Subject: 'austraLasia' # 271

EAST TIMOR –

a few reflections on the Salesian contribution to growth and development

By Michael Lynch and Henry van der Laan *

 

MELBOURNE: 3rd Jan '00 -- We went to East Timor for a field visit of the

Salesian Houses just before Christmas, 1999. While Bishop Carlos Belo is the

best known of the East Timorese Salesians, there are another 53 Priests and

Brothers working in the Territory.

Over the past few months Australians, including many readers of the Salesian

Bulletin, have donated more than $70,000, through the Salesian Missions

Office, emergency relief in East Timor and to assist with financing

development projects. This support is much appreciated by the East Timorese

Salesians and we were asked, several times, to convey their gratitude to

Australian donors.

The devastation in East Timor was far more extensive than we expected. In

Dili about 80 per cent of the homes have been torched and in other parts of

the Territory visited, whole villages have been destroyed.

The people, in general, are happy and smiling. They are very grateful to the

international peacekeepers for restoring calm after the atrocities

perpetrated by the Indonesian Military backed militia. The Australian Army is

both highly regarded and respected, and the Aussie troops make friends easily

with the locals.

We heard many stories of determination and courage. Some people hid in drains

to avoid the militia; a countless number of mothers neglected their own

health and safety to protect young children; many fled the militia for refuge

in the mountains living there for weeks without proper food and shelter.

As we travelled through the Territory, there was the sense that the people

wanted to move on from the horrific events of September 1999. They want their

vote for independence to be respected and, at the same time, being well aware

that there is much to be done in rebuilding this newly recognised nation.

The Salesians work with the local people from seven bases. They are in Dili

and in six centres in the eastern half of the Territory: Baucau, Fatumaca,

Fulioro, Laga, Los Palos, and Venilale.

The Salesian focus is on education – they aim to help provide children and

young people with skills necessary for the growth and development of their

country, and to be self-reliant.

While the Salesian approach is to help people help themselves, to set their

own goals and not be dependent on outside aid, it is pleasing that the

Australian Salesian Missions Office has been able to provide the East

Timorese confreres with both encouragement and tangible support to assist

their work.

The Salesians run twelve schools – two technical, one agricultural, four

secondary and five primary. In addition they have been asked to be

responsible for the other 17 primary and secondary schools in the Baucau

Diocese.

The two technical schools, in Dili and Fatumaca, have an important function.

They provide introductory training for carpenters, electricians and motor

mechanics – this is especially crucial right now as East Timor's Poly Technic

Institute and other Technical School were destroyed by militia and it will

take some time for them to restored and re-equipped.

We spoke to students in nine schools. They were very friendly, keen to know

about the outside world and to get on with their studies. Students everywhere

want to learn English. We were very impressed with the students' general

knowledge and their perceptive questioning. However, the schools have very

poor facilities. School resources were sparse before August 1999; they are a

good deal sparser after the militia initiated incinerating.

Some schools are very grateful for the donations of stationery send by

Australian schoolchildren – students helping students. All schools in East

Timor urgently need stationery as well as maps, wall charts, basic materials

in Mathematics and English and (especially) chalk that does not disintegrate

in one's hands even before writing on the board!

However the main problem faced by the schools is how to provide teachers with

a wage. Back in October to ensure a quick return to "normality" and to keep

children and teenagers occupied, the senior UN personnel in Dili urged

schools to re-open with the promise of pay for the teachers. Well, November

and December have passed and despite repeated requests from School

Principals, UNESCO has still not made any financial allocation.

While the funds needed to support teachers are minimal by Australian

standards, if they are not forthcoming many of the teachers will simply have

to withdraw from the classroom and spend their time working in the fields

growing rice to support their families. If this happens surely the wise

women and men of UNESCO can see that the losers will be not only the

students, but the nation as a whole.

There are three local self-help initiatives that we are hoping some,

community groups & schools might like to encourage and support.

1. A group of more than 60 young people, mostly in their twenties, are

involved in rice cultivation and fish farming on 15 hectares near Baucau.

Possessing no equipment, they are now preparing the land with their hands.

They would dearly love to obtain a couple of hand tractors to help them

prepare the soil for planting. When they harvest the crop, a portion will be

given to the landowner as "rent" and the remainder will be sold; the proceeds

will then be shared among the workers.

2. A group of 20 women who have completed courses in sewing and tailoring at

the Salesian Sisters Vocational School at Venilale would like to open a

DressMaking Factory in a Church building near Baucau. As well as providing

employment for themselves, they would also be able to make inexpensive

garments for local people. And the proceeds from the enterprise will be

shared among the workers. This is a women's project, run by women. The

participants are looking for help to purchase sewing machines, other

necessary equipment fabric and cotton.

3. In Dili the youth have too much time on their hands, especially at

weekends. The young people like their sport. The boys are very keen on

soccer, and both boys and girls play basketball and volleyball. Three of the

Brothers at Don Bosco Technical School Comoro, located near the Dili Airport,

with the assistance of two other teachers and two former students are

organising a competition in these sports at two levels – under 17 and senior.

The current competition, catering for 92 teams, commenced on December 27 and

culminates with finals on January 31.

The organisers plan to repeat the series three or four times during the year.

They said they would really appreciate up to eight different sets of shirts

and shorts (tracksuit trousers for the girls) for the participants – to

enable the young people to really "look the part" as they play their games.

In addition, there is a constant need for soccer balls, basketballs,

volleyballs and whistles.

We had many discussions with local people. One senior East Timorese commented

that there was great value in effective partnerships between East Timorese

groups and Australian Government and Non Government Agencies. He said that

these relationships should be totally transparent, for the benefit of the

East Timorese people rather than the donors, and that they be administered

without discrimination. He added he noticed a tendency for outsiders to

consider themselves a tad superior and thinking that they knew what is best

for East Timor.

East Timor is the newest recognised nation in the world and Australia's

closest neighbour. As a nation we can be proud of the Howard Government's

involvement to date in helping to ensure both the Territory's security and

the initial conditions for growth and development. Let's move to the next

stage.

 

* Michael Lynch is a Salesian Brother based at Don Bosco Centre,

Brunswick Vic and Henry van der Laan is a Salesian Brother stationed

at Our Lady Help of Christians parish, Palmerston NT.

January 3, 2000.

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