Dili 1967

'was sent this picture from a colleague. I'm sorry i don't know who the photographer was and therefore cannot duely credit him/her. So if anyone knows, please inform me. Tks! Besides the Palacio, you can still see Acait building, and the site of the former Hello Mister was filled with trees! THe entire area near Mercado Lama and Balide was also full of trees. I am just glad that for now, there are still some big trees in the vicinity of the Palacio - the roads there are the shadiest and i really hope there'll be no more hacking down of old trees! Dili needs the fresh oxygen that they create! I heard from some colleagues that Dili also was greener during Indonesian times and also cleaner - on fridays there used to be mass cleaning up of public areas.... now, sometimes at night, i have seen people lobbing off old trees possibly to burn for firewood! sigh.......

Goodbye Mister!

It's happened.

Hello Mister is now Goodbye Mister. 'Passed by the place this morning and saw a bulldozer perched (precariously) atop a mound of debris; it was chomping hungrily away at the ugly bare concrete walls of the building. Workmen had put up a barricade that spilled onto the road in case pieces flew off - i was quite nervous that we might have a piece of Hello Mister 'souvenir' on our car roof as we waited to cross the busy cross-junction. Cos who could we sue for repairs??? No such thing in Timor -just your luck if anything like that happens! There has been a green zinc wall put up around the building for at least 2 weeks now so i guess today's demolition was inevitable. I wonder if it will really be transformed into that ultramodern 10-storey building, the drawing of which was recently circulated on the net? We shall wait with bated breath! It is heartening to see that things are moving on in this city, and that this was finally making way for something new - kinda shows that people are having faith again in investing here. And so, as our car finally rolled by (the jam was bad this morning!) i said 'goodbye' to this crumbling shell that has somehow become a testament to Timor's shaky beginnings as an indie nation. Adios!

Update on HOPE

Little man hunting for fish in the Gleno river (July 2007)

Just dropped by Jeremy Ballagher's blog on HOPE orphanage and thought i should just add some photos and updates. The last time i was there was in July and already saw good many changes to the orphanage. The boys were building a fence for the vegetable plot; the kitchen has been cleaned up especially the messy reading corner that used to have a dinghy mattress where the kids would plop down to play is now removed; and the big white freezer is storing food and is not opened during the day to keep the chill. Of course, more things can be done but now people like Shamim (who works with ANZ bank) are paying a lot more attention and assisting Isa to run the place better -bit by bit. A friend of ours who sold her car has also asked us to donate all the money to HOPE on a monthly basis. If you also wish to do so, you can do so with a standing order instruction from ANZ bank with HOPE's account number. (Enquire with Shamim, who is also going to ensure that all donor funds are accounted for.)

lost

Dear Y,

I found out from the news last night why that letter I sent 3 months ago never reached you - it (with its nice stamps and fancy paper) is still sitting here in Timor, along with thousands others, packed neatly in postal bags, stacked up to the ceiling in a room somewhere (i think at the Correios) waiting to be sent on a flight to you. My half-boiled Tetum deciphered the news story to be that the (previous) Government had not paid Merpati (that monopoly airline that flies to Indonesia) its fees for a long time and so thousands of letters now languish in a musty room waiting to be delivered to their right owners. Perhaps when the new government passes its budget and finally pays up, that now out-dated letter may finally arrive in your letter box. Meanwhile, I now understand why people pay through their noses to send things through DHL's 'express' service, even though a parcel can take days to reach Jakarta - apparently the parcels get sent from Bali to Singapore (its main centre) before they get sent back to Jakarta.

It may not make a lot of sense what they do at DHL, but hey, at least your parcel does reach its destination one day, instead of gathering dust here in Timor. I just hope that the delay has not caused you to worry too much. I thought this sculpture of two malnourished and severely underweight Timorese holding their heads in deep thought and worry may afford you some comfort that you are not alone.

Warmest regards,
Tumbleweeed

Woodwork @ Atauro

makhili wood sculptures
Originally uploaded by tumbleweeed

Most people return from Atauro with at least one piece of wooden sculpture made by the villagers of Makhili. There's a shop @ Tua Ko'in Eco Lodge that has the works of about 10 guys - you see the names of the artist on the price tag. Marcus (the younger guy) is the leader of the group and he said the lodge didn't charge them any commission for displaying their stuff there. He also goes to Dili regularly and you can commission works from them. Call him @ 7353578 but i think he speaks only Tetum and Bahasa Indo. Jill J. and 2 friends were also at the lodge same time as us. They went a-walking to Makhili directly, and came back by boat (~$25) armed with big sculptures that a man in his 40s said he'd carved when he was 17. So if you're up for a good 1.5 hour walk along the mangrove and rock beach, and then scrambling up a footpath, you can visit the village itself. Of course, you can always hire a boat to and from there. There're no good roads to Makhili.

It was my first time visiting Atauro - in my 2 years here! can't believe it but thks to S. who organised the trip, i finally set foot on the island. We hired the Island Lady for $520 round trip for 10 pax - fast ride - about 1.5 hours each way. Other alternatives are to either take the Nakroma (leaves Sat and Wed), or smaller fishing boats for a lower price but i guess being in my pregnant state i wasn't that keen on braving out on a small boat.....

And since 2005/2006 trip to Jaco, this is the first time i've felt like a camera-toting tourist (altho i was quite a lazy snapper compared to the rest!). It was nice to be away from Dili for 2 whole days - we had a wonderful sea front bungalow that was so breezy i was lulled into inactivity most of the time. A and I did walk to a beach (about 1 hour away) on Sunday and swam there - but it was a hot hot walk! The rest of the group took a fisherman's boat (Augusto ~$50 for about 2-3 hours) out to Akrema (the white sand beach) and another snorkelling spot. Their original boat failed to come at 8am cos the guy forgot it was Domingo and he had to go to mass, so Gabriella (from Eco Lodge) arranged Augusto to come instead. They left at 930am or so and came back ravenous at 120pm.

I didn't go, cos i had a slight back ache and then i remembered - how would I get back onto the boat AFTER snorkelling? Although there was a simple step ladder, even the non-pregnant ones said they had to heave themselves up. So luckily i didn't go - oh well, next time! - or else i might have had to hang on to the outrigger and 'ski' back! So although i didn't do the usual 'active' stuff i would normally have done - i do have a growing bump right in front! - it was a nice chilled out weekend for A. and I. He is always so busy and it was good to see him so relaxed and of course he took the opportunity to catch up on his sleep. Everyone was amazed how much he could sleep.

.........

On the last evening, J. led S. and Y. on a sunset yoga session on the beach. I did my prenatal moves (so easy!) and then snapped pictures of them. C. and E. played soccer with naked, sun-kissed kiddies, while A. of course slept. M. just hung out at our verandah too lazy to move anywhere else. Ah.......................the joys of doing nothingThis morning, we woke up at 5am to leave the island. Our lil boat came late - only at 630am to bring us back to the Island Lady....... now i am in my office, surviving on coffee and determination to stay awake for the rest of the day!

farewell COLD STORAGE

It's Kmanek Supermarket now - don't worry still the same nice owner! It's just that the name COLD STORAGE was causing some confusion back in Singapore where there's a huge supermarket chain by the same name. :-)Tomorrow i'm off to Atauro - finally! Please, let there be dolphins.......

"Timor Telecom warning message/ Price of recharge is printed in the card. Please do not pay more." This beeped into our cells at lunchtime today. For those still scratching their heads over why the message, it's because the pulsa sellers have been charging 25 to 75 cents more for every $5 recharge card they sell. Last night when we drove by Acait, the cards were going for $5.25, then at Audian it was $5.50. Today a colleague went around town and concluded that $5.25 was the lowest $5 card being sold, $5.75 being the highest! Thankfully, the price for the $10 are still the same. More than a year ago, I asked a pulsa vendor his profit on every phone card, i think it's 10 cents for every $15 card they sold so i can't imagine how much they can earn on a $5 card! No wonder these guys are upping the price, and obviously this has reached TT's ears. It's the same isn't it in Indonesia? The streetside pulsa vendors also charge extra. Actually, the same has already happened in Baucau and Lautem ( and perhaps other districts) when phonecards are more difficult to come by. Now, this price hike on the $5 card seems to have become a consensus across Dili, so how can we "not pay more?" Only 1 choice, buy a $10 card. But if you only have so few dollars in your pocket, you just have no choice but to concede another $0.25 to the vendor or spend $0.20 travelling to TT's office to get the originally-priced cards.

ramblings.....of olympics and futebol

Nothing much spectacular has occurred over the week, although we have received continued reports of sporadic incidents in Dili and in districts, including a 100-men stone throwing activity over the Comoro River last Friday...wished i was there to witness the warriors...

Do you think that if they included stonethrowing or hurling as an Olympics item, Timor-Leste might just win? Or if there was a 'primitive, self-made' weaponry category, our rama ambons, darts, and slings might stand a chance of getting top spots? Or would the headhunters still living in the forests of Sabah/Sarawak and other more isolated regions triumph? Anyways, our car got a small dint on Saturday night and that does suck. Luckily it's a small scratch but still it means some dough to fix it so it won't rust.

Anyways, just thinking of the Olympics is getting me excited. Already some of my journo friends are heading to Beijing to stake out their turf, and developing their contacts for Olympics reporting.... Ahh... my envy turns me greeen....Also, those working in spinning PR stories have moved their HQ to Beijing to ride onto the press wave. I wonder what Timor's plans are? So dear Mr Olimpio (even your name bodes well!) Branco - if you see this blog, can u hire me to cover our atheletes in Beijing? I am fluent in Mandarin, and English and can speak a smattering of Tetum!

Speaking of sports, kudos once again to Joao 'Choque' Becora for the series of football matches he and his guys have organised. From now till the end of October, matches are played in Becora every Friday, Saturday and Sunday amongst 14 clubs from various bairros, including Bairro Pite, Kampong Alor, Surik Mas and of course Becora. It's nice to see the young boys and men trooping out in their colourful uniforms, clutching their footballs, instead of machetes, and united in sporting spirit instead of gang bravado. Choque's even got young boys on the organising committees so as to get them to learn how to organise and plan these events. So well done! Timor needs many more guys like him, but of course, we all know, Choque also has his formidable reputation behind him that earns him much respect and perhaps fear (?) so people won't really mess with him. Interesting guy he is... multi-layered for sure....

Have a safe, stone-free week ahead folks.............

it starts from now.....

Local wisdom here dictates that pregnant women 'lao barak' or walk a lot. it is actually very sound advice as lots of walking increases stamina, and also widens the birth canal to make birthing easier. G (who was very petite) walked so much that three times her babies just came out so easily despite her small frame. She said she used to scare the guards at Palacio do Governo whenever she ran up the stairs while being heavily pregnant. She was THAT active till her delivery. I also often spot pregnant women walking up and down the beach front.

Being pregnant here also meant that i have had to take more initiative to find out more about prenatal preparations. One of the first things i got online was a Shiva Rea Prenatal Yoga DVD. It has been a great investment - since it shows how a woman in the various stages of pregnancy can modify her poses for a safer, more comfortable workout. The music is also very soothing, and really calms me down after a day's work. The poses are also very simple, with a lot of emphasis on squats, pelvic rotation, kegels, pelvic tilts - all the exercises that are useful in expanding the birth canal, firming the muscles that will be used in birthing, and strengthening the pelvic floor. I find that even when i'm outside like at the office, i can use some of the poses to stretch myself, and ease my back. The only downside is that this is something i do ALONE. I wish there was a prenatal yoga class for preggers! At least it would be fun to mingle and see other bigbelliedmums. I have stopped attending the regular yoga classes also because i know i am no longer able to hold the poses without assistance such as a chair, or a strap. And like i said, the DVD is great!

I just read in TIME magazine too that prenatal belly dancing is hotting up. I wish i had ordered that one too from Amazon! I can imagine how fun belly dancing is, especially with my bump. but then again, what fun can belly dancing be when it's all done alone? yoga is one thing, but dancing is a social activity! it would be strange to be jiggling on my own to exotic music.....

also, without the privilege of joining prenatal classes back home, i've been reading up voraciously about pregnancy. my 'bible' "what to expect when expecting" is well-thumbed now, also "pregnancy week by week", and "praying for your unborn child" - these are all great resources.

Recently i brought back "Hypnobirthing - the Mongan method" to begin some self study on hynobirthing because i've read a lot about this online but won't have the chance to attend classes. I really can embrace the philosophy of birthing without fear- the gist is that if a woman goes into childbirth having all kinds of morbid thoughts and fears (from past experience, or stories from mother and friends), her body inadvertently seizes up, her mouth clams up, leading to her uterus also becoming rigid. Once that happens, the body simply is unable to react to its natural signals to birth the baby. Hypnosis is also not the kind of abracadabra we see on tv. This is simply learning methods of deep relaxation to control the mind so as to block the hormones that send fear and pain to our brain. Instead, the mind calms the body down, to a state of stillness and awareness. So, ultimately Hypnobirthers don't feel pain but pressure and therefore don't need EPIDURAL. This is the ideal state of course. and i agree completely that for this ultimate state to be reached, mothers have to be hardworking and practise, practise, practise those exercises - otherwise, come birthtime, it will be a painful surprise! I'm still not sure if i am up to 'it' but i'm beginning to practise the relaxation and visualisation techniques. I am beginning to see how if we kick and scream through our delivery, surely the baby would be affected? I mean, the baby's hearing is well-developed by 5th month, so surely they can hear our agony and feel so scared and refuse to come out to that horrible noisy world out there? Once again, the book encourages mothers to do plenty of exercises - which are all COVERED in the prenatal yoga dvd! Above all, in more modern birthing philosophies, what's being encouraged is for mothers and fathers to be CURIOUS, to take an active role in preparing for childbirth by finding out more instead of simply listening to what the medical caregiver has to say. I agree with that!

Last word - i think asian moms have an advantage in natural birthing because (at least for the present and older generations), they grew up in a world of squat toilets, were used to sitting on the floors cross-legged, and are generally more pliant than bigger caucasian women. I can personally attest to this when you see the asian women contorting with ease during yoga lessons! so viva, squat toilets which have such a big role to play in strengtheing the thighs and pelvic floor muscles!

axed

.
'koko baliu'
Originally uploaded by tumbleweeed
Saw this fish as i was passing by the bridge back from Metiaut to Dili central. SB said it was a Mahi Mahi (cos he lived four years in Hawaii and absolutely loved sashimi mahi mahi and had a japanese gf (then) to boot). For the locals, this is called the 'koko baliu' or 'axe fish' because of the shape of the head

Earlier at the despedida for SM, Maun Toi also bought a big load of 'samber' fish which look like miniature swordfishes cos of the long whatmachacallit (spike? pointy thing?) but they did have a cute little red tip at the end. I only thought it was a pity that so many were females, packed with roe that the Timorese wolfed down delightfully. I wonder where the males were! not a single one i ate was a male fish. anyways, it was a nice saturday out - blue sky, blue sea, and lots of fish!

poxed out

Silence for the past 3 weeks can be attributed to a sudden bout of chicken pox that reared its ugly beak out from nowhere. One day I was painting kiddy murals at a child-friendly police unit, the next day I was spotty all over. No fever, no nothing; just blisters all over the torso. I was terrified initially wondering the effect it would have on bebe, but thankfully, I was past the first trimester and not near delivery so bebe’s safe from infection. I saw my gynae in the carpark of the National Hospital cos she was afraid I would spread the pox to other preggers so there I was sitting in the car, she came over took one look and said “yep, you got the pox.” She gave me some medicine to make sure I don’t progress to pneumonia as adult chicken pox is more dangerous. Everyone who found out I had the pox asked why I was such a late ‘bloomer’ but when my sis had it when she was in high school my mom did everything she could to infect me but I caught nothing. So I kinda presumed I was immune, till now. Well, better now than later. I heard that the later you get it, the more blisters you get inside you, like in all your orifices. Yucks.

So I spent the next 2 weeks grounded at home, watching every DVD I could scrounge from dark, dusty corners of my apartment. I even watched old movies like “300 Spartans” and learnt some ancient history; Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” also provided me with 3 hours of somnambulistic activity. I also took out some unread/half read books and finished up Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain (finally after a year), and Sister Catherine Emmerich’s Dolorous Passion which inspired Mel Gibson to make the film ‘Passion of the Christ’. I guess I have the pox to thank otherwise these tomes would still be gathering dust. I only wished I had internet access so I could have submitted my Masters’ assignment on time because I was feeling oh ‘so fine’ by the 3rd day of my pox. Sadly, I had to ask A to write to my professor and drop out of the semester cos there was no way I could have sneaked into an internet café without setting off the pox alarm. Dang! But thankfully Deakin U pitied me and agreed to let me drop out with a full waiver of my fees! Thank you Deakin!

This encounter with the pox also gave me new found knowledge in combating it in Timorese ways. From eating copious amounts of green papayas, to bathing in ai-dois and lemon leaves, as well as peanut shells - all of which I didn’t do. I just drank lots of water and orange juice everyday. Thankfully I didn’t even need to battle with the legendary pox itches. I did heed my own culture’s taboo on eating chicken, prawns and anything too ‘heaty’ but couldn’t overdo it cos they say if you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be too ‘cool’ as it’s not good for bebe. Anyways, it’s all over now. I did a detailed fetal scan when I returned home for a week, and all is fine! PHEW!

primitive methods

baby scan - 8 aug 07
Originally uploaded by tumbleweeed

The USG machine at Dili national doesn't print, and the one in the UN clinic doesn't have proper paper so in order to capture a shot of my baby, i had to use a digi camera to snap it.

This is actually the best shot so if you're familiar with ultrasounds, you can probably spot the baby's head and body lying on its back, with baby's left profile to us. it's no biggie not to get a sophisticated printout - i'd rather have it this way because back home when a sonographer did my scan, she was really impersonal and professional, delivering a very cookie cutter kind of service. The sonographer probably had a long line of preggy women waiting and was just keen to get the best 'shot'(afterall we paid a lot of $ for the scan!)and move on to the next woman. I, and other women emerged from the room, with a piece of paper in their hands looking excitedly at it, and with a look of puzzlement (what is that blob there?)

Here in Dili, the 2 doctors i've been seeing are the most patient gynaes who take the time to explain everything you see on the screen, and actually delighting in your experience with you. Yesterday, I saw the umbilical cord, and we played with the baby for a while to get baby to move his hands away from his face, and searched for all his fingers and toes, and made sure his kidney and bladder were functioning. The new sonographer from Ethiopia was also so delighted to see the baby, so it was truly a wonderful ultrasound session with 2 genuinely warm-hearted professionals.

quick updates

not much time to write longer since been urged to leave home early tonight.
more troubles expected tonight, and especially tomorrow morning when X's government is sworn in at Lahane Presidential Palace at 10am. But compared to large scale disturbances in april 06 or feb 07, the incidents last night were sporadic and not on a large scale.

of greatest suspicion was the burning of the Customs building...apparently it was literally an 'inside' job cos the burning started from the inside, i.e. not from an attack from outside like petrol bombs hurled in. so go figure... talk on the streets, the next buildings to be targetted would be the Ministry of FInance and Planning, and the minsitry for natural resources. all these apparently are under corruption scrutiny, so perhaps this is a good chance to 'clean' the slate under the pretense of troubles in dili. how convenient. of course, it's easy for a blogger to write these cos it's all talk on the ground, and probably will never be confirmed by anyone else. anyways, my guess is as good as yours.

let's see what tomorrow's swearing in at Lahane will bring.

another day....

the signs of trouble began late afternoon Monday after Ramos-Horta made his live speech on radio announcing that X would be PM. Disturbances began in spots around Dili, including Colmera, audian, santa cruz... it became so random that we received sms and radio instructions that there were trouble spots all over Dili and simply to avoid movement. But i still managed to get home safely to Becora without seeing any trouble. A friend went home to Colmera to find the building behind his compound on fire, and everyone had to chip in to put out the fire that was threatening to engulf their place too. The bombeiros came after some time, probably strapped down with fires happening elsewhere. The choppers began flying overhead.... but once i was in Becora, i really didn't hear anything else.. the radio calls fell silent for a while too...

this morning i went to work via the usual route and did not notice anything amiss along Bidau, and Mercado Lama. Oblivious to the fact that just a parallel street away in Akadirihun, there were stoning and burnings. Over in Comoro, an office car that had attempted to bring a colleague to the airport returned; defeated from its battle against the rocks, it bore the wounds of a shattered windshield, broken windows, dented sides, and even a big rock left behind as a souvenir. The driver was badly shaken, having had to brave through the crazy airport circle with his head down most of the way. Another colleague who had hopped into the car hoping for shelter, had a scrapped arm and glass bits in her curly hair.

A friend said he was warned to return home to change from his UN shirt and cap, and the word on the street is that UN vehicles are being targetted. This ain't a good sign, huh?

If Fretilin truly has the future of this nation in mind, its leaders should have called strongly for restraint in its press conference yesterday. now, IDPs in some camps have really turned violent, and there are even threats to burn the airport. Sigh.... a busy day it will be for all the international forces and UNPOL here. And this is just in Dili, apparently there's also trouble in Baucau, and Metinaro. What can one say? Just pray for the best.

trouble ?

There's been news that the official govt will be announced at 3pm today, and that it'll likely be the alliance led by CNRT that will take office. The news is sending some shivers down the spine of possible repercussions from Fretilin militants. Already last night there was trouble at Bidau which was apparently linked to the lynching of CNRT supporters. Nothing is really confirmed right now. it's all talk on the streets. I'd presume all the ISF and UNPOL are on extra alert especially in the eastern districts for possible trouble.

dili uni students

Last Friday night, i was pleasantly surprised to see on TVTL a new story about a group of protesting uni students who were in TVTL's compound accusing it of biased coverage. firstly, was very glad that finally people were brave enough to state the obvious - cos it's always been kinda a known fact that TVTL is pro-XXXXXXXX but people never came out to say it for fear of offending the powers to be so it was refreshing to hear the uni students openly accusing TVTL of reporting for one party. They shouted "tvtl is ours, it belongs to the public". Second, it was also nice to see the RTTL board president having a dialogue with them, although his response to the accusation was rather to be expected "we don't cover just only one party". to be fair, the TVTL team did a great job during the recent elections, busting their asses to bring in stories from all districts while the presidential and party campaignings were going on. So kudos to TVTL for bravely confronting the students and running a news story too on it. But of course, the news media in general have to improve in terms of their ethical standards. i still remember how TVTL broadcast Mr Alkatiri's speech in Metianro ad verbatim causing immediate chaos in Dili that very night. Also, STL's often exaggerated and deepy inaccurate headlines, and fabricated news! Sigh....... somehow it is stil the most widely read newspaper in the country! perhaps people prefer news with lots of salt and pepper thrown in!

confinement

Every Asian woman knows wat is 'confinement' - the 30-40 days of staying at home after delivery for all kinds of mythological reasons. Even though we're in the 21st century, at the back of our modern minds there still lay the belief (albeit with loads of skepticism) in some of these old wives tales.

Although few women completely follow the whole regime of not bathing for the entire month, most women i believe still tend to adhere to some practices, of course, imposed by their well-meaning mothers and mother-in-laws. Tales abound of older women relating to young women "when i was your age, i didn't believe but then i got rheumatism etc etc etc so you should make sure... blah blah blah."

Today i had an interesting conversation with a timorese woman who enlightened me on the local practices which i found very similar to what we have back home. For one, the jamu lady who comes to your home to massage and then bind you up tightly, leaving you in an oily state of discomfort for a day so as to encourage the shrinking of the uterus and the reduction of the stomach flabbiness. Also, the belief of 'tama anin' so baths (if any) are only taken hot, and hair is seldom wet or must be dried immediately. But one practice that i've never heard of is that a mixture of aimanas ai-leten (chillis) pounded with rice are rubbed onto the forehead, stomach and arms to again facilitate the shrinking of the ovaries and uterus. She said that when she was in Australia in the hospital, she saw a malae deliver a baby, and immediately drank a flask of ice cold water and go for a smoke! she was worried sick for the malae, thinking "oh my gosh, this woman's going to die!"

yES, ICE cold water seems anathema to pregnancy in most asian cultures. i can't resist cold water though. it's just simply toooo HOT somedays here and the icy delight that travels down the parched throat is heavenly. the chinese believe that a cold uterus will cause a woman to have stomach cramps and a weak reproductive system so the advice is to always drink room temperature or hot water. for the timorese apparently, a friend told me, "you should drink hot water to make your baby sweat so it isn't so big! if you drink ice water like i did, your baby will be so big like mine! 4.5kg!" haha, that was rather amusing to hear. i never heard of 'sweating' your baby before.

but as i said before, somewhere lurking in my modern mind is a capacity to take in these old wives mambo jambo. so unconsciously i have been reducing my ICE cold water, and drinking more boring, tepid room-temperature water. but how can orange juice taste good other than COLD?! I wonder if i will stick to the entire confinement regime. Apparently you're not even allowed to use A/C! la hetan boy! if i become a sticky mess and feel like there're a million kutus in my head, i'm heading for the shower! maybe i'll last only 1 day. hay hay.

Addendum: just remembered that i was also told that the timorese use green betel nut (buah malus) and betel leaves to make a poultice for the sore perineum for the new mother! i guess, it's a much cheaper option than bottom sprays and cold balms in fancy jars and bottles! but will i try it? errr.... NO!

piganosaurus in Liquidoe!

Spotted - upright piganosaurus served for lunch in windy Liquidoe yesterday! there was also a chickenosaurus that was very quickly ripped apart by hungry guests but this dismal, malnourished piganosaurus was left, perched on its tripod stand, to be ridiculed, photographed and shunned. By the end of the lunch, when all plates were empty, it stood there, alone but already too late to be saved. My guess is that a hungry cook devised this bizarre display to put off any guest from displaying their primal and barbaric instincts to tear it apart with their teeth --- leaving it in its entirety for the kitchen to savour. Man.... i thought the Chinese roasted pig was bad enough but this one takes the cake! I did a poll back at the office, and only one guy from Semarang said he'd eaten a standing pig display before. WEIRD! Do you eat the head?

fuming

i got inspired to blog this after reading Rani's blog about people smoking in front of pregnant women in indonesia. It's the same here in Timor too. i am grateful that i work in a non-smoking office otherwise ..... hack hack hack.

But at restaurants or warungs or anywhere else, people just puff on their cigs whether or not there's a pregnant woman or children around. The worst was when i took the microlets and there happened to be a smoker onboard. I just had to pray hard that the person got off quickly. I guess most people are still not aware of the smoke's harmful effects. PLUS there're lots of Indonesians, Chinese and Europeans who come from smoking cultures where it's almost second nature, and it never occurs to them how their habits could affect others.

I once visited A's office and was APPALLED to enter a room that was filled with smoke, and there was a pregnant woman (her name is L) working inside. I was furious and told A that they should not be smoking with L around, and what's more they had closed up the room. I was really mad at what I saw. A said that he had tried telling the others but nobody heeded his words, and of course, L didn't protest. I told L, "Hey L, you have a right to tell them not to smoke." She looked and me, smiled and said " Yes mana." but probably she must have been thinking "Crazy malae, what rights do i have?"

I guess people from developed countries always say "you have this right, that right" - human rights, child rights, women's rights blah blah blah. I also told A that since he's trying to quit, he also has a RIGHT (there I go again)to tell others to smoke outside or at least ventilate the room. But the thing is, these Indo or Timorese guys, they like to smoke at their desks, with the cigarettes sitting in the ash tray just burning away.... Hey guys, there're more pleasant Aromatheraphy fragrances that can beat that horrible ashy smell! In fact, once A lent me his laptop and i nearly gagged cos the laptop was SMOKED - it smelt like a stale cigarette! yucks. A was also shy to tell others to smoke outside, i guess when there isn't a no-smoking culture, it's hard to suddenly change the rules overnight.

Even in Hotel Timor, if you're unlucky, you get a few tables of smokers congregating at the same time. I just make a quick exit when that happens. The coffee isn't worth my lungs getting BBQed slowly.

Why do people smoke? i guess it's really a difficult question to answer. They all seem to KNOW the bad effects of smoking but it simply doesn't deter them. Of course, here, life IS cheap because you only need $1 to burn your lungs with a pack of Marlboro, maybe $2 for something more high class (but equally effective). Back home, a pack costs at least $8US, which definitely makes people think twice before committing the act. Furthermore, many of the Ministers (and even Xanana) have cigarettes permanently attached to their mouths or hands. I went to Arsenio Bano's office before and phew... it was SMOKY! They also smoke on TV which i think isn't so nice as an example to the younger people. Of course, there're no "NO SMOKING" rules in the country, except for UN or some INGO offices that stipulate a no-smoking office environment. The best one is that children of ANY age can buy smokes so i have seen kiddies as young as six puffing away! (Same as drinking Tua, the local liquor! i saw a kid about 3 years old sipping away at Tua mutin!)

On the reverse, there are some countries that have really gone to the extreme. I saw a story about a town in California that has banned smoking completely in public. I think there's no need to become draconian over this. As long as people who smoke don't 'share' their harmfulness with others and don't impose it on others, i think they have the FREE CHOICE (human rights again!) to choose their lifestyle albeit a harmful one. But they must be given enough information to say YES or NO.

Similarly while we're in Timor, I think non-smokers need to stand up to say NO to second hand smoke. Yeah, i know it's easier said than done. Firstly, if i CHOOSE to take a microlet, i feel like i don't have the 'right' to tell the tiu or tia to stop smoking. It's just taken for granted just as you would expect someone to bring a chicken with him onto the microlet. ALso, the pregnant women themselves don't realise that it's harmful. I feel like an idiot sometimes telling my local colleagues what they should get angry about. So how? The non-smokers either have to accept it or walk away. I'm also not sure if i could ever lobby Hotel Timor to impose a smoking ban on its lounge. Will i get hate mail for this? So for now, i guess i just have to walk away or gently request someone near me to put down his/her smoke especially if we share the same table.

It takes guts to say NO in a smoking culture such as Timor's. 'think i'll wait till my bump gets bigger to have greater 'leverage' to appeal to the smoker's conscience.

Have a nice smokefree day and may your lungs stay pink!

mom's milk

it's early days yet to start thinking of breastfeeding but i am. it seems that many women, no matter what country they come from, are pressured to think that their milk is 'not good enough' due to the success of milk powder companies' aggressive marketing. back home, you can see ads that promise to make your child, 'smart' 'intelligient' with DHA, folic, etc etc etc. the pictures they use have babies with graduation hats on their cute little heads, the babies that drink milk powder can read faster.

Relentless advertising have brainwashed women to believe that their milk is inferior!

the surprising fact is that often times it is women who discourage other women from breastfeeding. i remember a friend of mine who was determined to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months back home. Exclusive breastfeeding is still not common back home so she met with so much resistance, a lot of it from her mother-in-law and mother who accused her of starving the baby. you see, in the beginning, the milk takes a while to come (plus problems like cracked nipples), so a new mother needs a strong support system to start nursing productively. the last thing a woman needs is accusing fingers pointed at her. oftentimes, new mothers cave in to such pressure and supplement with milk powder when their own, natural breast milk IS THE BEST!

i met a friend whose wife began feeding powdered milk in the baby's first month because that way the baby would sleep longer at night and she could get a rest. i was really shocked that the doctors had not dissuaded her. i guess, back home, knowledge of breastfeeding is still so limited. we're still in our mothers' generation which was completely brainwashed to spend on milk powder. even though we're more educated, many of us remain ignorant of the benefits of simple things like breastmilk. We tend to believe more 'scientific' sounding ads, perhaps because every parent secretly harbour a desire to create an Einstein.

Timorese women face a different set of problems. a woman at an IDP camp told me that while on the run she was eating supermie (instant noodles) every day so much so that the baby began to reject her milk. imagine that! so the poor woman had no choice but to turn to milk powder - nobody thought of using the money for milk powder to feed
the woman instead.

During the peak of the emergency, milk powder was given out by some NGOs with the genuine intention of feeding the children but there was potential disaster in such an action because once mothers stop breastfeeding, their milk run dry, and what will they do when the packets of free milk powder also runs out? each packet of SGM brand powder costs about $2 US dollars here - a price that few timorese can afford on a regular basis. it was a real dilemma. the only solution really is to feed the mothers with more nutritious food which is the most viable and sustainable long term solution.

When i approached a bunch of doctors (who embarrasingly came from my country)who also had a hand in distributing milk powder, they demonstrated utter ignorance in working in developing countries. they said "the milk boxes had instructions" yeah, but 27% of the population (15-24)are illiterate, they can't be expected to read instructions in Bahasa Indonesia or English. They said "we instructed them on how to prepare the milk" but how many households use 1) clean water 2) boiled water 3) sterilised bottles and 4) do not share bottles amongst children? We tried to explain that milk bottle feeding is one of the top causes for diarrhea that can kill Timorese children. We don't have those fancy "bottle sterilisers" that people in developed countries have. And getting anything sterilised means using up firewood and precious water. I really wanted to punch a doctor when he said "i really don't see what the fuss is all about over powder." WHAM! BANG! KAPUT!

so next time you see a woman breastfeeding, go up to her and give her some encouraging words! she needs it! WOMEN OF THE WORLD UNITE!

being preggers here

the facts are there - on average, each Timorese woman will give birth to 7 to 8 kids in her lifetime, and for every 100,000 live births, 420-800 women will die from childbirth. stark huh? recently a visitor remarked that she'd not seen so many children in other countries and it struck me that being here for the past 2 years might have desensitised me to the high birth and mortality rates here. and it's really a common sight to see pregnant timorese women on the streets, carrying one on her hips, holding on to a third, with a fourth trailing behind.

i realise that nothing beats experiencing something for yourself. Hence, many weeks back when i first saw the single blue strip on the test strip, i was inducted into Pregnancy 101 in Timor-Leste. Suffice to say, my first thoughts were filled with apprehension. I couldn't just leave my job and go, so being here for at least till the 8th month will be a reality. But i knew nothing about being pregnant here - except for the horror stories i've heard about misdiagnosis or lack of detection that led to horrible, painful and unneccessary deaths for women here. SO i trooped over a friend who had also been pregnant here (until just before delivery)most parts of it was during the emergency period. She was real cool about it, so she really gave me confidence in doing this. BJ recommended me a doctor from UNFPA who's based in Dili national hospital. Dr J was really nice even on the sms. I was able to call and book an appointment. Before Dr J, i had actually called a Chinese doctor (also at Dili national) but she just told me to come whenever and see if she's at the ultrasound room, which was rather unfriendly. Anyways, at the 7th week, A and I went down to the hospital, located the USG room, and politely waited outside. Along with us were a few heavily pregnant Timorese women, all holding some documents in their hands, while there i was, the malae, with a bad flu, holding on to a bottle of water. Because of my 'appointment' i managed to see Dr J without much waiting (yes yes i should be ashamed!). I hopped onto the bed and Dr J placed the scanner on my belly and voila! we saw the rice grain (1.1cm) that was to be the baby! It was really exciting to really SEE the little one even though it resembled food more than human. Dr J then took my blood pressure and weight and i went to collect my folate tablets from the pharmacy.

A few weeks later i had the time to speed home for a quick checkup. At the hospital, the nurse asked "did you do an ultrasound scan before?"
"Yes" i replied.
"So where's the picture?"
"what picture"
"You know the picture you get after the scan."
PAUSE
"Oh.....where i was, the machine can't print pictures."
"Oh really?! where were you?"
"Timor-Leste"
PAUSE
SILENCE
Nurse quickly looks down and scribble something illegibly, possibly asking herself," where is that place?"

I met the gynae who ran all kinds of tests on me - the 'standard' prenatal tests in the 'developed' world which of course burnt a big hole in my pocket.Then he told me that every month there must be a blood test and urine test done to detect diabetes and other complications like pre-eclempsia.

A few weeks after returning to Dili, i saw another gynae (at the UN) who then performed more blood and urine tests and told me i had to take iron pills as well. But no weight and blood pressure was taken. Now, i find that in order to have a COMPLETELY thorough check, i need to see both the UN and the UNFPA doctors at two different locations.... i'm not complaining though, at least from that trip home, i now realise what are the tests that should be done, and of course the web has been uber useful. Plus i am reading the pregnancy bible "WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN EXPECTING" which has all sorts of most helpful tips.

JUst yesterday, i spoke to a local colleague who's 4 weeks ahead of me. She only realised she was pregnant at 3 months! GOSH! And when i asked if she was getting any blood and urine tests done, she said never! so perhaps that's why there have been cases of women here dying from pre-eclempsia that had worsened to eclempsia because their blood pressure or other signs was never monitored! my colleague also didn't know about gestational diabetes.. she also has an aching back because nobody told her she should be sleeping on her side by now...

i don't know... i really wonder how many other less educated women were struggling with their pregnancies (without ample information)while having to continue to work in the fields right up to term. I am no way near to their plight. I don't have to chase after 5 other kids, or rush home to cook for my husband, but just in dealing with the limited resources here has given me a little insight into their situation. imagine that most women still never visit a health facility or have access to a mid wife. most just rely on their mothers, aunts, or other villagers to give them advice (good or bad). I met a woman in Mehara (near to Tutuala) who said she delivered all her 8 babies at home - in fact, she even delivered her last one WITHOUT any help. IMAGINE THAT! i feel like an absolute wimp in contrast to these women.

my hubby A says because i read too much, i could end up being a worrywart. but to me, knowledge is power. at least i can question the doctors or be aware of what could possibly happen. through the readings, i've also developed a new sense of admiration for the women of timor who labour alone, or deliver in less than sanitary conditions. only 24% of the women here deliver with the help of a skilled birth attendant! so, many times, babies may die, for instance from neonatal tetanus (due to dirty blades from cutting the umbilical cord) and parents here have no idea why.

Also back home, a new trend of natural drug-free delivery is rearing its head. new age moms are rejecting epidural, preferring to 'go back to nature' during delivery. This is really a return to the roots by choice! It just seems to me that while timorese women are stoically bearing their pain (which they take as inevitable, no other option), women from developed nations are choosing to have the pain for more esoteric reasons - like a lifestyle. do you get what i mean?

anyways, it's time to end here for now. i could go on......... but yeah, my hat off to all the timorese women!

right to make mistakes

while i am tickled by the posters of Xanana and high rise buildings and rockets, i am also aware that it is perhaps (?) the first time these 'visions' of modernity are being so proudly displayed and 'dreamed' about. Of course, many of us have also seen the shocking vision of the Kuwaiti-inspired resort at Cristo Rei. while i certainly do not like the coffin-like resort homes, i also think that every country deserves the equal chance of making some developmental faux pas. It's like growing up as a kid. If your parents never wanted you to have scabby knees, they probably put you on a leash and forbade you to run (and think and develop). But i think, falling down, bleeding and getting a scab is all part of growing up. those scabs (some of which still remain faintly on my knees) remind me of my adventurous childhood when i clambered up a tree, or tried to shave my chin (like my uncle did!) so if every other 'developed' nation is to tell timor-leste what NOT to do, i wonder if there really is something that is the only RIGHT thing to do.

i don't know....

sometimes i think it's not fair for developed nations to tell developing nations NOT to have high-rises (cos they're ugly) but to keep to quaint, low-rise architecture to preserve the rustic feel. I would agree if the country does have very unique architectural styles for example Tibetan motifs in the pillars and thresholds that could be integrated into modern living. But as each nation develops (in the conventional meaning), there will be demands for higher density living and work life. Yes, office buildings can be ugly but a mixture of both can be an interesting mix. take London's Harrods for example, they used a real old colonial building and converted the inside to become a modern mall. But really, wat's left to be preserved in Dili (that is of any aesthetic value) unfortunately are a handful of portuguese buildings such as the now decrepit Uma Fukun, the Sional (ex chinese consulate), and the building where portuguese wines are sold. There's also the chinese temple, and the Hindu temple (on the little hill at taibessi), and of course the catholic churches and the mosque. Oh, and the nice portuguese-inspired homes (but they are very stuffy and hot!). The ugly grey, cement blocks for commercial use are not worth keeping. That's MY opinion anyways.

If i'm sounding incoherent, forgive me. i'm incredibly sleepy right now. once when i was backpacking i met an Oz guy. I mentioned that i had been offered a volunteer position to be at a Laos TV station and he went livid and accused me of perpetuating the capitalist powers blah blah blah. I think it's very shallow for people to think like that. I told him that instead of seeing that way, why not see it as giving the Lao people more knowledge of TV technology so that they can use it in THEIR OWN way to value their own culture? It is UP TO THEM how they want to use the technology. This naive backpacker also said that Laos should just stay as it is, where he could sip a ice cold beer at the river and fish. People like that are SO REMOVED from reality. I told him that he was romanticising rural life because he is a backpacker with the moolah. I don't think women or children or men who struggle each day in the fields have the same thing to say about sipping ice cold beer by the river banks. Backpackers can up and go anytime they want, so they want to preserve the 'idllyic' countryside for their enjoyment. but think of those who have no opportunity to study and are relegated to a life of hard labour in the fields. Anyways, just because the developed world has had its chance at modernity, doesn't mean, the developing world should stay 'rustic' for our enjoyment. That's not fair.

I'm not saying that the developing world should steam ahead and kill trees, pollute the air etc. If there are good ideas for sustainable and ecologically sound development, go for it. But show me a country that hasn't made any developmental mistakes. Cest la vie!

most importantly, we should be hearing the voices of the civil society to indicate what they want. how do the citizens feel about development? what do THEY want? In Singapore, the country went through a mad phase of development, tearing down quaint old colonial shophouses. But eventually, the madness came to an end, and now there is an active conservation of notable buildings and institutions. Even the preservation of heritage trees! Beijing is also going that crazy bulldozer's path by destroying the 'hutongs' but we hope there will be some left when the leaders' craziness subside. Anyways, civil society , we have to hear your voices! Don't be surprised too that in the initial years, people do express a preference for high-rise Hello misters and coffin-like resorts...... cos many Timorese who have travelled abroad return starry-eyed about Bangkok, New York, Singapore and Japan....

i'm definitely sticking around to see how cristo rei turn out to be!

fila fali

back in action again after a hiatus.... lots has happened over the past 2 months! i am now timor feto foun having signed on the dotted line with my timor doben.....i am glad his sister got married before us because we had a real taste of a timorese wedding (read = real loud blasting music that shook our thin walls till the wee hours of the night; men getting drunk and refusing to leave; not being able to sleep all night because we had to stay up alert for any trouble)!!! so after that wedding, my doben and i put our foot down and insisted that we go home for our casamentu instead.........so yeah, we took off, with my new ah pa and ah ma, and had a rowdy time back home.....
been a crazy 2 months as i was also struggling to finish up my second paper for my first semester in Masters in Community Development at Deakin Uni..... everything just kinda got squashed together.........but finally.... 2 weeks ago i managed to scrap some things together that faintly resembled coherent papers and got through that.............
of course, our current preoccupation here in Dili has been the elections..... last night, there was shooting near the WFP compound ... apparently some people had provoked the FFDTL standing guard at the Timor Telecom compound and the troops fired some warning shoots that apparently hit close to an ISF post, causing some response from the ISF..... I didn't hear anything cos we live in Becora which is like another world......... but many of my colleagues did and got quite panicky........ no official response as to what really happened. Investigations are underway..
oh and while i was away, blogger actually thought my blog was a spam blog so i was blocked from posting..... now they officially realise there's a human behind this blog... guess i better continue blogging!
will try to write more again..............

Beauty

"Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is the greatest value in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:4

cristo rei sunset
Originally uploaded by tumbleweeed.

Zhong Di Petroleum

Update: Picture just added today when i drove past again (27/4/07)
A new petrol station is being constructed at lightning speed in Becora. 2 weeks ago... it was still a dull construction site, now there is a high roof and a bright red banner declaring that it is "Zhong Di Petrol" or something like that, along with huge Chinese characters. I was like 'whoaaa' when i passed it a few days ago because it was like a piece of China had been transplanted here. You see signs and slogans on walls in China everywhere proclaiming virtues that everyone should practise... for me, the bright red banner at the petrol station jogged those memories.It's not bad though. I mean, they are investing money here.... and look at the gi-mongous complex they are building for the Foreign Affairs Ministry... i'll be curious to see how the Chinese embassy will look like once they start building.. the plot of land for the embassy has long been cleared up, the crumbling houses knocked over, and the area fenced up .... but nothing's been moving for months... considering the speed of Chinese workers, i'm guessing they might be having some land issues which is stopping them from starting... anyways, let's see...

Update: Thanks FOS for the insight on why the Embassy hasn't broken ground yet... and you know, sometimes i do feel like a tumbleweeK...my weeks tumble so fast....

Hope

It's been maybe a year (?) since i last wrote about Hope Family Orphanage up in Gleno. I was lucky enough to catch a ride up with some friends there last weekend to visit the kids there. Isa Brabridge is now back up there, permanently, to run the orphanage so i am glad. The kids really went through a tough time during the political turmoil and it was a struggle to feed them. There are three more boys now, one of them was so bright, and he showed me his arm which was broken before but never treated so there is weird nub poking out of his forearm.

i have to thank Clarence from Cold Storage who was so generous. When we went to his store on Sat morning to buy frozen food and biscuits for the children, he saw us, and without hesitation piled our car full of food.... the list:

(photo by S.Somphone)

46 kilos of potatoes (just arrived in container)
2 big cases of frozen whole fish
2 big cases of canned pineapples
360 eggs (!!!! one for each kid for about 10 days!)
at least 10 boxes of Kit Kat chocolates and sweets

The kids were of course over the moon.......... usually when we visit them, their fridge is empty so we always make it a point to stock it up. Alas, i don't drive if not, i would drive up every saturday! it's only a cooling 1.5-2 hours drive up!

The kids also rely on some vegetables they grow on their land. Some people helped to build a chicken coop but there are only 2 chickens now... so it is a reality that they do need help. I think i will buy fish next time cos they hardly ever get to taste fish.

Come to think about it, Hope is already considered a 'luckier' orphanage cos of Isa's australian connections. So can you imagine the countless 'nameless' more unknown orphanages out there? If you have info on them, i would like to post it on my blog.

(photo by S.Somphone)
Anyways, here's a photo of a kid doing a head dunk in the river. It's always my favourite spot for a stroll when i visit. The kids jsut absolutely lurrrrve getting soaked and to 'body-surf' the river, although some had difficulty keeping their (elastic-none-existent) pants on!

los - ba - los

during my 3 days away in Los Palos i asked people if they knew why the district was named as such. In old spanish (according to a colleague), it means 'the trees'. My explanation is that since LP has so much flat land, its name originated from people saying 'los ba los' (straight, go straight).... but a local said it might be because in Fatuluku, Los Pala means farmer..... It was my first time to LP and i was indeed blown away by the expanse of flat lands that reminded me a little of the plains in Tibet... especially with the cows dotting the plains... (except in tibet, it was the yaks). the cowboys herding the cows across and the lazy water buffaloes chilling out in water holes... i saw a colleague's father's house plonk right in the middle of a field like a house on a prairie... ah.... KAPAAS!

we took a small dirt road to a health centre in mehara and the view was really stunning along the way. on our right, was a long chain of mountains, capped with mist, and in front of it, the lake that's said to be a proposed site for electricity in the future. We passed by a small village called Sabaleta (according to the driver) and he said there was an old man (katuas) who once hid Xanana in a basket and piled lots of kang kong and aifarina leaves on top and carried Xanana to safety, even when he was stopped by the indonesian troops. Apparently this katuas is still living in the village! Unfortunately we didn't have the time to stop to visit this old man....


Along the way too, we saw many bibi malaes, especially in Laga... i never noticed these bibi malaes until the driver pointed them out. they are actually sheep! not goats. the bibi timor are the goats, while bibi malaes are sheep with very little wool.. the locals joked that the bibi malaes 'beik teen' (so stupid) because they don't know how to get out of the way of cars while bibi timor will run away.. but they also said that because bibi timor have horns and fight a lot, they are like timorese - very violent and love fighting while the malaes are stupider but peace loving (**Guffaw***) .... also, karau indonesia (cows) are red.... and fahi (pig) macau are supposedly gigantic.. i saw one that had huge huge ears but the timorese family i stay with say they can be as tall as a small adult timorese! i can't believe it and if i do, i will definitely snap a picture as evidence!

Ok, mak ne'e deit... now, i'm so busy clearing up my backlog of work after being away for 3 days only...............help...............

so near yet so far away

i visited a village yesterday only about 20 minutes drive from Dili centre - in fact, the village is still part of sub-district Cristo rei. Once again, while traversing the rocky paths, i awed at the lush green landscape that greeted me - a sight that we have privilege of for only a few months each year before the dry season sucks the moisture out and turns the mountains brown. The air was clean and fresh, it was like water hung on the leaves, the trees, in the air... really cooling and refreshing. The view that greeted us as we climbed higher and higher in the 4WD was also breathtaking.

At one point, we arrived at a spot where a few shacks had been built along a narrow rock path. On the right was the moon crescent lagoon of Cristo Rei's white sands, on the left, you could see the entire Dili city - most prominent of all, the Comarca or Becora Prison. A wonderful view, almost paradise-like. It's easy to become lost in romantic thoughts and envy the people who call this prime estate their home.

Except - the villagers have no water and have to walk hours each day just to have enough water to cook the rice, and prepare food, never mind hand-washing, and bathing.

Except - the villager have no electricity, and by 7pm, only tiny candles will light up the village - we Dili residents have all seen the mountains twinkle at night - this is them.

Except - they have no clinic there, they have to walk hours to see a doctor but who has time? So much time is already spent on fetching water, minding the children, and tending the land. There is a reason why the National hospital has earned the moniker - passage to heaven - most people arrive already at the brink of death.

At this spot up in the mountain, a curious bunch of kids gathered as usual to view the strange 'malae'. Amongst them, a little girl who was completely naked. She could be 2? i don't know. she had a large bloated stomach, but she didn't look very skinny. I clapped my hands to test her reflexes and played a game of hide and seek. Her eyes were not bright, but she did respond to my games and had the energy to run around to play catch. Will she go to school? Will she see a doctor? Will she be dewormed? Thousands of children like her live across the 13 districts in TL. I guess, she left such a deep impression because she was so near, yet so far away from better health.

People sitting in their air conditioned offices have no excuse saying they have no time to visit the districts to understand local conditions - you only need 20 minutes to see it for yourself. 20 minutes to get a reality check. 20 minutes to remind yourself that this girl is a human with dignity, and not a statistic and should not become one.

Finally!

Ok, so i've finally changed the look of my blog and waved goodbye to the old cos i gave up trying to figure out (using html)how to add links to it - have procrastinated for nearly 2 years! yeah, so now i've finally added links to blogs that i've been reading so if you know of any other good blogs especially those focused on Timor, let me know! Adios.

some results................

A table in today's edition of Suara Timor Lorosae showed the contenders and the positions they were in at midnight. If you look at the overall numbers, Ramos-Horta is in the running, with Lu'Olo trailing about 2000 votes behind, and then Lasama about 9000 votes behind Lu'olo. But this is a mix of final and provisional counts. If we only look at the final counts of Aileu, Ainaro, Covalima,Manatuto and Oecusse, the result is quite different. Xavier led in Aileu and Ainaro, while Lasama secured Covalima and Oecusse, and Horta only with Manatuto. The Timorese are keeping real close tabs on the results, with some even calling their friends in the districts to ascertain results. Lu'olo is winning big in predictable spots like Baucau, Lautem, and Viqueque altho the results are all provisional for these districts.

According to a friend, he thinks that if it comes down to a run off between Lu'Olo and Horta, Lu'Olo is likely to win as supporters for Lasama and Lucia Lobato may not feel inclined to vote for Horta. Particularly for Lasama supporters as they don't support Horta's pursuit of Alfredo Reinado. So this would be interesting to see whether the opposition collaborate or not, in order to install Ramos-Horta as president. If they are unable to coalesce, then Lu'olo is likely to win.

from the personal views i've gathered , votes for Lu'olo seem to be really sentimentally tied to the resistance years. Fretilin still evokes strong emotions and pride in the people. THe resistance years were a time when they stood united as a people. Also, the fact (often mentioned) that the broadcasting system here has not reached most parts of the country so those in the districts are unlikely to have seen what happened in Dili with their own eyes or heard with their own ears, in order to judge. Ramos-Horta's biggest win so far remains to be in Dili; in places like Ainaro and Ermera, he received less than 1000 votes each. It'll really interesting to see how this all pans out.

Remember in 2002 when people voted Fretilin and then were dismayed to find out that it chose Mari Alkatiri as the PM? I asked friends if this featured in their decision-making, i.e. if Lu'Olo (who is said to be credible, and independent thinker by some) is voted in as President, then when Fretilin wins, it is almost 99% that Alkatiri will be PM again. I asked, why not keep Lu'Olo for a parliamentary position where he can have more input to improving the leadership? Someone remarked that this is perhaps why Alkatiri is pushing so hard for Lu'Olo (his best competition) to be President (largely figure head) so that when Fretilin wins in parliamentary elections, he will likely be the PM again.

True or not?

timor's elections

Timor is in election fever!

last night, received an SMS "election results will be tabulated tonight at the Dili admin bldg 150 metres southof obrigado main gate. avoid the area"

before that: an sms about an attempted break in or counting disruption at Catholic Primary School in old Baucau at 7.25pm...

but so far no major incidents related to the elections which was good!

last evening, i watched the live press conference at the National Electoral Commission on TVTL and was first, very impressed by the fact that Fr Martinho was fielding questions and repeating his answers in FOUR languages: english, tetum, bahasa indonesia and portuguese. initially there were the mundane questions about the ballot papers since there was an earlier shortage of papers at certain polling stations. this was because the elections did not require people to vote at designated centres but they could vote ANYWHERE, and since it was the easter weekend, a lot of people had returned to their home districts, to their sukus which probably led to a surge in numbers at certain spots. Apparently the UN choppers flew out at 230pm to distribute the extra ballot papers to 11 districts but of course, with some spots so remote that required horses to access, the papers didn't get to a small number of stations. I heard Fr Martinho mention that the ballot papers didn't get there in time, and that they would review and see if the voting could resume today. not sure what's the latest on this.

the exciting part came after Anne Barker asked Fr Martinho about the rough estimates on the polls. He said something about receiving lots of smses and phone calls from the different parties from the districts and then (very surprisingly) went on to say 4 names, almost ranking them - Jose Ramos-Horta, Lu'Olo, Lasama and then something about Xavier having won in Hera (according to ASDT news). This caused quite a buzz in the room - even i could feel it sitting in my room watching! When pressed further by an avalanche of questions to clarify what he'd just said, I think the priest realised 'uh-oh, i think i said the wrong thing,' cos he sudddenly back-pedalled and said something like : oh i'm not saying anything or ranking anyone, i jsut said this is what i got from the smses and phone calls, it's not official, and i'm not saying anymore, or i will get into trouble, you can say who you like..... obviously that left a big question mark hovering over the reporters' heads .... bzzzzzz.....

anyways, it's been an exciting day of seeing timorese out there in action to cast their vote. even the avos, the pregnant women, the injured turned out to have a say. TVTL also made good effort to send news crews to cover the voting in Liquica, Manatuto, Baucau, Lautem, Covalima, Bobonaro, Dili, Aileu, and Ermera - and made it in time for the 8 o'clock news! kudos TVTL. good effort! Parabens ba TVTL!

"Baby seriously injured in attack on Fretilin rally"

it's real unfortunate that a baby got hurt last Thursday due to no fault of the babe... but i just wanted to say LOUDLY that

she would not have been hurt if she wasn't brought to the rally in the first place!

I'm so irritated with how children have been pulled into the rallies, made to wear the shirts of presidential candidates, holler slogans they may not understand, and in the process possibly get hurt. It's not a good way to introduce your children to the world: violence begets violence my dear inan aman sira out there.

Please, netizens, do your part, help to spread the word to the political parties, your friends, your neighbours to stop involving the children. Although it is their right to assemble, and have expression, we do know for sure that some children are forced to hold banners without anyone giving them information on WHY they need to do it. Of course, children love parties and gatherings, but if parents really care for their children and want to protect them, try to keep them away from rallies that can really turn violent.

I can't help but point out that Arsenio Bano who is spokesperson for Fretilin is also Minister for Labour and Communinity Re-insertion - the ministry that the Division of Social Services falls under - the division that is tasked to look out for the protection of children.

Vote ba Presidente!

Some pictures taken this morning as I passed by the Escola Duque de Caixas in Bemori. Orderly lines had formed and people were quietly and patiently waiting their turn to vote. The weather was still cool, and perhaps why tempers still cool. Only a few police officers were visible at the scene. A Timorese policeman told me he'd arrived at 4am while the first people arrived at 6am to queue up to vote. Inside, a few observers were taking notes as citizens went into individual booths made of cardboards)to make their secret vote before (coming out to cast into the ballot box. Children were excitedly waiting at the gates,
eager to see what was happening but a little too short to peer past the fences. Some other adults were also looking on from outside, not eager to join the long line, preferring to wait for a time when there would be fewer people although i'm not sure when that might be. Voting ends at 4pm! hope all will be peaceful.....

promete barak liu!

lots of promises have been spewing from the mouths of presidential candidates like water from an open spring - rather fresh and nice to hear,and perhaps even good for health cos it makes people hopeful but unlike fresh spring water, we're not sure if the words are REAL. it irks me to hear the candidates going around telling people what they will do once they are president when in actual fact, they can't do very much once voted in! but i think the realities are falling on deaf ears and people are really lapping up the promises like they were for real.

i visited the metinaro IDP camp yesterday. it's been a few months since i last visited and i was taken by the changes in the camp. there are now many more semi-permanent huts (thatched roofs and zinc walls) and fewer tents (apparently the emergency tents aren't meant to last beyond 6 months) and the whole area looked more spacious than before. This is my impression. the sad thing was that they are still displaced, but the good thing is they have taken action to make themselves slightly more comfortable than before. i saw a group of women (from really ferik to about 20 years old) attending an adult literacy class. it was really encouraging to see them participate and walk up eagerly and gingerly scrawl their names on the white board. these women have never been to school and learning just how to form the letters to their names is such a challenge but also an immensely pridely thing. one woman, her name is Maria (and she will be so thrilled i remember her name cos she kept testing me if i did), asked if i was going to the fretilin rally and went 'viva fretilin'. another old lady asked , "mana, mai escola bele simu osan?" haha. she was really so cheeky, testing if this malae would say, "ya, bele simu osan!" i said, "lae, la iha osan, bele mai escola diak ona!" hohoho...

anyways, my point is that the displaced people, especially those from the east (in fact i think the majority are easterners), are still very pro-fretilin. I spoke to a rather educated timorese and he said he'll still vote fretilin - NOT because of what it had failed to do in the past 5 years (if this was the point, he would not vote Fretilin) but because he did not know what other alternatives there were! he felt that the opposition has not been credible and this is really coming down to choosing which devils is the least harmful. rather choose 'the devil you know better or the devil you don't know at all'. i guess that's why Bush was re-elected. (*DOH*)

random observations

A priest made a funny comment last sunday in reference to the gospel reading about Jesus challenging the crowd that whoever has no sin may be the first to cast the stone on the adulterer. He remarked how it seems that Timorese youth must be really sinless since stone-throwing's been their modus operandi.

A friend who was depressed last week wanted to leave town...She remarked how according to UNPOL reports, Dili is 'calm' even though a person may have been killed the day before. And when people tell her, 'hey, there was violence in your neighbourhood last night huh?' she just shrugs her shoulders with indifference.I can totally understand because i try to compare Dili with afghanistan or iraq and tell myself that 'hey, we're ok' when really, one death is one too many. guess it's all about perspective.

many international journos and photogs have landed to chase the presidential campaign trail...as a former journo myself, i have to admit that deep inside each journo (and their editor) they must be waiting for something to 'blow' so their air tickets and expensive hotel stays are justified. hey, come on, it's the truth. no news is NOT good news for journos. hate to say it, but yeah, truth hurts.

little kids are being used to up the 'charm' appeal of presidential candidates. saw on newspaper and tv news how children were shouting slogans and then handed candies.ARggh! horrid.

some readers have asked if the logo i put up is bona fide and it is! go to this website to check www.mtrc.gov.tl and click onto the IDP return statistics and you will see in the PDF document that the new logo is being used now!

guns but no roses

i was aghast to see the new RDTL logo when it was circulated the other day... it now looks like this ...... the words at the bottom are 'UNITY, ACTION, PROGRESS' (my own translation) What do you think? i find it rather bloody with so much red on it, and it invokes a feel of violence instead of harmony... notice the kilat (weapon) prominently displayed at the bottom of the emblem? yikes...as if it's reminding people of the power of the state... Apparently, there hasn't been an official announcement (according to the locals) but the new design's been passed in Parliament. In fact, few people are aware of the change, and even the government's website still has the old logo, which looks like this. I still think the older one seems more friendly, the colours are 'softer', the fonts are more modern looking, and the weapons signify olden times (presumably of warriors and resistance but not modern machine guns like the new emblem), the words are 'HONOUR, COUNTRY and PEOPLE' (my own translation, apologies if wrong!). One thing though, is that the new emblem does have a book which probably signifies education. Still, i find the whole black, red and yellow colour scheme a little stark.. and i wonder if there'll ever be a formal announcement or has there already been one?

UPDATE: News Excerpt (translated) *Fretilin followers have a right to carry weapons: Jacob Fernandes (Suara Timor Loro Sa'e, March 21, 2007, Translated from Tetun)

Fretilin Central Committee member Jacob Fernandes said every party supporter had the right to carry weapons like knifes and machetes for use in self-defense in dangerous places on the outskirts of the city,where there was no police security.

Jacob was speaking to journalists yesterday at parliament house,referring to six Fretilin supporters from the Ermera district who are facing charges for possessing illegal home-made weapons.

Hau Fila Tia ONA!

Bon dia! Boa Tarde! Bon Noite! Tumbleweeeeed is back in action! Yahooooooo! Yeah, it's my first day back at work and i feel rather swept away by things that have changed. A colleague got married; two persons are pregnant; someone has quit the job; etc etc etc but sadly something has remained the same: my friend M is still an IDP in the Obrigado Barracks with her family.... but the brave woman is still a cheery face which just about shows the mettle in this Timorese people....
Strangely and thankfully, things have really been quiet.... (SHHH!)... must not jinx the current calm.... but you know, it's like the calm is a mist that's cooling us off, but we kinda know there's a ominously dark storm cloud rolling in from afar that will bring some major thunder and lightning... so it's an uneasy calm... Okay, that's all for today! just glad to finally be back after so a looong time away!

trouble in timor again

watching from the sidelines is horribly painful. to watch Timor slide back once again into chaos has been like observing a piece of bean curd slide slowly down a slanted plate, inching downwards, slowed only by its wetness, and then suddenly last night, that piece of curd gained momentum and hit the bottom with impact, shattering into million pieces of useless fluffy curd... sigh.... what's worse is when you're in the next room seeing all this and can't open the door to go in to put your hand out to save the fate of the curd... last night, the gunshots rang out once again, not just in Same where a fierce battle is said to have occurred to bring in Alfredo, but also in several neighbourhoods in Dili. Friends tell me it was like April 2006 again.. with gunfire puncturing the night from 11pm till 5am Sunday... once again, Dili was dead town apparently from what i hear... everyone's lying low, and of course the rumour circuit must be working overtime with so little access to good information. OZ media say 4 have been killed but who knows. i just know that it's hard to be sitting in my comfortable first world room when my friends are in Timor. How horrid all this is. Makes you realise that hey, it's nearly been a year since April 28.... once again it was during the Lenten and Easter period when the tensions ran high. in fact, if this year's elections do proceed, it would be the Monday after Easter Sunday. May 25th last year, Black Thursday (my own name for it), was Ascension of the Lord. Oh dear.. oh dear...

FESTIVAL OF FUN AT FEUNGFA GARDENS

Village festival brings PADETC's volunteers together for the first time

After ten years of working with children, young people and communities, the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) organized its first national gathering at Feungfa Gardens, Vientiane, in January 2007.

The campground was transformed into a bustling village festival, with more than 20 tents set up to represent 13 provinces, as well as 10 villages and 10 schools in Vientiane. The cheerful voices of young people singing folksongs and beating on drums filled the air. Many of the 200 children and teenagers participating in the 2-day fair donned their finest ethnic wear, representing tribal groups such as the Hmong, Lao, Tai Dam, Tai Daeng, Leu, Phutai, and Puan.

This was the first time the centre had organized a cultural exposition of this scale -- bringing three of its youth projects (Indigenous Knowledge, Young Volunteers, and the Quality Schools) together to illustrate the value of activity-based learning and the role of community volunteers - young or old. The fair was to be a living showcase of how learning can be joyful— a central philosophy of PADETC's work.

Passing on local know-how

At the tent of the Somsamai village, little Ki Her blew on the khaen, a large mouth organ made from two parallel rows of bamboo reeds. It is a traditional Lao instrument that is played at important festivals like the Hmong tribe's New Year celebrations.

At first, the 9 year old boy stood still, focusing on the notes, then he began to circle the straw mat; sometimes skipping, sometimes going down low on his knees but always moving. Ki Her learnt this combination of Hmong dance and music from Souvanthong Lore, a farmer who has been volunteering at the Somsamai Primary School for a year now.

"I learnt to play the khaen when I was small like Ki," said 56 year old Lore. "I'm very happy to teach the children this local knowledge because the more people know about it, the more we can keep this culture alive."

"I like playing the khaen because many people look at me when I perform," quipped Ki Her.

Lore has compiled a booklet of khaen lessons to ensure that future generations will have reference materials to learn the musical instrument. Ki Her, who took a year of hard work to learn the khean, helps by introducing it to his schoolmates.

"I passed by a stall where a little boy was weaving a basket with three adults looking on," said Sombath Somphone, PADETC's director, while touring the fair. "I thought the adults were teaching the boy a new skill but it turned out they were from another village and were learning from him! So it's not just the child learning from an adult, but he or she can also pass on the skills to an older person."

PADETC started this inter-generational learning of indigenous knowledge in 2006 as a supplement to the official primary school curriculum. To avoid adding to the burden of government teachers, the centre approached skilled adults to be volunteer teachers in their local primary schools. Now, there are 10 rural villages participating in the project, with more to join soon.

Some of the villages offered free homemade specialties that few could resist sampling; children crowded round the tent of the Hom village, eager to try the khao loum (sweet rice porridge with coconut milk), while others took notes in their scrapbooks on its preparation. At other tents, visitors snapped up the free local knowledge guidebooks which were written and illustrated by the villagers; they ranged from recipes for local food, to instructions on fishing and making nets.

"It is only through consciously rooting our young in their culture, traditions, and wisdom of our society that we can expect the young to respect their past, understand the present, and value and protect the future," explained Somphone.

Positive influence through peer education

As Lao opens up to the global market, special attention needs to be paid to its children and young people. Already, social problems such as truancy, and drugs and alcohol abuse are reported to be on the rise. So apart from imbibing children in their local culture, PADETC hopes its network of Young Volunteers would be a positive influence for other Lao youth.

As Lao opens up to the global market, special attention needs to be paid to its children and young people. Already, social problems such as truancy, and drugs and alcohol abuse are reported to be on the rise. So apart from imbibing children in their local culture, PADETC hopes its network of Young Volunteers would be a positive influence for other Lao youth.

The centre began working with a group of 25 young volunteers in Vientiane capital in 1998. Since then, the network has grown to 56 groups, comprising 1,800 volunteers in 13 provinces, where local governments have been receptive and supportive. The youngest volunteers are only eight, while the oldest are 18. The volunteers learn a variety of skills from story telling, drama, handicraft, songs and games, which they in turn pass on to their peers.

At the fair, brightly decorated stalls were put up by the Young Volunteers; there were photographs depicting their monthly community service activities, including advocacy and awareness campaigns on drug abuse, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. There were also cultural products on sale and cooking demonstrations, encouraging the young people to mingle and learn from each other.

At the fair, brightly decorated stalls were put up by the Young Volunteers; there were photographs depicting their monthly community service activities, including advocacy and awareness campaigns on drug abuse, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. There were also cultural products on sale and cooking demonstrations, encouraging the young people to mingle and learn from each other.

"Our goal is to instill moral values in the young people, so that they can be useful members of society," said Phoxay Chanthavongsa, deputy director of PADETC. "We teach them 32 subjects and when the young volunteers are trained, they become leaders for the activities and they help to teach other young children. So many communities have become interested in the young volunteers and they have asked PADETC to help them to organize their village youth in the same way."

At the Luang Prabang stall, young volunteers sat on the ground to teach some children to make paper lanterns out of string, bamboo sticks, glue and paper. A short distance away, volunteers from Bokeo showed other children how to make brooches with rice husks and sesame seeds.

The teenagers were also eager to perform on stage, drawing loud cheers from the crowd as they performed the classical Lao dance and other ethnic folkdances. The energy of the Young Volunteers must not be underestimated: in 2005, they reached out to almost 200,000 Lao youth through their monthly community services projects.

"The young people can help to shape the future of the society, if we adults allow them to," said Somphone. "They have new ideas, and are energetic and willing participants if adults are willing to listen and guide them. So one of PADETC's challenge is to train adults and peer leaders, including provincial administrators, to dialogue and take their views seriously."

"I've volunteered for four years," said Saisamone Khounchankeo, 16, from Bolikhamxai Province "We go to each village to teach the primary school children about clean water. We perform a drama to encourage them to wash their hands after using the toilet."

16 year old Inthachak Phoutthasone from Champassak province has volunteered for six years. He and other PADETC volunteers help out at the provincial radio station to create youth programmes on health, gender and environmental issues. "I also go to the community to give information about drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and human trafficking," he said. "I want to volunteer because I can get a lot of knowledge and experience which I can make use of in my life. I volunteer also because we're all part of society and we should help out."

One School, One Product

When young people like Phoutthasone turn 18 and move to Vientiane capital to study, they can continue to volunteer by becoming Youth Leaders who assist teachers in PADETC's Quality Schools project. This pilot project, which was started in 2005 to improve the quality of education, is now being extended to 100 schools in the country.

Apart from training teachers in child-friendly teaching methods and roping in Youth Leaders to assist in extracurricular activities, the project also encourages each school to specialise in making one product. The centre has a small fund for each school to teach the children practical skills, while instilling confidence and entrepreneurship. At the fair, the Quality Schools' tent enjoyed brisk business as their products, ranging from stuffed teddy bears, paper cranes, rice dumplings, tamarind jam and chilli paste, were purchased by young people from the other provinces.

It was clear from the peals of laughter, the cacophony of youngsters hawking their wares, and the non-stop beating of drums that the fair had been a resounding success. It drew to a close with the 200 young people singing goodbye while holding hands in a big circle. This had been their chance to meet other volunteers for the first time, and new friendships had been made. Teary-eyed, they hugged and bade farewell, before hopping onto the vans for the long journey home.

In the wake of the youngsters, PADETC staff and Youth Leaders began dismantling the stalls and stage. Though the event has ended, more work now lies ahead for the centre as it steps into its second decade of community development work in Laos.

*ENDS*

Copyright of PADETC
www.padetc.org
Written by Bridgette See