alola staff that witnesses were not enough so they'll have to snap a few photos of the troublemakers themselves before any real action can take place. Oh well..... anyways, i better get going. These days, it ain't safe on the streets after dark.
Monday, August 21, 2006
fatuk
here's the blistering bugger that's been creating so much chaos these days in Dili. yeah, that's it - you looking at it - that FATUK - available in infinite numbers and unclassifiable as a weapon - yet if anyone has ever been hit by one, he or she'll attest to its sheer strength to draw blood. These days you gotta be careful - malae (foreigner) not excluded - some terribly bored and energetic boys have been lining streets hurling stones at passing cars - so these days it's not uncommon to see cars with shattered windscreens - it's too expensive to replace! In fact, it was only when a friend stepped on the accelerator that she narrowly missed her car becoming a statistic. The other day, we had to call the police after seeing a row of boys outside the Australian compound randomly attacking cars. Geezzz... what do you do with these kids? You can take away slingshots or katana but how can you take away FATUK???? On a lighter note, today someone wrote an email with the headline "XXX bitten 2 year old child..." I was of course lured to read the email first amongst the 25 waiting for my attention. It was fascinating reading about how XXX bit the 2 year old while XXX was trying to arrest the toddler's father. I was shocked - walked over to a colleague who had received the same mail and said, "did you read that???" Minutes later this colleague walks by my desk and said, "it's BEATEN not bitten." ???? Oh ya? I re-read the email and gathered finally that it was meant to be BEATEN but the person sending the email had wrote as BITTEN mistaking it to be the right word. How hilarious! It was funny cos that would be like a man bite dog headline story. But now after laughing about it, i'm thinking of the actual "XXX BEATEN 2 year old" - shucks such violence taking place here. If it's really true, something really needs to be done. As you may have gathered the XXX refers to an international force here - a highly frustrated international force which has been encountering so much difficulties with law enforcement here. The youth gangs simply playing cat and mouse with the beefy guys - scattering in seconds into their warrens when the coppers come. Interestingly, a Timorese frined told me that Becora where i used to live has become very safe now because a local gang leader (i can't mention his name!) has told all the young people to stay out of trouble or else... (what else??? but his fist!) so ironically in the face of greater violence, the youth in Becora are actually toeing the line and the area is now pretty quiet compared to the rest like Comoro and Colmera. So maybe the government needs to recruit these gang leaders? Strange huh?
Finally, as a goodbye - i treat you to these super yummy lobsters which my ema-bot (or big boss) bought when we were on our way to lunch on Saturday. 3 lobsters for USD30. Absolute HEAVEN. Slurp. Burp.
Monday, August 14, 2006
tumbleweeed thinks...
There has been a renewed rash of violence in the past week with stonings and fires. I have even heard that a Malae who stays with Timorese from both East and West had their rented house set on fire and all their belongings stolen. a group of IDPs in the Jardim (opposite Hotel Timor) have become very unwelcomed guests in the Colmera sucu so much so that the Xefe de Sucu has even annoucned that he wants them to go - this is because there have been quite a bit of stones being hurled from that camp and even broken windows of cars passing through that area. Some young people in Bairro Pite have even carried big placards saying that they don't want to accept any Easterners.
So what should be done?
It's strange that i should be saying this - but i think what the government needs is a great mouthpiece to spread its propaganda - or in a less biased way - spread INFORMATION. There's a lack of accurate information dissemination in this country - lots of people rely on LIA ANIN ("windy words") or GOSSIP - and statements repeated through a chain of whispers until they become distorted and incendiary in some cases.
So if there's one thing this government should learn - is to look to its neighbours to see how they have so carefully crafted their own information ministries and built up government newspapers, radio and tv stations to spread THEIR news. Why am i saying this? Because i believe this government is trying its best but too few people know exactly what it's doing.
Take for example, on 2 august President Xanana held a meeting with 18 NGOs to discuss how they could get young people from East and West to assist in reintegrating IDPs and creating dialogue for peace building -----GREAT INITIATIVE but what the government needs is a strategy to communicate all this to the folks at large - remember most don't have a TV or even a radio set - besides the fact that most of Timor is without electricity! So besides engaging the media - there must be other channels for communicating news, information and generating feedback.
GOOD WORK needs to be trumpeted ---- so there's a pressing need for communicators and social mobilisers to get involved! Here's one time when i accept that propaganda is fully needed!
OH by the way, this is an APOLITICAL weblog. Someone posted a statement in Tetum on my comments page asking me to translate it into English. MY tetum ain't great but i could figure out what it was roughly. SOrry to say, i've deleted it cos i don't want my blog hijacked by others to spread THEIR propaganda. If you want to let the world see your thoughts, set up your own blog! ;-)
So what should be done?
It's strange that i should be saying this - but i think what the government needs is a great mouthpiece to spread its propaganda - or in a less biased way - spread INFORMATION. There's a lack of accurate information dissemination in this country - lots of people rely on LIA ANIN ("windy words") or GOSSIP - and statements repeated through a chain of whispers until they become distorted and incendiary in some cases.
So if there's one thing this government should learn - is to look to its neighbours to see how they have so carefully crafted their own information ministries and built up government newspapers, radio and tv stations to spread THEIR news. Why am i saying this? Because i believe this government is trying its best but too few people know exactly what it's doing.
Take for example, on 2 august President Xanana held a meeting with 18 NGOs to discuss how they could get young people from East and West to assist in reintegrating IDPs and creating dialogue for peace building -----GREAT INITIATIVE but what the government needs is a strategy to communicate all this to the folks at large - remember most don't have a TV or even a radio set - besides the fact that most of Timor is without electricity! So besides engaging the media - there must be other channels for communicating news, information and generating feedback.
GOOD WORK needs to be trumpeted ---- so there's a pressing need for communicators and social mobilisers to get involved! Here's one time when i accept that propaganda is fully needed!
OH by the way, this is an APOLITICAL weblog. Someone posted a statement in Tetum on my comments page asking me to translate it into English. MY tetum ain't great but i could figure out what it was roughly. SOrry to say, i've deleted it cos i don't want my blog hijacked by others to spread THEIR propaganda. If you want to let the world see your thoughts, set up your own blog! ;-)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
brrrr and grrinnnnn
this little girl was amongst many bathing in a big hole in a road in Baucau.. it was so cold!
apparently someone had placed big rocks in the river upriver so as to create a greater flow of water downhill.... and someone dug up a HOLE in the road where the water has spilled - creating a SWIMMING POOL in the middle of a road ... see this picture!
apparently someone had placed big rocks in the river upriver so as to create a greater flow of water downhill.... and someone dug up a HOLE in the road where the water has spilled - creating a SWIMMING POOL in the middle of a road ... see this picture!
Friday, August 04, 2006
baucau tomatoes
been so busy i haven't had anytime to blog or much energy to think! Went to Baucau in a day and back! Arggh... my butt still hurts from the 2.5 hours journey there and 2.5hrs back! Monday i go to Baucau again - this time with Indra my colleagues, for a 2 day session with our community volunteers to envision the setting up of Adolescents information centres out in districts. How exciting! For now, just wanted to share this juicy picture and by the way, i bought that stack of tomatoes with the small bright red one at the top! HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
through the eyes of the children
a sample of some drawings by children when we asked them to paint what they think of Timor-Leste generally. A picture speaks a thousand words, huh?
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