Driving through Crossfires

During the shootings, one of our korean friend was hit by a stray bullet in his neck when he peered out of his window. Thank God that the bullet miss his artery and he was quickly rush to the hospital by his korean housemate. Yeap. This is the guy who told me how he had to drive with his head down and gunshots were fired all over the place near his house along the Jacinto De Candido road. In the hospital, he saw 2 poliewomen died as they both couldn't survive their injuries.

Another stray bullet hit another friend's house in Vila Verde and richochet off the wall onto the roof. Again, they thank God that they were all in their bedrooms and not in the living where the bullet came in. Other places of action included Audian where an uncle said he watch the action from atop his apartment. He said, "this is like watching real-life movie" as the soldiers and police shot at each other along Audian. There was no shooting in my area at Bairo Pitte but I caught sight of this at Caicoli where shooting was also intense on 25th May. Although I was not in the thick of the action, I could feel the sadness and solemn mood of fellow friends and locals in Timor at that time. Right now, I wonder how they are feeling. I wish I could stay to do something but there was really nothing I could do except to pray. Hope I can be back soon.

Are lives that cheap?

Sadly to say, after 4 years of near stability, East Timor is going back to the days of violence. I tried to gather as much information as possible from locals and other foreign workers and here's what I've got thus far.(remember, it is not 100% accurate. perhaps close to it)

Yesterday(25 may), soldiers surrounded the Police HQ in Caicoli and fought with them. According to various sources, some police officers resigned(or left the force) and took weapons with them with the intention of joining the renegade soldiers. The army got wind of the news and quickly surrounded them to prevent them from joining the opposing forces. One soldier started shooting and all hell broke loose. A ceasefire was negotiated(the police force must surrender their arms). However, when they did that, some soldiers shot at them and killed 9 and injured 27 others. Some police fled to the UN compound(Obrigado Barracks) and seek refuge there.

This morning, shots were fired at Obrigado Barracks by the army and their target is an obvious one; the police.(the military and the police force has not seen eye to eye in the past but this is too much!) The UN clinic now is a busy one with wounded police from yesterday's shootings. Read timorsunhine.blogspot.com for more details.

The shooting of the police is beyond logic. Some soldiers had become bloodthirsty for the police had did them no harm at all but they are bend on killing them. No one knows why. It seems that their aim now is to kill, kill and kill. I already don't understand why the rebels, led by Major Alfredo, shot at innocent soldiers collecting their paycheck. And now, even the soldiers themselves begin to behave like the rebels. Are lives that cheap???? This is really disturbing.

Dying for Nothing

There are now recent shootings in Dili(just this morning, there is an exchange of gunfire near the airport between soldiers and renegade ones). Yesterday 2 soldiers were killed and 8 others were injured by renegade military police. The soldiers, who were receiving their pay, were caught off-guard at Fatu Ahi, a place near the Becora bus terminal. Previously, we thought the ex-soldiers may be the ones staging an attack but now, we have another problem - the ex-military police(also soldiers).

Background: Major Alfredo, the commander of the Military Police, voiced his unhappiness on two things: 1. He did not liked the leadership of the military(F-FDTL) and 2. He was unhappy that the military shot the protesters on 28 April, killing an unknown amount of people(news report 5 killed, many said more than 50 were killed). So he decided to use violence to convey his message. Some of them left their barracks from F-FDTL HQ and carried off a container of weapons with them to Aileu, citing that they are going there to calm the situation. However, Tuar Matan Ruak, the commander of F-FDTL said F-FDTL did not gave them that command. The renegade soldiers refused to return to their barracks after going to Aileu and are now causing unrest in Dili.

For what? All for the sake of conveying his message of unhappiness and disatisfaction of F-FDTL and the government. They NEVER pause to think:"Are the lives worth it?". 2 soldiers were killed and who knows how many family members they left behind and depend on them for food and money. I feel very sad that 2 persons died for nothing. A few days ago, Alfredo said he wanted a dialogue with the government to resolve the issues, but now he has chosen to kill. Why are we so foolish at times?

"O Lord, please save us all. The world needs you badly. Call us from darkness into your marvellous light" ~ "...that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light" 1 Peter 2:9b(NASB)

Is East Timor safe?

Although Dili has not been as busy as it used to be, there are people walking on the streets and taxis, buses plying the streets. The market in Mercado Lama and Comoro is also bustling with activities - people buying, selling and chatting away. No doubt the situation is volatile but as of now, it is peaceful and calm. There are rumours that gun shots are heard in Comoro yesterday but Timor is always full of these rumours. If it's true, the market will be empty already. Nevertheless, the police and military are on high alert and ready to tackle any trouble if it arises.

As I went to the Malaysia Embassy yesterday to collect my certificate of good conduct(to apply for my working visa), I asked my taxi driver, "Are you from Dili?" He replied, "No, I'm from Baucau". I was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Oh, you're from Baucau(the east). Aren't you afraid of the current situation?" He smiled at me and said, "Afraid of what? I have to work. My stomach is more important." We both had a good laugh. So is East Timor safe? To each his own.

Fretilin Congress Countdown - 17,18,19,20

Today, East Timor's governing political party, Fretilin will be holding a congress till 19th May. Fretilin's secretary-general, Mari Alkatiri, who is also the Prime Minister of East Timor is challenged by Jose Luis Guterres, the Ambassador to the US and UN, for the position. The Secretary of State for Region III, Egidio de Jesus, is challenging current Fretilin President, Francisco ‘Lu’Olo’ Guterres for his position. There are rumours that should PM Mari Alkatiri be re-elected as secretary general of Fretilin, there will be trouble again as the petitioning ex-soldiers do not like him and may caused trouble on 20th May, East Timor's Independence Day. If you have followed the situation in Timor up till now, you can't help but wonder whether the case of the sacked ex-soldiers is part of the whole political game.

Why do I think so?
1. It is strange that the soldiers from the west side of the country took that long(East Timor has been independent since 2002) to staged a protest of discrimination.
2. Although an establishment of a commission of investigation was agreed on 27th May, the demonstration went out of control the next day where the riot started.
3. The news said 5 were killed. The leader of the protesters, Salsinha said that 60 of his people were missing. Some locals said more than 50 were gunned down at Tasitolu and their bodies thrown into containers. The 60 people are still missing. Were they gunned down? It was the PM who gave the military the go-ahead to open fire if necessary. Was his decision based on controlling the situation or silencing troublemakers?
4. Rumours of US providing weapons or backing the protesters. The US ambassador to Timor has denied the allegations. The person contesting PM Mari Alkatiri is East Timor's Ambassador to the US and he has used this latest incident to discredit the PM. What if the rumours are true? Could the US be backing the challenger AND the protesters?
5. Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, commander-in-chief of the army, said this to the protesters,"If you want war, we are ready for it". This was way before the demonstration took place. During the demonstration, the protesting ex-soldiers demanded an explanation of this remark. Was there something that Taur Matan Ruak knew which the ex-soldiers didn't know? Was he informed of a possible coup or 'war' and hence making the remark?
6. Australia sent 4 warships to their northen borders in the sea, just outside of East Timor. Do you need warships to crush riots? I don't think so.

So much for my conspiracy theory. Most sources of information from UNMISET Media Monitoring, a website with news from the various national news sources of East Timor and sometimes including ABC news network from Australia.

Dangerous Bridge!

Near my office are some shops that are surrounded by drains and you have to cross some makeshift wooden bridge to get across. I was very thirsty so I went over to get myself a drink when one piece of the wooden plank broke! My entire left leg went right down and thank God my reflexes were fast enough! Both my hands grab on to the side so that I don't fell face down and go down into the dark pool of kangkong(vegetables that are sold in the market, drinking from this dirty pool of drain water) Really thank God that there was no serious injury; only some bruise and graze. Here's the picture of the bridge and shop. So be careful when you cross such bridge, especially if you're heavy.(I'm only 60kg and the plank broke!)

The situation in Timor now

Things have calmed down in Dili but many people are still away in the districts. My computer classes in World Vision are now half(or less than that) full as many students are away. Rumours are flying all over the place that there will be further troubles especially on Independence Day(20th May). Things looked normal as of now - cars and taxis in the streets, some shops are opened and people walking in the streets. But no one really knows when another attack will come. Australia had deployed 4 warships near the Timor sea and had told the Timor government that should they need troops, they are ready to send them in. Everyone hopes that there will be a close to this chapter but it seems that this unresolved soldiers case will continue to mar the stability of the country until next year's election. As I've always told my friends, "Anything can happen in any place at any time in East Timor". No wonder my passport and my camera is in my bag everyday now.

Background of the recent Riot and Thoughts

Here's a summary on what led to the recent riots in Dili.
Background: Soldiers from the west of East Timor claimed that the army favoured the eastern side of East Timor; that the western side are not given proper facilities and overlooked in promotions. These soldiers left their barracks and held a protest in February. The commander of the army warn them to return to their barracks or faced the axe for indiscipline. Some returned but 591 did not and they were sacked. These sacked soldiers then appeal to the president to look into their case(of discrimination). However, the government was slow in setting up a committee to investigate and on the 24th of April, the soldiers held a 5-days demonstration(approved by the government). Before this demonstration,there were already some trouble in Dili; some stone-throwing, fights in Taibessi market and a stabbed ploiceman.

Riot: The 5-day demonstration were peaceful for the first 2 days but got worse on wednesday and thursday. On the last day of the demonstration(28th April), the situation worsened as the ex-soldiers were not satisfied with the government's answer. Many of those who joined them(we called them the third party or hooligans) in the demonstration began to caused trouble by burning vehicles and throwing stones near the government building. It got worse when they started burning shacks and houses in the Tasitolu area. The riot was quickly quenched as riot police and the military sprung into action. The riot resulted in about 100 burnt buildings, some damaged and burnt vehicles, at least 5 persons killed and more than 50 injured. Some locals claimed that more than 50 people were killed in the shooting in Tasitolu.

Aftermath: In the District of Ermera, third parties surrounded a government office in Gleno and killed one policeman and injured another one. It came as a surprised as all the troubles were happening in Dili only and many people consider the other districts to be safe. There are now rumours that they will be further trouble.

My Thoughts
Who's at fault: I would say the government. They should have addressed this issue in the first instance by responding to the protest and reassuring the soldiers that they will look into their grievances. Timorese soldiers are still new and some of them are guerilla veterans who might still not be used to army discipline. If the government had responded, there will not be sacked soldiers and certainly not a demonstration that was blown out of proportion into a riot.

Questions: Then again, no one really knows what's going on beneath all the decisions and politics. Could it be that someone overlooked the protest intentionally? Is there really a plot to overthrow the government as the PM claimed? Could this be the catalyst to the supposed coup? Will East Timor be returning to the days of unstability? Everyone is waiting for an answer.

Medical Work in East Timor

The team arrived on the 28th of April and as we were about to go to Gleno, we found that the road to Gleno was blocked by a group of rioters at the round-about outside of the airport. The road is on the way to Tasitolu, which is a hot zone as quite a number of timorese from the east lived there, and the rioters had made the place their 'base'. They blocked the road by burning tyres and as the rioters approached us, we turn our vehicles around and head for Baucau, the eastern side. On the way up to Baucau, we saw from the hills that Dili was burning. We found out later that about 100 buildings(houses and shacks) and 5 vehicles had been burnt. It was good that we did not manage to get to Gleno, otherwise we would have been stuck there and not able to carry out the medical work in district Lautem.

The roads to Baucau and Los Palos are good but the roads from Los Palos to Iliomar are terrible most of the time. The roads are much narrower than the Baucau and Los Palos roads and many parts of the tar road have deteoriated. Averaging a speed of 20-30km, it took us about 2 hours to reach Ilioma from Los Palos.

We visited one village(called Desa in Bahasa Indonesia) in Iliomar and the people there can speak Tetun but some older folks can only speak their own local dialect. Most of the adults and some youth speak bahasa indonesia but the children no longer understand bahasa indonesia because it's no longer taught in school. Using my basic bahasa indonesia and tetun, I gave them instructions for their medication. Some of the locals helped in intepreting the instructions into the local dialect for the older folks. We discovered many of the adults had backpain and we think it's probably due to continuous back stress(like drawing water from well, working since young). There are also many cases of cough and skin diseases. It was the same in Los Palos where we did our last medical work the next day. It was a great experience meeting the people and serving them. You can see some of the trip's pictures here. More stories and pictures at www.intomarvellouslight.com


Other Info
Places we stayed in: Lorosae Guesthouse in Baucau. AVR Guesthouse in Los Palos. Hotel Audian in Dili.

Fear Factor: The narrow roads and blinding late noon sun. Blinded by the sun, we nearly crash head-on with a van.

What you must know: Changing tyres. One of our tyres deflated overnight after we hit some rocks.

Bring along: Medication for food poisoning and gastrictis. One of us worked up at 2am, vomitted and suffered from stomach pain.

Experience: Invaluable and much joy.

Nikon 18-200mm VR Lens

I finally got my dream lens!!!! Although many people said that a lens with a long zoom range is not good, Nikon did a very good job with this lens. It's sharp, fast and even have VR to reduce shake. The recent photos in Cameron Highlands are taken with this lens. Check it out

Updating my webby

Halo visitors! I've finally got myself a blog and made it easier for myself to post stuffs. I'm now in the midst of changing my website's navigation as it's not too friendly now with more photos coming in and more babbling. There's a a few updates now with my dad's photos inside and recent trips to cameron highlands.