From: Julian Fox [jbfox@is.com.fj]
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 1:06 AM
Subject: 'austraLasia' # 213
APOLOGIES for the break in service to many individuals just at a crucial time. I found myself unavoidably in islands that did not offer easy access to internet and was forced to send items to one or two representatives of the list and ask them to fan out the news from that point. My thanks especially to Tony Bailey of the UK for his stirling effort in that regard, but to many others too. I'll just assume you all have, one way or another, what has been transmitted so far, and I'll simply take up from here what I receive from this point on. In all of this terrible tragedy, our little service has been able to help a number of individuals to contact one another and relieve the worry that comes from not knowing.
from Joe Boenzi (you may have received it directly)
BULLETIN ON EAST TIMOR
(Telephone conversation of Sr. Alice with Sr. Paola Battagliola
3:10 p.m.
September 10, 1999)
Only our sisters are left in Dili. All the other religious of other
congregations have left the city.
Our sisters are staying in the hope that some sort of agreement will come up
very soon. In case they will be forced to leave, there is the difficulty of
moving around with the orphans and mothers (around 80 of them). Our sisters
have food provisions which will last for two months.
Fr. Andy Wong, Fr. Rolando Fernandez and Fr. Edmundo Barretta who were with
the sisters for some time (I was not able to ask for how long the SDB's
stayed) have left for the airport with 6,000 refugees hoping to get an
airlift to Kupang, West Timor. It is not clear whether Fr. Wong will go with
the group or will decide to remain behind.
As of September 8, through telephone conversation before the lines were
cut-off, our communites and the SDB communities in Venilale, Laga, Fuiloro
and Fatumaka are all okay.
But they have lost contact since then. Sr. Paola is now trying to get some
news through some contacts but so far she has not received any yet.
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