From: jbfox [jbfox@ozemail.com.au]
Sent:
Wednesday, 28 June 2000 10:00
Subject: 'austraLasia' # 365
I
think it's easiest just to forward this letter from
Dili-via-Jakarta.
Julian
Vice-Province Office – Don Bosco Comoro – PO Box 108, Dili,
East Timor
HP:(61)407199131
FAX:670-390-324279
TEL.:670-390-321520
________________________________________________________________________
Jakarta, 27 June 2000
Dear confreres and friends,
I am writing this letter to give an update of the situation in
East Timor. I am addressing this letter particularly to you, my fellow salesians
and the members of the salesian family, who have been our close companions and
benefactors in our effort to serve the wonderful and courageous people of
EastTimor.
The United Nations Transitional Authority for East Timor
(UNTAET) continues to fulfill their humanitarian services and brings supplies
from donors as emergency aids. We heard from reliable sources that UNTAET would
stay in East Timor for two years only. Then it will leave everything in the
hands of the real government that will be made up of East Timorese. Therefore it
has not engaged in projects that would require a period of more than two years
to complete. For this reason there is little that is being done when it comes to
the reconstruction of buildings. Several private houses and stores are now being
built by their owners and by some international NGO’s (non-government
organizations). In our salesian parish of Comoro, the salesians and their lay
collaborators have tied up with a certain international NGO in order to
reconstruct the many houses that were burnt.
I think that the best thing that the UNTAET has done and is
doing is the security of the East Timorese. There is really a sense of great
relief and happiness among the people. In the evening people now have fun and
walk along the streets of the city of Dili even until late at night without any
fear of the military and its spies. I had the chance to talk to bus and truck
drivers. They enjoy now driving from one town to another. They don't experience
anymore the arbitrary beatings, extortion, and the threats of the soldiers who,
previously, were posted everywhere. There are more public buses and cars now
traveling and facilitating the movement of the people with their supplies.
Because of this, public markets were revived in the big centers of Dili, Baucau
and Lospalos.
The UN Peace-Keeping Force is doing well its task. Aside from
keeping peace and order throughout the entire country, the different groups are
doing a marvelous work of humanitarian services towards the people. The Korean
contingent in Lospalos are repairing roads and bridges that were swept away by
the strong rainfall. This year there was a real downpour. There were many
landslides that destroyed ricefields, cornfields, and even entire villages;
several roads were also destroyed that isolated some villages in the
mountains.The Korean army is now showing its expertise in road building. Our
orphans and confreres in Lospalos appreciate very much the generosity of the
Koreans as they regularly receive food and school supplies. The Thai army in
Baucau is very much appreciated by the people for the hospital and the medical
assistance they offer to them. The people of Manatuto and Laleia are thankful to
the Filipino army for the friendly approach typical of the Filipinos, for
supplying electricity to the entire place and for the hospital that is opened to
the public. The Australians, Palestinians, New Zealanders, Gurkhas and
Portuguese soldiers guard the boundaries between East Timor and West Timor where
some hard-line militias (East Timorese) and their disillusioned masters still
threaten to make another assault and to reoccupy East Timor.
The school year will end on July. There will be two months of
summer vacation. The new school year will start on October. The main office of
CNRT in Dili will give diplomas for the graduating classes. However each CNRT
district office for education will prepare the final examinations for the
schools within its area. A big percentage of the youth population especially in
the eastern part of East Timor was properly kept busy by the immediate reopening
of schools, particularly parish and catholic schools. Language courses for
English and Portuguese are offered everywhere throughout the country. The youth
are now more motivated, disciplined and eager to study. Many make big sacrifices
of walking long distances just to attend school and courses. In Fuiloro, the
kind and alert salesian sisters find the donated clothes very useful during
these rainy season. Several elementary kids get completely soaked wet when they
walk from their villages to our school; but by the time they reach the school,
they are just too glad to meet the sisters who are ready with the dry clothes.
The teachers, both lay and religious, of the secondary schools
are now receiving at least one hundred US dollars every month from the UNTAET.
The teachers of the primary schools will soon receive theirs either from UNICEF
or UNTAET. The salesians’ NGO in Italy called VIS (International Volunteer for
Development) has made tremendous efforts to promote the need to help these
teachers by getting the cooperation of all salesian missions offices and the
Italian episcopal conference (CEI).
We salesians are very much involved and contribute much when
it comes to this work of education particularly in the diocese of Baucau. In the
district of Baucau the salesians continue to act as the bridge among the
teachers of all the schools, both private and public, the CNRT and the UNTAET.
They are the resource persons of these groups and of other NGO’s involved in
education. In Lospalos the salesians help a lot in the public schools that are
in great want of qualified and dedicated teachers. The salesians and salesian
sisters in Venilale organize and train the lay teachers while giving a hand in
teaching the students of the public schools. In Dili, the parochial secondary
school in Comoro was considered by the UNTAET and the CNRT as a model school for
the other schools. This is principally due to our salesians and their lay
collaborators' effort.
We are also engaged in the daily feeding program of our
students and teachers. In Fatumaca, the community provides lunch for seven
hundred students of the primary and secondary schools from Monday to Friday. In
Baucau, the same thing is done to four hundred students and teachers of the
secondary school from Monday to Friday. In Fuiloro, the salesians and the
salesian sisters, together with their lay collaborators, give cooked rice to six
hundred students thrice a week for lunch.
The CNRT is preparing for a national congress on August. I
suppose this congress is of great importance for the unity of the people and for
the smooth transfer of authority from the UNTAET to the new government. Many
past pupils of our different schools play a leading role and are actively
involved in this event.
Many stores have reopened, especially restaurants. Although
the American dollar is the official currency, the Indonesian rupiah is most
commonly used especially in ordinary, daily transactions. The prices of diesel
and gasoline have gone up very much. A liter of diesel costs 3,500 rupiahs while
gasoline costs 5,000 rupiahs per liter. Just compare this price with that of
Indonesia, i.e., a liter of diesel is 550 rupiahs only. The drivers have already
aired their complaints to the UNTAET and CNRT. The taxes now imposed on some
commodities are extremely high. Certainly one motive is to give a boost to the
government fund.
A striking problem now in East Timor is the big number of so
many young people who are searching for work to earn a living. Many young people
have come to the capital city, i.e., Dili, from all parts of East Timor. They
are unemployed and have nothing to do; many are not educated and are easily
manipulated by some people who, for one reason or another, desire to create
trouble in the city or earn money in unscrupulous ways. Several businessmen are
complaining about groups of young people asking for money and threatening to
destroy their stores and goods if they refuse to give. It is a very sad
situation. The seeds of corruption and illiteracy have been successfully planted
and are are now bearing fruits. We believe that many times it is not the young
people who want to do these ugly things. Many adults are behind all these. They
use and manipulate the youth for their own interests. Several of them who were
involved in many sorts of abuses and brutality towards their own fellow East
Timorese during the previous regime are now trying to remove all evidences of
their misdeeds. They utilize the diabolic means that they have learnt very well
from their former masters and they use the simple and uneducated youth as their
tools. Unfortunately there are no factories that could employ these young
people. This is one project that I always ask the international NGO’s to
initiate and promote if they really want to help the people, especially the
youth.
For this reason we plan to maximize the use of our technical
training center in Comoro. This center offers courses from six months to one
year in order to teach skills in electricity, carpentry, welding, tailoring,
embroidery and computer. Since this school was badly damaged last September
1999, we are still reconstructing some of its quarters and acquiring the tools
and machines that were either damaged or stolen during the trouble.
Notwithstanding the many inconveniences, the salesians reopened this centerlast
November 1999 and fifty boys have just completed their training in welding,
electricity and carpentry last May.
Dear confreres from different parts of the world and members
of the various branches of our salesian family, we salesians in Indonesia and
East Timor are grateful to all of you. You have generously sent us your
financial and material assistance. Some of you and several other people came to
work with us because of your invitation and promotion. Above all you prayed and
offered sacrifices for us and for our people. All these give us tremendous
courage and strength.
On behalf of my confreres, I like to express a special word of
sincere thanks to our brothers and sisters who are just our neighbor, our
confreres and friends of the salesian province of Australia. More than anybody
else, you have been the closest to us in both good times and bad times in East
Timor. We all felt your deep solidarity and fraternity as you did all your best
in the past and even up to now to help us. Your salesian missions office
coordinated by your very dynamic confrere Bro.Michael Lynch is your very
efficient tool in connecting with us. Thank you very much!
In our small way and with your support we continue to make the
people of East Timor realize the great love God and our Lady have for them and
in a special way for the young. May God bless you always and abundantly through
the singular intercessions of our Mother, the Help of Christians and of Don
Bosco.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Andrew Wong
Superior of the Salesian Vice-Province of Indonesia and East
Timor (ITM)
