This lovely (?) sun-drenched 'edifice' is (as you may be able to see)
the burnt-out shell of our neighbour's house. I say "our neighbour"
but, of course, I don't know who used to live there. Actually, I know
all the other neighbours (on each side of the school, both sides of
the road) but not the people who live here. (Because people do live
around this house now, but not in it. I'm pretty sure they're not the
same people who lived there before it was burnt.) Although to be
honest I was talking to some people up the street and they're now
living in the building beside their burnt-out house...so it could be the
same people.
Anyhow, I don't know when this house was burned. It could have
been in 2006 or 1999. Most recently, this past August (three months
ago), at least 300 houses were burned down in Baucau (an hour or
more east of Dili) and a few (but not as many) in Dili. This was due
to anger over Xanana Gusmao being named Prime Minister. I should
be more specific here (I'm editing this on Dec. 21). The anger was
not necessarily so much personal as political. FRETILIN won more
votes than any other opposition party, but Xanana and his party
(the CNRT) formed a coalition with, I believe, two other parties.
And then he was named Prime Minister. For more information
about the 2006 Crisis, click on
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4438&l=1
In fact, this report is also a good general history of Timor-L, from
the early 1970's on. It's very well-done and informative (thank-you,
International Crisis Group!). It's actually quite difficult to find
reading material on East Timor here in East Timor, oddly enough.
The Xanana Gusmao Reading Room has a number of books, but
they can't be borrowed. And as far as I know there aren't really
any bookstores (some stationary stores, that may sell dictionaries...)
Correct me if I'm wrong - if you can - please. So it's good to "have
a clue" so to speak. A found this report on the blog Dili-Dallying;
Two Years in Timor-Leste, which is also worth reading and not
just getting jealous about the name.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
The First Dance
This is a picture taken from the wedding we went to on the first
Saturday I was here (Oct. 26, I think). It's hard to believe I've
been here three weeks already! I don't really like to say I've been
here for three weeks - the first week here the school paid for us
to have Tetun classes, so I learned how to say "What is your
name?" (Ita-nia naran sa?), "Where do you come from?" (Ita
mai husi ne'ebe?) and a few other things. And when I told people
that I'd only been here a week, they were really impressed.
"And you already speak Tetun!" But, now, my Tetun hasn't
really improved and I've been here three weeks, so....I've got
to get cracking.
The thing about this wedding that really made an impression
on me was how Latin American it felt. Unfortunately, the video
option on my camera doesn't include sound, so you can't hear
the music, but if you can see the people dancing you can
probably get an idea of the rhythm. A very country-Latin
thing, me parecido de El Salvador. Sorry if that's not good
Spanish. What about this picture does not look Latin American?
I suppose the only thing is the woman wearing a hijab, which
is not very common here (Timor-Leste being a Catholic country).
Of course, we live right behind the oldest and, now, only mosque in
the country, in "Kampung Alor", so it's not super-uncommon in
our neighbourhood - but still, nobody on our street wears hijab.
Apparently people go into debt, for life, due to the cost of weddings.
I was told that this one cost - well, a lot. Like maybe two years' salary
for an 'average' Canadian. In a country where people make an
average of 50 cents a day (well, not these people, but still....) that's
a LOT of money. There could have easily been 1,000 people there,
with food, and drinks (not neccessarily alcohol) for all. Wow. As one
person there said to me "We don't get to party much", so I'm glad
we all had an excuse. (And I didn't have to pay for it!)
The reason the Timorese don't 'party' much is because most of them
are still afraid to go out after dark (6pm), and so they don't. If you
don't have your own form of transportation, you won't either. (Of
course most foreigners here work for the UN, so they have vehicles.
All they have to worry about is getting stones thrown at them (their
cars).) But according to the people who have been here a while,
things are getting better and people are going out a bit more. It's
certainly not a problem for most foreigners, as long as you have
wheels.
Saturday I was here (Oct. 26, I think). It's hard to believe I've
been here three weeks already! I don't really like to say I've been
here for three weeks - the first week here the school paid for us
to have Tetun classes, so I learned how to say "What is your
name?" (Ita-nia naran sa?), "Where do you come from?" (Ita
mai husi ne'ebe?) and a few other things. And when I told people
that I'd only been here a week, they were really impressed.
"And you already speak Tetun!" But, now, my Tetun hasn't
really improved and I've been here three weeks, so....I've got
to get cracking.
The thing about this wedding that really made an impression
on me was how Latin American it felt. Unfortunately, the video
option on my camera doesn't include sound, so you can't hear
the music, but if you can see the people dancing you can
probably get an idea of the rhythm. A very country-Latin
thing, me parecido de El Salvador. Sorry if that's not good
Spanish. What about this picture does not look Latin American?
I suppose the only thing is the woman wearing a hijab, which
is not very common here (Timor-Leste being a Catholic country).
Of course, we live right behind the oldest and, now, only mosque in
the country, in "Kampung Alor", so it's not super-uncommon in
our neighbourhood - but still, nobody on our street wears hijab.
Apparently people go into debt, for life, due to the cost of weddings.
I was told that this one cost - well, a lot. Like maybe two years' salary
for an 'average' Canadian. In a country where people make an
average of 50 cents a day (well, not these people, but still....) that's
a LOT of money. There could have easily been 1,000 people there,
with food, and drinks (not neccessarily alcohol) for all. Wow. As one
person there said to me "We don't get to party much", so I'm glad
we all had an excuse. (And I didn't have to pay for it!)
The reason the Timorese don't 'party' much is because most of them
are still afraid to go out after dark (6pm), and so they don't. If you
don't have your own form of transportation, you won't either. (Of
course most foreigners here work for the UN, so they have vehicles.
All they have to worry about is getting stones thrown at them (their
cars).) But according to the people who have been here a while,
things are getting better and people are going out a bit more. It's
certainly not a problem for most foreigners, as long as you have
wheels.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Mountains over Dili
Last Monday another teacher at the school,
Curran, took me up into the mountains on
his motorbike, for which I will be forever and
eternally grateful. The temperature is as much
as ten degrees cooler by the time you get to the
top, which makes one wonder why everyone
doesn't just move to the mountains. And the
views, of course, are great. I, unfortunately,
thought that I would take pictures on the way
down but by the time we were coming down
it had started to rain on the mountains (the
rain never actually made it into town) and the
whole city was over cast (but considerably
cooler, so I am not complaining.) There are
some wonderful eucalyptus forests on the
way up - all I can say is, I'll have to go back.
Not just to take better pictures.
Curran, took me up into the mountains on
his motorbike, for which I will be forever and
eternally grateful. The temperature is as much
as ten degrees cooler by the time you get to the
top, which makes one wonder why everyone
doesn't just move to the mountains. And the
views, of course, are great. I, unfortunately,
thought that I would take pictures on the way
down but by the time we were coming down
it had started to rain on the mountains (the
rain never actually made it into town) and the
whole city was over cast (but considerably
cooler, so I am not complaining.) There are
some wonderful eucalyptus forests on the
way up - all I can say is, I'll have to go back.
Not just to take better pictures.
Kidz in the Hood
I took this picture because of the kid playing
a video game (the little yellow plastic thing).
Video games are everywhere, even in Timor
Leste! But generally these kids lead pretty
active outdoor lives, including climbing the
jumbalo (fruit) tree over our 'garage' - and
hopefully not falling through. The girl on the
right is Lucretia, and I always remember her
because she reminds me a bit of Dia. (I hope
Dia doesn't mind).
By the way, if you're looking for the Santa Cruz
video (see post below) it should be at the bottom
of the page. It's only 14 seconds long.
a video game (the little yellow plastic thing).
Video games are everywhere, even in Timor
Leste! But generally these kids lead pretty
active outdoor lives, including climbing the
jumbalo (fruit) tree over our 'garage' - and
hopefully not falling through. The girl on the
right is Lucretia, and I always remember her
because she reminds me a bit of Dia. (I hope
Dia doesn't mind).
By the way, if you're looking for the Santa Cruz
video (see post below) it should be at the bottom
of the page. It's only 14 seconds long.
Santa Cruz Cemetary
As promised, I'm just adding the video clip I took
last Friday (a week ago) at the Santa Cruz cemetary.
Actually, I didn't take the video, I gave my camera
to a guy sitting on the wall and asked him to do it.
I only saw one other foreigner ("malae") while we
were there, and I din't want to be the big white
woman taking pictures. The video doesn't really
capture the sense of how completely packed the
cemetary was. It was a bit overwhelming at first,
when we first stepped inside. All the tombstones
were covered in flower petals and surrounded by
burning candles (not a good place to wear a long
skirt.) This is the same cemetary where the Santa
Cruz massacre happened in 1991, when about 250
people were killed by Indonesian troops. And East
Timor - finally - made the news. Not, of course,
that making the news that way is a good thing,
but 100 - 200,000 people died between 1975 and
1980 or so and still very few people even knew
there was such a place as East Timor.
Lil (Li-Lien Gibbons) brother Kamal was one of
those who died in the Santa Cruz massacre.
November 2, however, was not a commemoration
of the massacre but the yearly 'Day of the Dead' or
All Saints Day. Unfortunately I don't remember
the name of the day in Tetun. Families go to the
cemetaries and clean the graves of their loved
ones and place flowers and candles on the graves.
The anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre is now
a national holiday, and it's this coming Monday,
Nov. 12. So I may go to the cemetary again,
although I may not take any pictures or videos.
last Friday (a week ago) at the Santa Cruz cemetary.
Actually, I didn't take the video, I gave my camera
to a guy sitting on the wall and asked him to do it.
I only saw one other foreigner ("malae") while we
were there, and I din't want to be the big white
woman taking pictures. The video doesn't really
capture the sense of how completely packed the
cemetary was. It was a bit overwhelming at first,
when we first stepped inside. All the tombstones
were covered in flower petals and surrounded by
burning candles (not a good place to wear a long
skirt.) This is the same cemetary where the Santa
Cruz massacre happened in 1991, when about 250
people were killed by Indonesian troops. And East
Timor - finally - made the news. Not, of course,
that making the news that way is a good thing,
but 100 - 200,000 people died between 1975 and
1980 or so and still very few people even knew
there was such a place as East Timor.
Lil (Li-Lien Gibbons) brother Kamal was one of
those who died in the Santa Cruz massacre.
November 2, however, was not a commemoration
of the massacre but the yearly 'Day of the Dead' or
All Saints Day. Unfortunately I don't remember
the name of the day in Tetun. Families go to the
cemetaries and clean the graves of their loved
ones and place flowers and candles on the graves.
The anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre is now
a national holiday, and it's this coming Monday,
Nov. 12. So I may go to the cemetary again,
although I may not take any pictures or videos.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Dili 101
Hello, everybody!
I got a ride into the Internet cafe (where it's cheaper
than using the Internet at school), but I forgot the
cable for the camera. I was going to upload video
from the Day of the Dead holiday at the Santa Cruz
cemetary. That was three days ago - Friday, Nov. 2.
Sonju and I went to check it out. I will post that video
the next time I can. For now, I'll explain the Dili
waterfront.
I wanted to take a video (with my digital camera) just
driving around Dili, and this is as far as I got (from
where we're staying to downtown). There'll be more to
come, hopefully.
The video starts with the taxi driver and the woman
in the backseat is Sonju, another teacher at the school
from Chicago. She arrived three days after me. On the
left is, of course, the waterfront (notice the kid sitting
on the harbour wall "cheering") The first building on the
right is the South Korean embassy (yay, South Korea!).
There is also a Chinese embassy. The video ends just as
we're approaching stacks of big white UN cargo boxes
(I'm not sure of the word - like train-cars). They all say
UN on the side (as do many of the vehicles going by)
but the video cuts out before you can get close enough
to read it.
Part 2 - This was an unusually overcast day for Dili
(nevermind all the smoke). Also, when looking out to the
left over the water you should be able to see the island
of Atauro (all vowels pronounced). It's very large and
mountainous - it's hard to believe it didn't show up at
all this day.
The building with a white fence, pink at the bottom,
is the Royal Thai embassy. Then you can see the ship
burning. We really had no idea what this was about
(if anything), but people seemed pretty unfazed by it.
We found out later that the gas tank had just exploded.
It burned all day and all night.
You could accuse me of having bad journalistic
instincts for turning the camera back to the other side
of the street, and I guess you'd be right. The tents on the
right side of the street are one of the IDP sites (Internally
Displaced People). I'll have to explain what I know about
that situation another time. For now all I can say is the
rainy season is coming, and the UN is supposed to be getting
better tents for thos people (someone who works for the
UN told me). If they don't get them in time, there will be
trouble. It rained last week and a road going to the
east of Dili was closed because the people in an IDP
camp along that road were throwing stones at UN
vehicles (presumably because they weren't happy
about sleeping in puddles).
The video stops with the Hotel Timor (white building)
just appearing on the right. You probably can't see the
clothes left out to dry on the bushes in front. Is this
the Hotel Timor's laundry service, you ask? No, it's the
'laundry service' of the IDPs.
Speaking of rock-throwing, two of the teachers went up
to Ramelau mountain (the highest in Timor) with some
other people (in a UN vehicle). To avoid getting rocks
thrown at them, they decided to roll down the windows
when they went through a town and wave at everyone
(mostly little kids). And it worked! Curran said he actually
saw kids dropping rocks so they could wave back at them.
I have to say, from the Timorese I've met - walking down
the street, wherever - they certainly don't seem like a
stone-throwing kind of people. In fact, they're very friendly.
But, of course.....
I got a ride into the Internet cafe (where it's cheaper
than using the Internet at school), but I forgot the
cable for the camera. I was going to upload video
from the Day of the Dead holiday at the Santa Cruz
cemetary. That was three days ago - Friday, Nov. 2.
Sonju and I went to check it out. I will post that video
the next time I can. For now, I'll explain the Dili
waterfront.
I wanted to take a video (with my digital camera) just
driving around Dili, and this is as far as I got (from
where we're staying to downtown). There'll be more to
come, hopefully.
The video starts with the taxi driver and the woman
in the backseat is Sonju, another teacher at the school
from Chicago. She arrived three days after me. On the
left is, of course, the waterfront (notice the kid sitting
on the harbour wall "cheering") The first building on the
right is the South Korean embassy (yay, South Korea!).
There is also a Chinese embassy. The video ends just as
we're approaching stacks of big white UN cargo boxes
(I'm not sure of the word - like train-cars). They all say
UN on the side (as do many of the vehicles going by)
but the video cuts out before you can get close enough
to read it.
Part 2 - This was an unusually overcast day for Dili
(nevermind all the smoke). Also, when looking out to the
left over the water you should be able to see the island
of Atauro (all vowels pronounced). It's very large and
mountainous - it's hard to believe it didn't show up at
all this day.
The building with a white fence, pink at the bottom,
is the Royal Thai embassy. Then you can see the ship
burning. We really had no idea what this was about
(if anything), but people seemed pretty unfazed by it.
We found out later that the gas tank had just exploded.
It burned all day and all night.
You could accuse me of having bad journalistic
instincts for turning the camera back to the other side
of the street, and I guess you'd be right. The tents on the
right side of the street are one of the IDP sites (Internally
Displaced People). I'll have to explain what I know about
that situation another time. For now all I can say is the
rainy season is coming, and the UN is supposed to be getting
better tents for thos people (someone who works for the
UN told me). If they don't get them in time, there will be
trouble. It rained last week and a road going to the
east of Dili was closed because the people in an IDP
camp along that road were throwing stones at UN
vehicles (presumably because they weren't happy
about sleeping in puddles).
The video stops with the Hotel Timor (white building)
just appearing on the right. You probably can't see the
clothes left out to dry on the bushes in front. Is this
the Hotel Timor's laundry service, you ask? No, it's the
'laundry service' of the IDPs.
Speaking of rock-throwing, two of the teachers went up
to Ramelau mountain (the highest in Timor) with some
other people (in a UN vehicle). To avoid getting rocks
thrown at them, they decided to roll down the windows
when they went through a town and wave at everyone
(mostly little kids). And it worked! Curran said he actually
saw kids dropping rocks so they could wave back at them.
I have to say, from the Timorese I've met - walking down
the street, wherever - they certainly don't seem like a
stone-throwing kind of people. In fact, they're very friendly.
But, of course.....
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