Everyone woke up to a relaxing morning as we no longer needed to sleep on concrete floors and deflated mattresses. At 8:30am we had a more Australian breakfast with scrambled eggs and French toast. After a mini break some of us played pool and Fr Hosking joined in and showed his professional skills in the game.
We headed off to one of the main churches in Dili called San Antonio de Moteal. It was named after a Franciscan, Anthony of Padua. The church was always popular with the Timorese people but became even more so after the Indonesians built the Cathedral as an attempt to win over the Timorese community. San Antonio was a beautiful church and has historical significance. We spent some time recollecting our thoughts of our time in Timor Leste so far. It was a good opportunity for reflection as we are now midway through our immersion.
After visiting the church we headed off to the Santa Cruz Cemetery where we honoured the fallen victims of the massacre on 12th November 1991. Sebastioao Gomes was an active supporter of independence for Timor Leste. He was shot by Indonesian troops outside the Moteal Church on October 28, 1991. After his funeral mass, the procession moved to Santa Cruz cemetery for the burial. This led to a confrontation between the Indonesian troops and the Timorese youth. Indonesian troops ambushed the young people and opened fire resulting in the death of perhaps 200 Timorese people. Many of us felt anger that these victims, many of them teenagers were murdered so blatantly. This was not the first massacre but was the first to be caught on camera by British journalist Max Stahl who was able to smuggle out the footage. This footage sparked international outrage and prompted condemnation by the United Nations. We were sad by the number of young graves at the cemetery.
Fr Peter took us to the Jesuit house at Taibesi for a visit. There we saw the graves of two Jesuits who died in the upheaval of September 1999. Fr Dewanta had been ordained just six weeks earlier and was in Suai when he was murdered with two other priests by the Indonesian militias. On September 6 many people were massacred at Suiai who were sheltering in an area where a church was being built. Fr Albrecht was a 70 year old German missionary who worked for 30 years in Indonesia and then ten years in East Timor. On September 11, 1999 he was transporting rice to the refugees in Dare. On his return an Indonesian voice was heard within the compound, Fr Dewanta went to investigate who the intruder was when he was shot and killed. This was indeed an incredibly tumultuous time in the history of Timor Leste.
We headed to Timor Plaza for lunch because it was near the Australian Embassy. This is a modern complex, with various Asian foods and stores. As the group enjoyed an Asian meal, Ben and Will couldn’t resist the temptation of a whopper from Burger King.
The Australian Embassy visit was indeed informative. We were fortunate to meet and have an hour session with our recently appointed Ambassador to Timor Leste, Peter Doyle. The session was refreshing and educational as Mr Doyle welcomed even the most confronting of questions. We discussed issues such as the Timorese and Australian dispute over gas and oil, the allegations of Australia spying on the Timorese Government, the Timorese Government’s reaction to our countries federal cuts to international aid and the Timor Leste’s Strategic Development Plan for 2030. Mr Doyle gave us great insight into how the embassy functions and in particular how the Australian Government hopes to support the development of Timor Leste. He discussed the diplomatic relationship between the Democratic Republic of East Timor and the Commonwealth of Australia. We left the Australian Embassy feeling enlightened and grateful as Mr Doyle answered all of our questions with honesty and that typical ‘aussie’ humour.
After our informative session at the Embassy we made our way to Chega! This is an exhibition named after the report of the Timor Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliação or CAVR). The exhibition informs the public about the killings, disappearances, forced displacements, famine, violence against men, women and children, and other violations in Timor Leste from 1975-1999. The exhibition was so moving and many of us had a better understanding of what the victims of Timor Leste had suffered. We were able to read some of the testimonies of the Timorese people from the Commission reports. Many were abused, tortured and violated by the Indonesian soldiers during their occupation. Some of these testimonies were horrific and many of us felt a sense of torment as we were confronted with the harsh reality of the atrocities. The library provided information in reference to the legal and political ramifications of the violations and abuses that occurred against the Timorese.
Finally we were confronted by the ‘Dark Cell Rooms’. These small areas were basically torture chambers used by the Indonesian military between 1975 and 1999. These rooms were in Western terms what we would envisage as solitary confinement. They were secluded, dark, bleak, unnerving and immensely disturbing. Inside were the names of the victims who were held, tortured and murdered and also pictures of the Santa Cruz Massacre. Political prisoners, activists or suspected opponents to the Indonesian regime would be kept for days to weeks in these torture chambers. They were systematically dehumanised. Human rights were seemingly of no importance to the Indonesian military. Our group was invited to experience the terror that hundreds of Timorese endured during the era of Indonesian occupation. Into the small space of the cell, we clambered before the door was held shut. Once inside the dark chamber we had a small glimpse of the intense trauma inflicted on individuals whose goal was to liberate their beloved country.
We had 10 minutes of reflection in silence before we left the CAVR building. We made our way back to Timor Lodge for a relaxing time before dinner. We then spent some time journaling. We are finding this process very important to integrate what is happening emotionally for us. After dinner we had our time of reflection led by Will tonight. He took us through the day’s events in terms of darkness and light. We chose a phrase from our journals to describe an aspect of the day. People shared powerfully tonight and we were grateful to Will for helping us with this.
We headed to bed to get a good night’s sleep before we make our way up to Kasait for four nights back on the floor. We look forward to immersing ourselves with the students at our fellow Jesuit school. We hope we can teach well enough but have trust all will be well.
Tanya Vo and Rachael Wiig
We headed off to one of the main churches in Dili called San Antonio de Moteal. It was named after a Franciscan, Anthony of Padua. The church was always popular with the Timorese people but became even more so after the Indonesians built the Cathedral as an attempt to win over the Timorese community. San Antonio was a beautiful church and has historical significance. We spent some time recollecting our thoughts of our time in Timor Leste so far. It was a good opportunity for reflection as we are now midway through our immersion.
After visiting the church we headed off to the Santa Cruz Cemetery where we honoured the fallen victims of the massacre on 12th November 1991. Sebastioao Gomes was an active supporter of independence for Timor Leste. He was shot by Indonesian troops outside the Moteal Church on October 28, 1991. After his funeral mass, the procession moved to Santa Cruz cemetery for the burial. This led to a confrontation between the Indonesian troops and the Timorese youth. Indonesian troops ambushed the young people and opened fire resulting in the death of perhaps 200 Timorese people. Many of us felt anger that these victims, many of them teenagers were murdered so blatantly. This was not the first massacre but was the first to be caught on camera by British journalist Max Stahl who was able to smuggle out the footage. This footage sparked international outrage and prompted condemnation by the United Nations. We were sad by the number of young graves at the cemetery.
Fr Peter took us to the Jesuit house at Taibesi for a visit. There we saw the graves of two Jesuits who died in the upheaval of September 1999. Fr Dewanta had been ordained just six weeks earlier and was in Suai when he was murdered with two other priests by the Indonesian militias. On September 6 many people were massacred at Suiai who were sheltering in an area where a church was being built. Fr Albrecht was a 70 year old German missionary who worked for 30 years in Indonesia and then ten years in East Timor. On September 11, 1999 he was transporting rice to the refugees in Dare. On his return an Indonesian voice was heard within the compound, Fr Dewanta went to investigate who the intruder was when he was shot and killed. This was indeed an incredibly tumultuous time in the history of Timor Leste.
We headed to Timor Plaza for lunch because it was near the Australian Embassy. This is a modern complex, with various Asian foods and stores. As the group enjoyed an Asian meal, Ben and Will couldn’t resist the temptation of a whopper from Burger King.
The Australian Embassy visit was indeed informative. We were fortunate to meet and have an hour session with our recently appointed Ambassador to Timor Leste, Peter Doyle. The session was refreshing and educational as Mr Doyle welcomed even the most confronting of questions. We discussed issues such as the Timorese and Australian dispute over gas and oil, the allegations of Australia spying on the Timorese Government, the Timorese Government’s reaction to our countries federal cuts to international aid and the Timor Leste’s Strategic Development Plan for 2030. Mr Doyle gave us great insight into how the embassy functions and in particular how the Australian Government hopes to support the development of Timor Leste. He discussed the diplomatic relationship between the Democratic Republic of East Timor and the Commonwealth of Australia. We left the Australian Embassy feeling enlightened and grateful as Mr Doyle answered all of our questions with honesty and that typical ‘aussie’ humour.
After our informative session at the Embassy we made our way to Chega! This is an exhibition named after the report of the Timor Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliação or CAVR). The exhibition informs the public about the killings, disappearances, forced displacements, famine, violence against men, women and children, and other violations in Timor Leste from 1975-1999. The exhibition was so moving and many of us had a better understanding of what the victims of Timor Leste had suffered. We were able to read some of the testimonies of the Timorese people from the Commission reports. Many were abused, tortured and violated by the Indonesian soldiers during their occupation. Some of these testimonies were horrific and many of us felt a sense of torment as we were confronted with the harsh reality of the atrocities. The library provided information in reference to the legal and political ramifications of the violations and abuses that occurred against the Timorese.
Finally we were confronted by the ‘Dark Cell Rooms’. These small areas were basically torture chambers used by the Indonesian military between 1975 and 1999. These rooms were in Western terms what we would envisage as solitary confinement. They were secluded, dark, bleak, unnerving and immensely disturbing. Inside were the names of the victims who were held, tortured and murdered and also pictures of the Santa Cruz Massacre. Political prisoners, activists or suspected opponents to the Indonesian regime would be kept for days to weeks in these torture chambers. They were systematically dehumanised. Human rights were seemingly of no importance to the Indonesian military. Our group was invited to experience the terror that hundreds of Timorese endured during the era of Indonesian occupation. Into the small space of the cell, we clambered before the door was held shut. Once inside the dark chamber we had a small glimpse of the intense trauma inflicted on individuals whose goal was to liberate their beloved country.
We had 10 minutes of reflection in silence before we left the CAVR building. We made our way back to Timor Lodge for a relaxing time before dinner. We then spent some time journaling. We are finding this process very important to integrate what is happening emotionally for us. After dinner we had our time of reflection led by Will tonight. He took us through the day’s events in terms of darkness and light. We chose a phrase from our journals to describe an aspect of the day. People shared powerfully tonight and we were grateful to Will for helping us with this.
We headed to bed to get a good night’s sleep before we make our way up to Kasait for four nights back on the floor. We look forward to immersing ourselves with the students at our fellow Jesuit school. We hope we can teach well enough but have trust all will be well.
Tanya Vo and Rachael Wiig