East Timor, now there’s an odd holiday destination. You would need to have a good reason to go to that country-and I do.
My wonderful daughter, Katrina, is doing voluntary work there teaching English to the hill tribes above Dili, the capital of East Timor, for the Edmund Rice Group.
Katrina and I above Dili at the John Paul Statue
This is my second trip to see Trina. This time I was fortunate to go over with my mother. Mum is in her early seventies but you would never know it. I can’t keep up with her.
Being my second trip and having Mum there allowed me to fad into the background a bit and concentrate on getting some great photo’s.
The journey there.
I live in Adelaide now and Mum is in Brisbane so with a bit of coordination we managed to meet in Darwin. Travel with work has given me platinum status on my Qantas card so we were both able to go into the Business Lounge. It was the first time Mum had been in the business lounge and she certainly appreciated it.
On to a very small plane and it was off to Dili. After a 2 hour flight Dili appeared and we landed on a very small runway and were greeted by the tropical heat. I'd forgoten what that felt like.
Dili
Dili is a quagmire of humanity. Originally built by the Portuguese, their influence is still present in the architecture. Nowadays though the Chinese are making their presence felt. They are pouring billions into Timor. The new Presidential Palace is being built by them and the architecture has a definite Chinese look to it. The palace is a gift from the people of China-hence the look I suppose. Can’t look a gift Palace in the mouth.
Dili still shows the scars of thirty years of conflict. Many houses are burnt out and show signs of the termoil. Many prprerties are still vacant. The Timorese forced a lot of the Chinese merchants out some years ago and their properties are still under dispute.
Most buildings are constructed out of besser (cinder) block and concrete and are very rough in construction. Families own the land with lots being divided up and handed down to the men of the families. Inevitably disputes in ownership occur.
Dili streets are crowded and full of bikes, trucks and cars. Accidents are frequent. Dili has some traffic lights but the local population don’t always follow them.
The UN and other nationalities are everywhere. We spoke with Indians, New Zealanders and many more. Everyone is friendly and we saw little strive anywhere.
Dili also has a market located not far from the hospital and under huge Morton Bay fig trees.
I love this market. It’s full of life and sounds and smells. It’s a must see in Dili.
Trina
How can I describe my beautiful daughter. She is truly amazing. Watching the passion she exudes when she is teaching English is one of my greatest pleasures. I’m a very proud Dad.
Trina lives in a communal house in Dili on the weekends and up in the hills during the week.
She drives to the hill villages on dirt roads. Well they call them roads. Dirt tracks is a better description.
Trina is an excellent driver and struggles when she returns home and has to “behave” on Australian roads. In Timor seatbelts are optional (never used).
The hills
The country is dry and rugged. Monsoonal rains quickly empty into the sea. The mountains rise some 4000 ft above the short coastal plains. Rivers are wide, rocky and contain little water until the wet season-then look out. It buckets down.
Above is the school at Samalete and a church in one of the other villages Trina teaches in. Trina lives in Samalete in a rat (yes rat) infested hut. The rats keep you awake at night-lots of fun.
You can see on the above map how rugged the country is.
The people
The East Timorese are the most amazingly friendly people on earth. They go out of their way to be friendly and hospitable. They have next to nothing and share anyway.
The children are always spotlessly clean and happy and they are the most amazing musicians. Oh and don’t play soccer against them. You won’t win.
The children want to learn but the education system struggles. Teachers are paid if they work or not and often don’t show up. This means that children often walk hours over difficult terrain to get to school only to find that the teachers don’t turn up.
The school year starts in a very bad way in Timor. The first week is spent “initiating” the new starters. This is a week, yes a week, of insulting behaviour where the older students sit around doing nothing while the senior students and teachers hang derogatory signs and dunces hats on students and then march them around all day in the hot sun. It’s very cruel and barbaric but that is their culture. Can’t imagine why you would want to go to school.
The Orphanage
Trina teaches dance in an orphanage in Dili on Saturday afternoons. I think she gets far more from this group of incredible kids then they get from her. Katrina and I share a birthday and it fell on the day we visited. When the kids found out they sang happy birthday to us in three different languages. It brought a tear to my eye and will remain a very special memory.
Both the boys and the girls love to dance with the boys showing no inhibitions to dancing. Pity western boys can’t learn this. This was a very special place.
Closing
Timor-Lest is an astonishing place and well worth the visit. It is a third world country struggling to find a place in the international community. I love this place for it’s people, it’s beauty, it’s honesty and the great gift it has given my daughter and me.
Some closing photos
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