yet again, July 6th
Well, my last update was sent out on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, Dili was in a state of minor panic. By Saturday, the streets were back to quiet, although the week continued to be rather crazy for me.
Well, remember those protesters I mentioned who were massing in the Eastern districts to come into Dili. They were stalled overnight, and were allowed into the capital on Thursday. Despite concerns of that their arrival would instigate fresh violence between these Easterners (who came in support of the already-ex Prime Minister) and the previous protesters in Dili (mostly Western, and definitely anti-Alkatiri), it was agreed that their democratic right to be protest needed to be respected… especially considering that the anti-Alkatiri people had nearly a full week of uninterrupted protests!
Thorough searches of each truck and individual involved in this protest meant that their collective arrival in Dili was late in the day. The group was escorted (by the Australian military and Portuguese guard) around a predetermined route through the city, and none of the protesters were to be allowed out of the trucks. Although they were supposed to leave Dili before nightfall, their late arrival forced a change of plans: the protesters were parked on the beach, and guarded, and would leave in the morning (Friday).
Once news spread that the protesters were starting to enter the city, the streets on the route were quickly lined by large groups of people, mostly young men in neighbourhood “gangs” (which I put in brackets simply because we are not talking the same sort of organized crime as in the Western world). The entire city was shut down: shops and ngos were closed and the UN was in lock-down (no staff allowed to leave headquarters). We all waited at home within reach of our mobile phones in anticipation about whether the day would go by quietly, or whether civil war would break out.
By late afternoon, the girls I was staying with and I started to feel nervous about remaining in the neighbourhood. Many homes in the area once occupied by Easterners had been burned down over the past two months… Just on Wednesday night, my then-housemate’s Timorese boss had her family’s home burned, honestly one block away from where we were staying. The boss was a known Alkatiri supporter, and having predicted the attack, her entire family had moved out and was spending that night in a protected location.
So, anyway, we were half-heartedly worried that some pro-Alkatiri supporters would manage to leave the designated night time area and target our neighbourhood for revenge… And, to compound that fear, the local groups of boys on the streets were setting up roadblocks, ostensibly to make it difficult for anyone to enter, but also which would have made it difficult to escape quickly enough should anything actually happen. We were still wavering on whether to stay or leave when the boys outside started throwing ammunition (or something) into fires. I found out after that they believed that the explosions would make the protesters think that they had weapons, and deter them coming into the neighbourhood… But it definitely scared the shit out of us girls, and we called some ex-military friends to come escort us to a hotel (with security!) for the night.
I’ve been staying here at the (inexpensive) hotel since then, but apparently that night passed without much major incidents. Yes more property was burned that day, and yes, I saw some gangs trying to instigate a fight by throwing stones at another groups of kids, but that civil war never materialized. Work essentially went began as usual and more shops and restaurants have been are open this week than were the first week I arrived in Timor.
Yet, despite that return to normality, the rest of that week was fairly bad for me… The first week I was in Dili I had been staying with the director of Ba Futuru and her boyfriend, in their home not far from our office. While they were away last week, I went twice daily to feed their dog and check-in on the property. Wednesday morning, it was clear that the home had been broken into: I had a single pair of running shoes stolen, while their entire collection of dvd’s, a dvd player, and a guitar were also missing. That afternoon, we took some of their more important and valuable belongings out of the home, as a precaution. Good timing. The house was entirely cleaned-out by Thursday afternoon.
Except for a kitchen table, some clothes, and three bed frames, everything they owned was gone. (Sadly, the dog was healthy, and probably could have fed an entire family in these somewhat desperate times). Without any insurance in Timor, the money that they need to replace things is actually a problem… But I think more devastating for them is that they both have been dedicated to this country for several years, and sacrificed much easier lives to stay here, and it must be painful that this is what they’ve received in return. The house actually belonged to a family from that East, so it is possible that the property was targeted for that reason, and not burned down only because it was rented by malae (foreigners). But, it’s also possible that the empty house made an easy target. unfortunately, without a functioning police, and people in the neighbourhood unwilling to divulge information, I don’t think we’ll ever know.
Aye.
Between one day of crazy uncertainty a la stone throwing, explosions, and protests, and the next few days of being upset about a dead dog and a major robbery, it really was a stellar week. I did definitely consider leaving, and even went to the airport to get a schedule of flights to Darwin. But, when it came down to it, I still feel safe here, and work goes on. I would not be averse to leaving anytime in the future if that changes, but at this very moment I think it’s worth staying.
Besides, Sunday came, and I spent the day at the beach – my favourite Timor weekend ritual. I borrowed some snorkelling gear from a friend, and spent more than an hour floating over a coral reef, only meters from the shore… I saw florescent plants, angle fish, bright blue neon fish, and five nemos in their sea anemone-like homes. They’re curious creatures, and swim up to explore wiggling fingers.
It was incredible.
Tonight I played “What’s Good About the Situasaun?” and everyone managed to come up with at least one positive despite the current situation… Even amazing things can happen in the worst of weeks.
Well, remember those protesters I mentioned who were massing in the Eastern districts to come into Dili. They were stalled overnight, and were allowed into the capital on Thursday. Despite concerns of that their arrival would instigate fresh violence between these Easterners (who came in support of the already-ex Prime Minister) and the previous protesters in Dili (mostly Western, and definitely anti-Alkatiri), it was agreed that their democratic right to be protest needed to be respected… especially considering that the anti-Alkatiri people had nearly a full week of uninterrupted protests!
Thorough searches of each truck and individual involved in this protest meant that their collective arrival in Dili was late in the day. The group was escorted (by the Australian military and Portuguese guard) around a predetermined route through the city, and none of the protesters were to be allowed out of the trucks. Although they were supposed to leave Dili before nightfall, their late arrival forced a change of plans: the protesters were parked on the beach, and guarded, and would leave in the morning (Friday).
Once news spread that the protesters were starting to enter the city, the streets on the route were quickly lined by large groups of people, mostly young men in neighbourhood “gangs” (which I put in brackets simply because we are not talking the same sort of organized crime as in the Western world). The entire city was shut down: shops and ngos were closed and the UN was in lock-down (no staff allowed to leave headquarters). We all waited at home within reach of our mobile phones in anticipation about whether the day would go by quietly, or whether civil war would break out.
By late afternoon, the girls I was staying with and I started to feel nervous about remaining in the neighbourhood. Many homes in the area once occupied by Easterners had been burned down over the past two months… Just on Wednesday night, my then-housemate’s Timorese boss had her family’s home burned, honestly one block away from where we were staying. The boss was a known Alkatiri supporter, and having predicted the attack, her entire family had moved out and was spending that night in a protected location.
So, anyway, we were half-heartedly worried that some pro-Alkatiri supporters would manage to leave the designated night time area and target our neighbourhood for revenge… And, to compound that fear, the local groups of boys on the streets were setting up roadblocks, ostensibly to make it difficult for anyone to enter, but also which would have made it difficult to escape quickly enough should anything actually happen. We were still wavering on whether to stay or leave when the boys outside started throwing ammunition (or something) into fires. I found out after that they believed that the explosions would make the protesters think that they had weapons, and deter them coming into the neighbourhood… But it definitely scared the shit out of us girls, and we called some ex-military friends to come escort us to a hotel (with security!) for the night.
I’ve been staying here at the (inexpensive) hotel since then, but apparently that night passed without much major incidents. Yes more property was burned that day, and yes, I saw some gangs trying to instigate a fight by throwing stones at another groups of kids, but that civil war never materialized. Work essentially went began as usual and more shops and restaurants have been are open this week than were the first week I arrived in Timor.
Yet, despite that return to normality, the rest of that week was fairly bad for me… The first week I was in Dili I had been staying with the director of Ba Futuru and her boyfriend, in their home not far from our office. While they were away last week, I went twice daily to feed their dog and check-in on the property. Wednesday morning, it was clear that the home had been broken into: I had a single pair of running shoes stolen, while their entire collection of dvd’s, a dvd player, and a guitar were also missing. That afternoon, we took some of their more important and valuable belongings out of the home, as a precaution. Good timing. The house was entirely cleaned-out by Thursday afternoon.
Except for a kitchen table, some clothes, and three bed frames, everything they owned was gone. (Sadly, the dog was healthy, and probably could have fed an entire family in these somewhat desperate times). Without any insurance in Timor, the money that they need to replace things is actually a problem… But I think more devastating for them is that they both have been dedicated to this country for several years, and sacrificed much easier lives to stay here, and it must be painful that this is what they’ve received in return. The house actually belonged to a family from that East, so it is possible that the property was targeted for that reason, and not burned down only because it was rented by malae (foreigners). But, it’s also possible that the empty house made an easy target. unfortunately, without a functioning police, and people in the neighbourhood unwilling to divulge information, I don’t think we’ll ever know.
Aye.
Between one day of crazy uncertainty a la stone throwing, explosions, and protests, and the next few days of being upset about a dead dog and a major robbery, it really was a stellar week. I did definitely consider leaving, and even went to the airport to get a schedule of flights to Darwin. But, when it came down to it, I still feel safe here, and work goes on. I would not be averse to leaving anytime in the future if that changes, but at this very moment I think it’s worth staying.
Besides, Sunday came, and I spent the day at the beach – my favourite Timor weekend ritual. I borrowed some snorkelling gear from a friend, and spent more than an hour floating over a coral reef, only meters from the shore… I saw florescent plants, angle fish, bright blue neon fish, and five nemos in their sea anemone-like homes. They’re curious creatures, and swim up to explore wiggling fingers.
It was incredible.
Tonight I played “What’s Good About the Situasaun?” and everyone managed to come up with at least one positive despite the current situation… Even amazing things can happen in the worst of weeks.
posted by melissa at 10:46 PM
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