10 - 23 July 2000 Vol. I, No. 11

Tais Timor is a public information service of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET)

Diasporabring ttheirskills hhome

East or west, the saying goes, home isbest. But for the East Timorese in thediaspora, this cliché has a deeper signifi-cance now.

“It’s a great feeling to be back and help-ing my country during the transitionphase,” 28-year-old Luisa Aniceto says, cap-turing the feelings of many East Timoresewho have recently returned to their countryof birth after spending most of a lifetime inexile. “I can’t explain how important it is forme to be here.”

As fate would have it, Ms. Aniceto lefther motherland at the age of three, as partof the mass exodus of East Timorese afterIndonesia’s annexation in 1975. She cameback in December 1999, and immediatelysecured a job with the UNTAET adminis-tration.

The Dili-born woman is now part of apatriotic core group of professionalTimorese who previously lived abroad butare now committed to rebuilding their coun-try. “We are merely acting as a bridge, thelink between the local people and foreigners

Antonio had difficulties sleeping. Eachnight his militia past came back tohaunt him. His nightmares, with peoplescreaming, enveloped in blood and fire,incessantly kept him awake, exhausted himto the point that he could not eat. Somedays, he would just sit, listless, staring atthe walls for hours.

Antonio was one of the many EastTimorese men who were forced to join themilitia last year. Although he managed tostay out of the killing and eventuallyescaped to the mountains to join his friends,the painfulness of what he had witnessedand the notion that somehow he was com-plicit in it kept haunting him.

João had become addicted to alcohol,each night drinking himself into a stupor.Even though he’d tried, he couldn’t give itup. Alcohol helped him forget what had hap-pened to his family. His parents had beenkilled by the militia as an act of revengeafter João had escaped from the place wherehe was kept, interrogated and torturedbecause of his activist involvement. His sis-ter was taken from their parents’ house onenight and when they brought her back, shehad been raped by several men from TNI.Not only did she lose her virginity thatnight, she also lost her chance of a futuremarried life with kids of her own. Whichman would still want to marry her?

These two men are just an example of

the trauma many East Timorese have expe-rienced and its lingering effects. “Many peo-ple here are suffering from trauma in oneway or another. The prolonged oppression,with all its hardship, sorrow and difficulties,even torture and massacres, has left manyscars which will take time to heal. And some-times not only time, but specific assistance,”said Dr. Silove from Pradet (PsychosocialRecovery and Development in East Timor),during a four-day National Mental Healthand Psychosocial Recovery Consultation atthe SPK Nursing School in Lahane, Dili,from 20-23 June.

As Dr. Silove explained, there are differ-ent kinds of “traumatizing experiences”.There is the life-threatening situation, or lossof home and possessions or even worse, lossof a loved one. Other traumatizing experi-ences include being forced to endure injus-tice, or having one’s role or identity disrupt-ed; or losing faith in life and in its very mean-ing.

“In most cases, people are just upset andstressed,” said Dr. Silove, “which translatesinto difficulty sleeping and maybe also eat-ing. Some might seek refuge in alcohol ordrugs, as they are feeling angry and frustrat-ed. But most of these feelings will disappear,given enough time and the right environ-ment. In some cases though, a person canbecome so preoccupied by severe grief that itreally makes him or her sick and disabledwith specific clinical manifestations.”

These symptoms can be apathy (such asstaring at a wall for days) or anorexia(unwillingness to eat). Or one might becomedelusional (hearing voices) or paranoid(thinking that someone is following them,maybe even out to kill them), or schizo-phrenic (thinking that they are God or some

The first class of 50 East Timorese police cadets taking their oath of service during grad-uation ceremonies at the Timor Lorosa'e Police Training College campus in Comoro, Dili.See page 4 for story and more photos.

TO PPROTECT AAND TTO SSERVE

CCooppiinngg wwiitthh ppssyycchhoollooggiiccaall ttrraauummaa:: aa ffaammiillyy aaffffaaiirr

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A woman cradles her recently born grandson, whosemother became mentally ill about four years ago whilestill living with her husband and four other children.

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Published bi-weekly in Tetun, English, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia and distributed free of charge

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10 - 23 July 2000 Tais Timor

who are here to assist,” says Fernando Pires,an employee of the Save the ChildrenFederation, an international non-governmen-tal organization (NGO) in Dili. He is nowhappy, he says, to make a contribution to hischanging motherland, a country that he wasforced to leave at the age of eight, resettling inDili again last December.

“I tell our people that we are faced with adifferent set-up,” explains Mr. Pires. “With theend of the independence struggle, now is thetime to take real responsibility.”

Mr. Pires spent the better part of his youthin Melbourne, Australia, where he was exiledfor 24 years. Typical of other Timorese in thediaspora, the young man tried to maintain asymbolic attachment to his roots, affiliatinghimself with cultural groups and other organi-zations devoted to the East Timor cause.

The theatres in Melbourne, Lisbon andDarwin, Australia, were the main platform foraction for exiles like Mr. Pires. Drama played acathartic role, he says, and served several func-tions. “One was to maintain our culture and, ifneed be, change it to make it more contempo-rary,” recalls the keen artist who served for 10years as coordinator of Suric, a Melbourne-based theatre group. “The other was to createa safe space for the Timorese abroad to saywhat happened to them in the past.”

The activism of the Timorese in the dias-pora contributed to drawing internationalattention to the independence movement, afact demonstrated most significantly by thejoint award of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize toJose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos FilipeXimenes Belo. The former remains arguablythe most prominent Timorese voice abroad.

But as the curtain falls on the dramatic

episodes of the country’straumatic past, EastTimorese people in thediaspora are now at a cross-roads. It is their moment ofreckoning as they engage inprofound soul-searching asto the role they can play inthe new nation.

Already, a few havepacked their bags destinedfor Dili. These returneesare a mixed tableau of pro-fessionals including schol-ars, businessmen, engi-neers, lawyers and doctors.

Experts say that this is thekind of expertise and sacri-fice the young nation needs

at this critical moment in its history. But manyhave yet to return. Why?

The answer is complex, though interviewswith a cross-section of people provide a clue.“Educated Timorese in the diaspora have amoral obligation to come back home and help,”says Nidia Oliveira, who holds a Ph.D. inarbovirology (mosquito-borne viruses) and whorecently came back to East Timor and secured ajob at OXFAM, an international NGO.

Ms. Oliveira quit her job as a graduateresearch assistant at the University of WesternAustralia to make a fresh start in her homecountry. She had left East Timor as a four-year-old in 1975. Speaking in a voice tinged with nos-talgia, the career academic says, “It does notmatter how long people have been away as longas the willingness to come back is there.”

In Perth, where Ms. Oliveira lived for 24years, “many people are willing to return,” shesays, and they are keenly following politicaldevelopments in East Timor. She estimates theTimorese population in Perth at about 1,000.“Well over 20,000 Timorese are said to be livingin Australia, an additional 2,000 are believed tobe in Portugal and smaller numbers are to befound in places like Macau, the United Statesand Africa,” she says, quoting figures that arelargely hearsay.

A Dili businessman, who prefers anonymi-ty, remarks that it is good for Timorese livingabroad to return and assist their fellow country-men. “They should share their experience withthe locals and guide them through this difficultperiod,” he says. “It’s not merely a question oftaking jobs from those who have been livinghere. It is for the common good of the country.”

A potential investor back in his homeland,Gill Mandeira looks forward to sharing his skills

as a musician trained in the latest studiorecording technology in Australia with hiscounterparts in East Timor. “It is important forpeople to express themselves through danceand music,” the ex-Perth resident says. “This iswhat I hope to promote in the new East Timor.”

Not everybody is happy, though. “Those ofus who are coming to set up shop here areviewed as cowards or opportunists,” laments aTimorese of Chinese ancestry. “The locals saywe will flee again if there’s trouble. But we alsosuffered, our relatives’ property was destroyed,and we now have to help them,” he adds.

In retrospect, however, those whoremained (and they are in the overwhelmingmajority) to advance the struggle on the homefront say they have no ill feelings towards thosewho fled but are now eager to come back. “Itdepends on the person and his attitude,” saysCarlos Pinto, a Dili resident. “If they have apositive attitude then they are acceptable. Butif they look down upon us, then that’s a prob-lem. We are all Timorese and are ready to livewith one another.”

However, standing in the way to homecom-ing for many people are formidable stumblingblocks, including personal commitments intheir country of residence. “Many older peoplehave financial obligations like mortgages andschool tuition to pay and it is not easy to justboard a plane and fly back,” says Esmeralda DaCruz, an UNTAET employee who trained inanthropology in Australia where she lived for24 years before coming to East Timor inDecember 1999. “It’s easy for a single personlike me to make a decision to return, but formarried ones, it’s very different,” says Ms. DaCruz.

For some of the educated elite, or “dividedTimorese” as they are sometimes described,loyalty is split down the middle between theiracademic world and the home country. To par-aphrase a report conducted by Michael Caseyin 1999, the few ethnic East Timorese holdinghigher qualifications such as doctorate degrees“are mostly former exiles living in places likeSydney or Lisbon, for whom starting a new lifein Dili might be hard. Even so, World Bankstaffers say they are impressed with the sup-port they have found among the far-flungTimorese diaspora.”

Still, there remains a reluctant group thatharbor ambivalent feelings towards cominghome, preferring to adopt a “wait and see” atti-tude. This group, says Ms. Oliveira, should“come and see” for themselves the progressmade in the country in a record, short period oftime.

East Timorese living abroad can apply to be repatriated under a programme forthe Return of Qualified Nationals (RQN) organized by the InternationalOrganization for Migration (IOM).

Over the next three years, the programme aims to facilitate the return and pro-fessional reintegration of 300 skilled or qualified East Timor nationals to fill identi-fied vacancies - jobs which cannot be filled by current East Timor residents or inwhich advanced additional technical skills are clearly required.

The Programme coincides with what many observers see as a boom in employ-ment opportunities for skilled East Timorese, especially in the NGO sector, the pri-vate sector and the East Timor Administration’s Civil Service and PublicEmployment (CISPE). “For those wishing to return, this is the best time,” says KarinFreundenthal, CISPE information officer.

At press time, CISPE and IOM had advertised on the Internet 23 senior postsavailable only to Timorese nationals. They ranged from teaching positions at theCivil Service Academy to managerial and judicial affairs jobs.

“We are looking for Timorese abroad who would like to come home to workand contribute in the rebuilding of their own country,” says Ahmed Dizdaveric,RQN programme administrator. “We are not taking away jobs from the locals. Ifthere is a local available to take the job, then that’s fine.”

According to an official bulletin of IOM, the programme targets boththe public and private sectors with a view to capacity building through thereintegration of professionals and managers into the economy. The pro-gramme also includes a self-employment option designed to attractentrepreneurs.

Assistance includes organized and paid transport for selected candi-dates and their families, an installation grant, a salary subsidy and agrant to provide candidates with the equipment that they will need to dothe job. Eligible candidates include those with junior high school qualifi-cations and higher. The successful ones are required to commit to remainin the post for one year. “We have received more than 20 applications,”says Mr. Dizdaveric. “Two have already been placed while another twowill be placed shortly.”

Applicants are asked to contact IOM offices in Australia, Portugal,Indonesia, Hong Kong (including Macau), Mozambique and the UnitedStates or they can also directly contact Mr. Dizdaveric. He urges all pri-vate sector employers as well as local NGOs to approach IOM for assis-tance. The ccontact ffor AAhmed DDizdaveric iis: TTelephone:670.390.313165 MMobile 661.408.857015. FFax 6670.390.312985. EEmail:iomdili@hotmail.com.

Fernando Pires (left) talking to a visitor in his office at the Save the ChildrenFederation in Dili. Fernando lived in Australia for 24 years before coming toEast TImor last December to help rebuild his country.

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Different groups are already providingsupport for trauma recovery for most ofthe population. They include FOKUPERS,a women’s organization which providescounseling sessions individually and ingroups. A visiting doctor from thePhilippines, Dr. Lopez, taught the group’sstaff her counselling techniques. FOKU-PERS operates chiefly in Liquica, Maliana,Suai and Dili. Apart from counselling, italso provides shelter and is involved inadvocacy and education. It does this mainlyvia its weekly publication “Babadok” and itsradio programmes on Radio FALINTIL(Wednesday 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and RadioUNTAET (Friday 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.). Part ofits educational activities is focused onreducing discrimination against rape vic-tims and encouraging their acceptance insociety.

The Child and Youth DevelopmentProgramme (CYDP) helps youngsters byproviding them educational and recreation-al opportunities. The programme is run bySave the Children, the InternationalRescue Committee and the ChristianChildren’s Fund.

From Caritas, Roberto Cabral providestrauma healing via individual counsellingsessions as well as via his biweekly“Healing through Memory” programme onRadio Kmanek (Friday 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. and

Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.). He invites trau-matized persons to share their experienceswith the listeners, while giving advice on howto heal the wounds. The central message inhis technique is that one has to learn toaccept what has happened and should look atit as part of the struggle for freedom.

Take for example João and Antonio, thetwo traumatized men described at the begin-ning of the previous article. Mr. Cabral, inhis radio interview with João, told him toaccept what happened, and to look at it as apart of the freedom struggle, accept it as acontribution to the country. To Antonio, hesuggested that he accept the fact that he had-n’t volunteered to be in the militia. He hadbeen forced. It was not his fault, he had nochoice; it was the chain of events that forcedhim to join. He also urged Antonio to recog-nize that he had done a good thing by usinghis ability to help others by escaping andsharing the information of what he had wit-nessed.

As for help for severely mentally ill peo-ple, Pradet is currently the principal organi-zation that is providing them help. Pradet(see next box) has plans to set up a psychi-atric clinic and to help provide mental servic-es with the help of a visiting psychiatrist,nurses and social workers. It also intends tohelp in the capacity building of EastTimorese colleagues. So far, it has trained 14

health and community workers in coun-selling during a seven-week course inSydney. Another 36 students will follow,bringing the total number of trainees to 50by May 2001.

Pradet is an organization that started inAustralia when East Timorese exilegroups arrived there and needed counsel-ing. These East Timorese would end up indifferent “Trauma and Torture” centers invarious states of Australia. Last year dur-ing the crisis these centers joined handsand formed a national group calledPsychosocial Recovery and Developmentin East Timor.

With the help of AusAID, Pradet cameto East Timor in March to help meet theneed for mental and psycho-social trau-ma recovery. Pradet, which is led by themedical branch of the University of NewSouth Wales, is located at the LahaneNursing School, SPK, where it has set upa psychosocial resource centre. A clinicwill be based in a number of health serv-ice centres in Dili. To contact Pradet, call321 097.

they think such cases can’t be helped. So inmost cases, the family tries to keep a mental-ly ill person at home, even tying him or herup in cases of psychosis when they arethreatening themselves or people aroundthem. Some of them escape, or wander off.That’s when you see them hanging aroundaimlessly on the street.” (see picture)

Carmen’s story is a sad example of thiskind of situation. She is only 25 years old, buthas just had her fifth baby, named Orlando.Carmen became mentally ill about four yearsago, while she was living with her husbandand four children. Her own brother, Jose,took her into his home after he discoveredthat her husband wasn’t caring for her. Hehad kept her tied up night and day in wood-en braces on a chair. Carmen lived with her

other person). “These people need morethan just time and a right environment,they need intensive individual professionalassistance in the form of medicines andcounseling,” Dr. Silove added.

There is no data available on the num-ber of East Timorese who suffer from men-tal illnesses. Dr. Sergio Lobo, co-coordinatorof the Interim Health Authority (IHA), esti-mates that it is a small percentage - per-haps 1 to 2 per cent - of the population,much smaller than one would expect.However, Dr. David Henderson of theHarvard Programme in Refugee Traumathinks the number might be higher, around10 per cent.

As to who is most vulnerable to mentalillness, Dr. Lobo explained that “due to ourTimorese culture, women have to keepthings more inside, whereas it is acceptedthat men vent their anger and frustrationsthrough drinking alcohol and even by beat-ing their wives. But on the whole, I thinkmen and women are suffering equally.”

More information on numbers and gen-der-specific data will be available once theInternational Rehabilitation Council forTorture (IRCT) finishes a nationwideassessment that it is currently conductingfor UNTAET on the psychosocial situationin East Timor.

Assistance for traumatized people isavailable in East Timor on a limited basis(see box), although not yet for the severelymentally ill. There are no institutional serv-ices such as mental health clinics, or psy-chiatrists, counselors or health workers spe-cializing in mental health. There are, ofcourse, general practitioners, but as Dr.Lobo says, “most Timorese would not go tosee a doctor for a case of mental illness, as

continued from page 1 brother until the violence broke out lastSeptember. Amidst all the panic and confu-sion, Jose lost track of her. Only monthslater did he find her. Someone had takenadvantage of her, raping her and she waspregnant.

Now that Carmen has delivered thebaby, she is restless and has run away sev-eral times from her brother’s home. Josedoesn’t know what to do or who to turn to forhelp, for answers. He wonders what’s best todo when she tries to run away. What shouldhe do when she cries? When she gets upsetand starts slapping and lashing out at her-self.

The National Mental Health andPsychosocial Recovery Consultation inLahane attempted to fill the gap in under-standing and support for Timorese strug-gling with trauma and mental illness. Theconference was organized by Pradet (seebox) at the request of the IHA. It includedrepresentatives from Jesuit Refugee Service,Caritas, ET Wave, FOKUPERS and Savethe Children. A number of Australian healthworkers were also present. The main topic ofdiscussion was how to support trauma recov-ery for most of the Timorese population bysetting up psychosocial recovery pro-grammes, and how to best care for theseverely mentally ill.

Jim Tulloch, a co-coordinator of theInterim Health Authority, said thatUNTAET would help mentally ill people byputting medicine that is particularly usefulfor mental illness on the East TimorEssential Drug List and making it availablefor free through the central pharmacy. Inthe meantime, while health policies andpractices were being developed, he hopedthat the different groups at the conferencewould coordinate their efforts to offer relief.

A local victim of taunting and verbal abuse frompeople who do not understand mental illness.

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Seeing her son for the first time in ninemonths, Alizia Mendoca broke down intears, triggering a similar reaction in her hus-band and their estranged child, AlarikoExposto. Hugging and patting each other asthey dabbed tears from their eyes, the trio wasa portrait of family love and affection.

“I want to go back to school and learn,” said11-year-old Alariko, fondly clinging to his dad,Antonio Exposto. Alariko was a pupil atSDA 11 Payol, Dili, before his studieswere abruptly ended by last year’s tur-moil. The boy, still too traumatized tospeak freely, refused to be drawn into fur-ther conversation, clinging only to thecomfort of his parents whom he hadmissed during his period of exile in WestTimor.

“I have been having sleepless nightssince 4 September when my son fled withhis uncle to Atambua,” explained Mr.Exposto. “What has happened today is toogood to be true.”

The dramatic reunion took place on12 June at Batugade, a transit camp closeto the East Timor border with IndonesianWest Timor and which is now, in practice,the rendezvous point for separated rela-tives, friends and lovers. The area alsoserves as the major exit point for East Timorrefugees returning by road from the West.

“We are acting as a go-between for peoplewishing to get re-united with their missing rel-atives,” said Alec Wargo, a Field Officer withthe United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) at Batugade. It was anoth-er hectic day for him as he was busy overseeingthe voluntary repatriation of 151 refugees toEast Timor. “It’s a long way, difficult andrequires hard work,” he said, alluding to therepatriation process.

If repatriation appears challenging, thenre-uniting minors with their parents is some-times virtually a mission impossible. After mak-ing initial contact with his son through a trac-ing agency, Mr. Exposto went on 12 June to pickup his son at Batagude for the grand homecom-ing. But he got a rude shock when he was toldthat the boy had made an unprecedented U-turn, preferring instead to remain with his

uncle in the West.It was only after the intervention of Mr.

Wargo - who negotiated with the Indonesian sol-diers to let the parents talk to the boy at theAtambua camp - that the father finally securedfreedom for his son.

“He was simply terrified, worried,” Mr.Exposto said. “He could not trust anybody. Untilhe saw me and his mother today, he was not will-

ing to accompany anybody to Batugade.”Trust is apparently the key word. “People are

still a little bit afraid to return,” said Mr. Wargo,adding that the destiny of an estimated 120,000refugees in the West is tied to the question ofbuilding trust.

“Information about East Timor is importantbecause people do not get a lot of good newshere,” Mr. Wargo stressed. “They are thinkingabout security, politics back home and their over-all future.” Alienated from their familiar envi-ronment, the refugees yearn for news on EastTimor. They snap up anything that will givethem a bit of accurate information about condi-tions in their real home, adds Mr. Wargo.

Despite the hesitancy, the tide seems to beturning in favour of an increased number ofreturnees generally and child re-unification inparticular, thanks to concerted diplomaticefforts. According to Eva Nordenskjord, UNHCR

BBooyy,, 1111,, iinn eemmoottiioonnaall hhoommeeccoommiinngg aafftteerr 99 mmoonntthhss iinn WWeesstt TTiimmoorrCommunity Services Officer, the programme forchild reunification has “taken speed.” Herdepartment is responsible for coordinating there-unification exercise conducted largely in col-laboration with the International RescueCommittee (IRC), a non-governmental organiza-tion.

Children, as the saying goes, are our com-mon future, and if they are to grow up asresponsible citizens they must have a solidparental upbringing. This is the philosophyunderpinning the process of child reunification.“It’s very common in crisis situations,” said Ms.Nordenskjord, referring to the scourge of sepa-ration. But the caseload in East Timor is rela-tively low, mainly due to the support providedby the extended family structure in the country.

The IRC, whose mandate is to record allseparated and unaccompanied children, has sofar registered 494 minors in the period betweenNovember and May. “We have successfully con-tacted 132 families; 127 have been re-unitedwhile 107 remain unlocated,” said Ivo Caldas,IRC’s Field Assistant. He also noted that 78children have been re-united through cross-bor-der meetings. The organization’s mail corre-spondence service reached 492 persons in WestTimor. “This elicited 207 replies,” he said.

Another programme managed by theInternational Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) targets unaccompanied children. Themain difference between cases of unaccompa-nied and separated children is that while theformer have no guardians or relatives to takecare of them, the latter are living with a closefamily member, for example an uncle or grand-parents.

The ICRC also deals with vulnerable cases,including the physically paralyzed and the dis-placed from other neighboring islands. “We havere-unified 67 unaccompanied minors in additionto 248 other persons resettled with their fami-lies,” said the ICRC’s Caroline Guinchard.

Experts say communication and logisticalconstraints, coupled with the effects of misinfor-mation campaigns waged in the camps, accountfor the erratic trend of repatriation in the recentpast. But the mood now remains upbeat. “Weare positive about the increasing number ofreturnees,” concluded UNHCR’s Mr. Wargo.

East Timorese police cadets demonstrating techniques for crowd control (below left), subduing suspects(second from left) and tae kwon do (bottom right) during graduation ceremonies on 11 July. They wereamong the first 50 graduates of the Timor Lorosa’e Police Training College.

The new officers, 38 men and 12 women, will be deployed in their home districts and receive addition-al on-the-job training in criminal investigation, traffic control, community policing and administration.After three months, the police officers will start a six-month pro-bation period, during which they will get specialized training.They are set to become full-fledged police officers on 2 April2001.

They will gradually take over responsibility for law and orderwhen the UN Civilian Police begins to downsize. The secondgroup of 50 cadets began training on 17 July. By June 2001, anestimated 500 Timorese will have been trained as police officers,on the way to an eventual police force of 3,000.

“These cadets went through a rigorous selection process.They have worked hard and succeeded in their efforts. They arepioneers,” said Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello.“The role of women police officers will also be fundamental sincethey, more than men,will have the sensitive-ness to address thespecific problems relat-ed to crimes againstwomen, such asdomestic violence andrape.”

Antonio Exposto (right) embraces his son, Alariko, during theiremotional reunion last month in Batugade.

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News BBriefs agency for taxes and introduces a compre-hensive set of taxation procedures.The ETRS started operating 1 July2000 and is supported by a long-term tech-nical assistance and training programmeprovided by the Australian Government.The programme includes A$700,000 intraining this year by taxation experts.

A new tax on services is also containedin the new regulation and will apply to var-ious services supplied by restaurants,hotels, transport rental and telecommuni-cations providers. The new tax is 10 percent of the value of the service and went

into effect 1 July.The Services Tax contains thresholds

based on the monthly sales of the businessbefore the tax will apply. For hotel,telecommunications providers or transportrental businesses, the threshold is US$500in total sales per month. If total sales in amonth are less than this amount, no taxwill be payable. For restaurants, a specialphase-in threshold is proposed.Recognizing that a number of new andsmall restaurants were starting business inEast Timor, the proposed threshold hasbeen set at US$1,000 for 1 July to 31December. Starting 1 January 2001, thethreshold will be reduced to US$500 permonth.

A seven-member multinational team fromKing’s College Centre for Defence Studiesat London University began an independ-ent study on the future of the securityforces of East Timor.

The team will produce a report withinsix weeks on the future security of EastTimor, including possible profiles for adefense force. The group is studying thecurrent security arrangements within theterritory, relations between civilians andUnited Nations Peacekeeping staff, as wellas making an in-depth analysis of the FAL-INTIL, the former liberation army.

The team began with a meeting withthe FALINTIL Working Group at UNTAET

The National Consultative Council (NCC)has adopted a regulation to establish atransitional cabinet, which will includefour East Timorese and four UNTAETrepresentatives.

The East Timorese will hold the port-folios for Internal Administration,Infrastructure, Economy and SocialAffairs; UNTAET will be responsible forFinance, Justice, Police and Emergency

Services and Political Affairs.Meanwhile, a regulation “On the

Establishment of a National LegislativeCouncil” was discussed at a public hear-ing in which CNRT Vice-President JoseRamos Horta testified as a witness. TheNCC agreed to look into suggestions thatan advisory committee comprised of pro-fessionals be established to give advice onregulations presented to the NLC.

In addition, the NCC called for thecreation of a committee to hear com-plaints by the public. Membership of theNLC should also include more represen-tatives from professional, youth andwomen’s groups, according to the council.The current 15-member NCC, a quasi-cabinet and quasi-legislative body, will bedissolved at the first session of theNational Legislative Council.

In the draft regulation under consid-eration, the NLC would consist of 33 EastTimorese members from the political,religious and private sectors. TheTransitional Administrator would havethe final say in the approval of any draftregulation proposed to the cabinet by theNLC.

The NCC also adopted a draft regulationthat lays the foundations for a new taxsystem in East Timor. The regulationcreates the East Timor RevenueService (ETRS) as the new collection

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Headquarters. It then met members of thePortuguese, Australian and US missions.The team also traveled to FALINTIL’sheadquarters in Aileu, where they metcommanders and veteran fighters of thefive regions, as well as UNTAET’s DistrictAdministrator.

The experts are from Germany,Mozambique, South Africa and the UnitedStates.

District prosecutors from Dili, Baucau andOecussi handed over the files concern-ing investigations into serious crimes toUNTAET’s Judicial Affairs Department.The crimes are as defined in Regulation2000/15 on genocide, war crimes andcrimes against humanity. The seriouscrimes category also includes murder, sex-ual offences and torture on humanitybetween 1 January and 25 October 1999.

A special panel within Dili DistrictCourt, with the sole task of prosecutingand trying serious cases, will handle thecases. The panel is part of the EastTimorese judiciary and comprises bothTimorese and international judges.

The first Transitional EmploymentProject (TEP) started in Atauroisland last month. The US$3,900 projectwill cover clearing vegetation from road-sides and is expected to take about 40 daysto complete. Forty-five Timorese workersand three supervisors are working underthe project coordinated through the DiliDistrict Administration.

UN Civilian Police (CivPol), together withthe UN Peacekeeping Force (UN-PKF)and UNTAET Security, have startedconducting road checks in Dili. Some70 vehicles were checked and five peoplewithout driving licences were discoveredduring the first day of inspections. Onevehicle was seized.

A measles vaccination campaign hasjust been concluded in Ermera dis-trict. About 1,440 children have been inoc-ulated in villages in the district so far. APortuguese health organization, AMI, andUNTAET carried out the campaign. Todate, some 4,000 children in East Timorhave been inoculated against the disease.

A pilot project to establish local com-mittees to ensure law and order hasstarted in Dili. The committees will con-sult the UN Civilian Police (CivPol) in itsdaily operations, assist in conflict media-tion and help tackle issues such as domes-tic violence. The committees will also facil-itate dialogue between the police and thelocal community, and educate the popula-tion in law and order matters.

Peter Galbraith (left) and Mari Alkatiri during deliber-ations of the National Consultative Council.

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CNRT Vice-President Jose Ramos Horta testifying atthe hearings on a proposed new law-making bodyfor East Timor.

10 - 23 July 2000 Tais Timor

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Aguida Amaral lovesrunning - and she hassince she was a little kid.Back then, she wasn’teven the fastest amongsther friends. She becameoutstanding only afterjoining a sports club atage 12. That’s when shestarted training hard.During one race, Dr.Peter Lobo noticed herpotential. He was work-ing at the time in Dili as adoctor for the Indonesianmilitary (TNI). He askedMs. Amaral’s parents ifhe could become her per-sonal trainer. She couldstay with him and hewould pay for her food,schooling and clothing.

For the next couple ofyears, Ms. Amaral livedwith Dr. Lobo and trainedevery day from 5:00 a.m.to 6:00 a.m. before going to school, and from3:00 p.m. until dusk, running into themountains, along the beach and through thestreets of Dili.

When she was 15 years old Ms. Amaralgrabbed the opportunity to study for a yearat a sports school in Jakarta. She thenreturned to Dili to finish high school. At 18,she began a job as a civil servant. Her workafforded her the time to train and to entercompetitions. And she needed a lot of timeoff - because at this point she was trainingdaily and entering an increasing number of

FFeeeett ooff eenndduurraannccee:: TTiimmoorr’’ssOOllyymmppiicc mmaarraatthhoonn hhooppeeffuull

international competitions. By 1989 she hadbecome one of Indonesia’s premier athletes -its fastest female runner.

Being the fastest woman in Indonesiatook her to the Asian Games in thePhilippines, the South East Asian (SEA)Games in China, and other races in India,Singapore and Malaysia. In all those races,Ms. Amaral placed second, except for Indiawhere she finished third.

Ms. Amaral, 28, says she enjoys visitingforeign places to compete, but says that’shardly the reason she does it. “Running just

makes me happy,” she says. “I have to do itevery day, I can’t live without it. If I don’trun, I start to feel sick.” So she has kept onrunning, even after her running shoes andclothes were destroyed in the post-electionviolence last September; even though shebecame separated from her trainer who,being Indonesian, had to return to Kupang,West Timor, when the results of the ballotwere announced.

Ms. Amaral says she was delightedwhen she heard of her selection as one of the10 East Timor athletes who would receivetwo months pre-Olympic training inAustralia.

“I am so grateful to Jose Ramos Hortaand to João Carrascalão,” she says. “Andalso to João’s wife, Rosa. She gave me a pairof sports shoes, and three pairs of sportssocks.” And is she going to use those shoes torun in the Olympics if she is one of the twowho are ultimately chosen for the Sydneygames? For training, yes, she says, but forthe Olympics, “I prefer to run barefooted. Itfeels much lighter.”

Ms. Amaral, who has two daughters,ages 4 and 6, doesn’t worry about her ownadvancing years. “For marathon runners,this age is very good. We get better the olderwe are.” Her chief concern, however, is thelack of food that Timorese athletes havebeen getting. She says she used to eat eggsand milk every day. Now she can only affordbread and tea. “I can feel it when I am run-ning, but it is not going to stop me.”

It seems as if nothing is going to stopher. “I will do my utmost, not only formyself, but also for the sake of our newlyindependent nation and to set an examplefor the group of kids I am currently train-ing,” she says. “I want to show them that ifyou try hard, you can reach a lot of things.”

Marathoner Aguida Amaral hopes to compete in the upcoming OlympicGames in Sydney. In 1994, she ran the 42 kilometres in 3 hours and 9minutes.

For the first time since the popular consultationlast August, five journalists from Kupang,West Timor, visited East Timor. During their five-day stay, the group met UNTAET and CNRT lead-ers, businessmen, future Timorese police officersand people on the street. In Liquica, the journal-ists met a group of some 40 former militia mem-bers who were successfully reintegrated into theircommunities after returning home from WestTimor.

Soon after their arrival in Dili, the journalistsadmitted their surprise at the normalcy of life inthe East Timor capital. They saw Timorese driv-ing cars, kids going to school, the market full ofbuyers and restaurants and stores open.

“When I left Dili the last time on 7September, the city was a sea of fire,” said MansBalawala, a reporter from the newspaper SuryaTimor who lived in Dili for a year until the ballot.“I am very surprised. After only eight months,everything changed so fast.”

Asiel Soruh, from the NTT Express, said hecertainly didn’t expect to see such a strong econ-omy and security after such a short time. He saidhe was also impressed with the kindness that hesaw among the East Timorese. “I didn’t see anyaggressive or revengeful feelings,” Mr. Soruh

said. “The East Timorese were all very kind.”The journalists’ visit was a result of a meeting

in Dili in June between West Timor Governor PietTallo and the Transitional Administrator, SergioVieira de Mello, CNRT President Xanana

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Gusmão and Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo.They decided that an exchange of journalistsfrom East and West Timor would be an impor-tant additional measure to accelerate repatri-ation of the refugees still in West Timor.

Two West Timorese journalists interviewing former militia in Liquica on 6 July.

West TTimor jjournaliststake ffirst-hhand llook aat DDili

Tais Timor 10 - 23 July 2000

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other car parts. “There’s nothing left of our old equipment; all of it wasburnt and destroyed so car parts in a friend’s house are our exercise equip-ment,” he says.

According to UNTAET Olympic Programme organizer Frank G. Fowlie,the training facilities in East Timor would be adequate for the 10 athletes.“They’ve got good training here, they just need to get a proper internationallevel of training,” says Mr. Fowlie.

Victor Ramos, East Timor’s best-known boxer, says that he would bevery happy to represent his country and its people at the Olympics. But whatwould it feel like to confront his former Indonesian boxing colleagues in thering? “Outside the ring we are friends, but when we are inside, we are ene-mies,” he says.

EEuurroo 22000000France became the first country in 26 years to win the Euro Cup and theWorld Cup in consecutive tournaments, beating Italy in overtime after play-ing to a scoreless draw in regulation.

Appearing in its second European final, France evened the score in thesecond half of extra time on a Sylvian Wiltrod goal and later won on the“golden goal” by David Trezequet.

Germany was the first to capture the two crowns, winning the 1972World Cup and 1974 Euro Cup.

France advanced to the final with a 2:1 victory in the semifinals overPortugal, which had beaten Turkey, 2:0. Italy dumped the Netherlands 3:1in its semifinal match. Holland has reached the final four by trashingYugoslavia with a superb 6:1 win; Patrick Kluivert scored four goals in therout.

Left out of the big dance were perennials such as GGeerrmmaannyy, EEnnggllaannddand BBeellggiiuumm, kicked out of the tournament while underdog teams such asRomania and Turkey were making football history for their countries.

TTrraannssffeerr mmaarrkkeettJoao Pinto sent a loud message to England’s Aston Villa and Italian clubFiorentina, who were reportedly interested in the Portuguese striker, aftersigning to stay in his country with SSppoorrttiinngg LLiissbboonn for a transfer fee of 3.5million pounds, a lower offer than those from Fiorentina, Aston Villa andChelsea. Before he was signed, Pinto claimed that he was sacked by FCBenfica because of disputes with club coach Jupp Heynckess. Meanwhile,Portuguese national midfielder currently playing with Fiorentina, Manuel RuiCosta, is reported to be in contact with Bayern Munich, but new develop-ments have been reported, according to Gazetta dello Sport.

FFCC BBaarrcceelloonnaa is reportedly interested in Manchester United right-wingerDavid Beckham, offering 45 million pounds for his move to Spain. It wasalso reported in the Spanish newspaper Marca that the club is targetingDennis Bergkamp as well for their next competition squad. If ManchesterUnited reaches an agreement with Barcelona it would be a new worldrecord transfer after Vieri’s move from Lazio to Inter Milan two years ago.

“The giant lady” JJuuvveennttuuss is reportedly lining up a move for French inter-national Patrick “the Gunner” Vieira, recently playing for Arsenal, with a bidof 15 million pounds. Juventus also includes Vieira’s international team-mate David Trezequet, who is playing for Monaco with a transfer fee of 14million pounds. Mr. Trezequet has reportedly said that he would go if hegets a place on the first team, which will be difficult because top starts likeAlexandro Del Piero, Darco Kovacevic and Filippo Inzaghi are alreadythere.

BBooxxiinnggMike Tyson could face sanctions for hitting referee John Coyle as he tried topull the former heavyweight champion away from his fallen opponent, fel-low American Lou Savarese. Mr. Tyson had knocked out Mr. Savarese in 38seconds during the bout in Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

World SSport NNews

Athlete Biographies

Aguida Fatima Amaral (Dili, 1972) Marathon;between 1989 and 1992 took part in manynational and international competitions such asthe Asian Games and the South East Asian(SEA) Games. Won gold medal in national com-petition in 1989.

Calisto da Costa (Dili, 1979) Marathon; since1997, took part in many national competitionsas well as an international competition inManila. Bronze medal winner in 1999 nationalmarathon competition.

Mariana Diaz Ximenes (Baucau, 1980)Marathon.

Martinho do Araujo (Dili, 1973) Weightlifting.

Jaime Lay (Dili, 1978) Weightlifting; 1995bronze medallist in national competition inJakarta.

Victor Ramos (Bobonaro, 1970) Boxing; from1985 to last year participated in numerousnational and international competitions - includ-ing the SEA Games, Asian Games and MalaysiaCup - in the 57 kilo category.

Rogerio Amaral Soares (Viqueque, 1973)Boxing; fought in the Asia Cup, Singapore Cup,Mayors Cup, King's Cup and Seoul Cup between1993 and 1997 in the 67 kilo category.

Cesar Pinto (Viqueque, 1978) Boxing; took partin many national competitions between 1996and 1998.

Gil Alvares Fernandez (Los Palos, 1977) Taekwan do.

Utcho Flamingo (Ambon, 1976) Tae kwan do.

Accompanied by the President of the National Olympic Committee,José Ramos-Horta, 10 East Timorese athletes left for Darwin,Australia, on 13 July, with the Sydney Olympic Games as their ulti-mate destination.

In Darwin, the athletes were under the supervision of theAustralian Institute of Sports. Before starting on their training, the ath-letes met the director of the Arafura Games, a regional sports event.Discussions centred on East Timor’s inclusion in next year’s ArafuraGames in which countries from the Pacific and provinces in Indonesiabordering Northern Australia will participate.

The International Olympic Committee recently gave East Timorthe green light to participate in boxing, track and field, tae kwon doand weightlifting events.

Weightlifter Jaime Lay is one the Timorese athletes chosen to trainfor the Sydney Games. Mr. Lay works out using transmissions and

Aguida AmaralCalisto da CostaMariana D XimenesMartinho do Araujo

Jaime Lay

Victor Ramos

Rogerio A Soares

Cesar Pinto

Gil A Fernandez

Utcho Flamingo

EAST TTIMORESE PPARTICIPATIONIN SSYDNEY OOLYMPIC GGAMES

10 - 23 July 2000 Tais Timor

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The name Tais Timor conjures the image of the careful, time-honoured process that goes into making the traditional Timorese cloth used in all important life events. As the different"ingredients" that make up East Timor come together during the transitional period to rebuild the country, Tais Timor aims to record and reflect those events that weave the beautifultapestry that is Timor Lorosa'e.A bi-weekly public information service of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). Published in Tetun, Indonesian, Portuguese and English. Written, edit-ed and designed by the UNTAET Office of Communication and Public Information (OCPI). Circulation 100,000. UNTAET-OCPI, c/- PO Box 2436, Darwin NT 0801, Australia. Tel: +61-8-8942-2203 Fax: +61-8-8981-5157 email: untaet-ocpi@un.org Not an official document. For information purposes only.

Dear readers: This issue we listen in on adiscussion about something extraordi-narily precious, that’s all around us, and if weharm it, all of us pay the price.

Can you guess what it is? Our environ-ment. It’s the mix of air and water and otherelements that sustain our lives and, don’t for-get, even our livelihoods. Sometimes it seemswe all too easily take it for granted, but, for-tunately, as the following conversation shows,there are more than a few Timorese who real-ly care about it:Tiu: Hey amigos boa tarde, diak ka la’e?The lads and girls: Boa tarde, Tiu.Hopefully we’re not disturbing you.Tiu: Not a problem. What brings you aroundtoday?Sinuku: Tiu, can we have a chat with youabout something important?Tiu: No worries, my friends. I’ve got a bit ofwork to do but I can certainly squeeze youguys in. What is it that’s so important?Jose: It’s about the environment. We have afew questions.Tiu: Wow. That’s perfect timing. It’s a con-cern of mine as well, and I have a feeling thatnot enough people are paying attention to it.Martina: That’s absolutely right, Tiu. Justlook at the way people are indiscriminatelycutting down the trees, causing deforestationand soil erosion, and stealing naturalresources like coral from the sea to sell totourists and other internationals. Are thereany laws or regulations to provide protection?Tiu: Well, my friends, my feeling is that wedon’t have many laws or regulations thatapply to your concerns; but our ancestors hadtraditional ones. Most have disappeared overtime except in the countryside.Marci: Such as what, Tiu? That’s news to me.Tiu: Traditional laws, particularly in ruralareas, helped safeguard the environment. Letme give you an example. Take trees. In cer-tain villages and subdistricts, local residentsweren’t allowed to cut trees for long periods oftime, as much as a year or more. It was a wayto protect the trees and to enable them tokeep growing. If anyone did illegal cuttingthen they were fined or punished by the com-

munity. Usuallythey had to pay witha cow or a pig, orsometimes even

money. There were similar rules regardinghunters. If hunting wildlife was prohibited bythe community then those who disobeyed thelocal rule faced punishment.Sinuku: Such a sensible policy, Tiu. It’s great,but why doesn’t it still apply?Tiu: Well, in fact, it does here and there, andperhaps as communities and local govern-ments get re-established, such rules will bemore prevalent.

But at this point, guys, the most impor-tant thing is to raise general awareness aboutenvironmental concerns in East Timor, partic-ularly in the aftermath of last year’s destruc-tion. The widespread burning with all thatsmoke certainly didn’t improve the environ-ment.Jose: What about UNTAET, Tiu, what arethey doing about East Timor’s environmentalproblems?Tiu: UNTAET is starting to address the chal-lenge of protecting our new nation’s naturalresources. For instance, it has mounted a pub-lic information campaign to remind interna-tionals not to buy the coral that local Timoreseare selling along the beach roads. The foreign-ers like to display it in their homes and offices.But sea coral is a precious Timorese resource.It’s an essential habitat for the fish, and we, ofcourse depend on our fishing industry. It’s alsoa real attraction for tourists who snorkel andscuba dive. Once stolen from the sea, the coraljust doesn’t grow back. What are we going todo if the coral beds are all destroyed?Apeu: But,Tiu, has UNTAET or the NationalConsultative Council (NCC) adopted any regu-lations that protect coral or other naturalresources?Tiu: UNTAET is currently drafting environ-ment regulations; in fact, one’s already beenadopted by the NCC that prohibits loggingoperations and the export of wood from EastTimor. It’s Regulation No. 2000/17.Marci: Tiu, what happens to the people whoburn on the hillsides, cutting trees illegallyand remove wood from East Timor?Tiu: Well, there are penalties and you can getthe specifics in section 5 of that very same reg-

ulation, No. 2000/17.Martina: What about the people who are sell-ing coral and those East Timorese and inter-nationals who are buying it? What happens tothem?Tiu: Well, as I told you, UNTAET is workingon that issue at the moment. Once a regula-tion is passed by the NCC, anyone who is con-sidered to be breaking the law most likely willface penalties.

One other thing you guys should know,however, is that an Indonesian regulation onthe environment which was passed in 1997 isstill in force. As an interim measure,UNTAET continued to apply all Indonesianlaws that were in force as of October 1999, aslong as they didn’t run counter to internation-ally acknowledged human rights standards.UNTAET also consults closely with TimoreseNGOs like Haburas that are concerned withenvironmental issues, as well as with theCNRT environment section.Antonio: But Tiu, is anything really beingdone to identify those people who are loggingillegally or exploiting the coral reefs?Tiu: Well, yes, Antonio, and increasingly so.There’s even an investigation unit on illegallogging. By the way, there are environmentalregulations regarding shipping and controlson oil companies doing exploration in EastTimor’s waters. UNTAET is also attemptingto review investment and development plans,assessing their short- and longer-term envi-ronmental impact.Antonio: That’s good to hear. But one otherthing. What are they doing to protect endan-gered species?Tiu: Well my friend, so far not much, but aninternational organization called IUCN,through its Red List of Threatened Species,used to keep track of endangered species herein East Timor. Since the destruction last year,they have yet to return. But hopefully withtime they will return.

Whew, look at the time. I’ve got to run,but this is an important issue and lets gettogether again soon and talk at greater lengthabout it. In the meantime, all of you try to getas much information on our environment aspossible. It’s ours to appreciate, it’s ours toprotect.

B y e B y e!

TTiiuu aannsswweerrss qquueessttiioonnss......

OOnn tthhee eennvviirroonnmmeenntt

applications for water connections, until the presentbacklog is reduced. When the backlog is sufficiently reduced, the OWS willinform the public that applications for water connec-tions will again be accepted.

PLEASE DON'T WASTE WATER

Many areas of Dili still experience water shortages.This is mainly because there is too much waterbeing wasted.

Please don't waste water. If you waste water atyour house it will mean other houses in Dili do not getenough water. Please report all water leaks to the UNTAET Office ofWater & Sanitation at the Governors Building.

WATER SUPPLY CONNECTIONS TO THE DILI SYSTEM

Over the past three months, the UNTAET Office ofWater and Sanitation (OWS) has received manyapplications for water supply connections to the Diliwater supply network. At the present time there is abacklog of nearly 500 applications for new connections,and the time delay between application and connectionis becoming unacceptable.

One of the reasons for delay is the need for ourconnection teams to make repairs on pipelines thathave been damaged by people breaking pipes to maketheir own connections. In most instances this practiceresults only in a broken pipe, wasted money, wastedwater, and a health risk to the community.

The OWS has decided that it will not accept new

UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES

UNTAETUnited Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor

Office of Water and Sanitation

PublicAnnouncement

PublicAnnouncement

UN CIVPOL24 HOUR

EMERGENCY NUMBERIN DILI

0408039978