We settled a little quicker last night and although we are still adjusting to the hard concrete floor, we slept a bit better. Few complain though as we realise we have it somewhat easy with thermo-rests and the like compared with what the local people sleep on. Most got up for the early mass in the local chapel celebrated by Fr Bert followed by a good breakfast. The early mornings are cool here but as soon as the sun rises it heats up quickly.
Today our group were thrown into a first-hand experience of the primary source of income and industry in East Timor; coffee picking. We changed into old clothes for this work. It has not been a good year so the yield wasn’t great. That means the people struggle even more than usual to survive. The coffee pickers are paid 30c per kilo but the price is marked up as it gets to Dili and even more as it finds its way to Australia and beyond. Sadly it is the entrepreneurs who make the money rather than local workers. Assisted by some young East Timorese boys we set out upon the arduous task of prying coffee beans from their trees. Taken to like a sport by the young locals, their deep enthusiasm was not quite echoed by some of us computer-craving teenagers. Understandably we emerged satisfied, but also worn out and quite dirty. Timorese coffee, adored internationally, provides a large portion of the population with jobs harvesting beans to sell to Indonesian-American companies. In Australia a kilo of Timorese coffee would be worth $15 and yet the very worker who picked the coffee only made 30c, this is clearly a display of the exploitation of cheap labour not only in Timor but all over the world. The mark up goes in roasting, packaging and marketing but the profits do not come back to the planters and pickers.
After the coffee picking we went back to the Jesuit parish for a quick lunch. Then we set out on a feeding programme accompanied by Lucy and JP. This nutrition programme provides Timorese children in remote locations with the sustenance they so terribly need. A group of Sisters and the amazing cooks from Railaco head out on this program visiting two villages every second day of the week and the third, larger village on the alternate days. It was gut wrenching to see the people lined up with their bowls when we in the western world put so much to waste. Our eyes were forced open and we will now view our world in a different light. We were divided into the three villages. When we arrived at the village the children gave us Tais and did a beautiful traditional dance. It was just amazing the lengths that some of these villagers went to, to welcome us and help us when we were supposed to be there to help them.
The kids were incredibly shy at first, but if you mentioned the right footballer (especially those from Brazil and Portugal) they would play with you for hours. So a few scoops of rice, some delicious smelling soup, and a boiled egg, we were able to feed most in the village. In one place we did some dancing with the local kids, in another we had a wicked game of football. Soon we were ready to head back. Mr O’Brien in the trooper and Fr Peter in the truck drove us carefully through the mountainous roads. We drove back via a women’s project in Gleno. Several women worked with a sewing machine or weaving on a makeshift loom to make Tais. It is a struggle for people to survive and this little cooperative is of great assistance to at least a few women and their families. When we got back to the Jesuit compound, we headed to our classroom quarters but not to rest. We got involved in yet another game of football with the local Railaco boys; somehow their enthusiasm and energy never fade. Their excitement about a small game of football, once again reminded of how much we too can treasure every day and attempt to live our life with just as much enthusiasm and love as these little ones. The maxim of our schools is about approaching each new day with an attitude of conscience, competence and compassion. This has become even more meaningful here.
Today’s visit to the villages leaves a question unanswered. It resides within a comparison of drastically contrasting living conditions. Little food, dirty water, worn out clothes and houses, are common place in the villages surrounding Railaco, however we do not find, as we might expect, a sense of disenchantment that could correspond with such conditions. What we do find in these villages and in East Timor generally, is something immediate and absolute. We are met with contented smiles, song and dance, a deep resilient culture, and gratitude for our coming to visit. We may rightly feel the pangs of guilt, but not of pity. The bright-lit faces of the East Timorese people show such happiness in the face of adversity. This is to be respected and admired rather than to feel sorry for. The question then, becomes a niggling criticism of the home from which we come with its affluence and apparent prosperity: ‘When was the last time you saw a smile like this in a ‘wealthy’ Australian city?’
After a little chill out time when we washed ourselves with a ‘mandy’ and a few washed some clothes, we had another scrumptious dinner, and time for journalling to recollect all we did today. It is powerful to sit together in silence writing about our experiences. It is especially in these comfortable silences of the interior journey that we are bonding more and more. Eventually after our sharing with the Examen, we headed to our quarters tired and contented.
Tom Mahony-Brack and Jess Louth
Today our group were thrown into a first-hand experience of the primary source of income and industry in East Timor; coffee picking. We changed into old clothes for this work. It has not been a good year so the yield wasn’t great. That means the people struggle even more than usual to survive. The coffee pickers are paid 30c per kilo but the price is marked up as it gets to Dili and even more as it finds its way to Australia and beyond. Sadly it is the entrepreneurs who make the money rather than local workers. Assisted by some young East Timorese boys we set out upon the arduous task of prying coffee beans from their trees. Taken to like a sport by the young locals, their deep enthusiasm was not quite echoed by some of us computer-craving teenagers. Understandably we emerged satisfied, but also worn out and quite dirty. Timorese coffee, adored internationally, provides a large portion of the population with jobs harvesting beans to sell to Indonesian-American companies. In Australia a kilo of Timorese coffee would be worth $15 and yet the very worker who picked the coffee only made 30c, this is clearly a display of the exploitation of cheap labour not only in Timor but all over the world. The mark up goes in roasting, packaging and marketing but the profits do not come back to the planters and pickers.
After the coffee picking we went back to the Jesuit parish for a quick lunch. Then we set out on a feeding programme accompanied by Lucy and JP. This nutrition programme provides Timorese children in remote locations with the sustenance they so terribly need. A group of Sisters and the amazing cooks from Railaco head out on this program visiting two villages every second day of the week and the third, larger village on the alternate days. It was gut wrenching to see the people lined up with their bowls when we in the western world put so much to waste. Our eyes were forced open and we will now view our world in a different light. We were divided into the three villages. When we arrived at the village the children gave us Tais and did a beautiful traditional dance. It was just amazing the lengths that some of these villagers went to, to welcome us and help us when we were supposed to be there to help them.
The kids were incredibly shy at first, but if you mentioned the right footballer (especially those from Brazil and Portugal) they would play with you for hours. So a few scoops of rice, some delicious smelling soup, and a boiled egg, we were able to feed most in the village. In one place we did some dancing with the local kids, in another we had a wicked game of football. Soon we were ready to head back. Mr O’Brien in the trooper and Fr Peter in the truck drove us carefully through the mountainous roads. We drove back via a women’s project in Gleno. Several women worked with a sewing machine or weaving on a makeshift loom to make Tais. It is a struggle for people to survive and this little cooperative is of great assistance to at least a few women and their families. When we got back to the Jesuit compound, we headed to our classroom quarters but not to rest. We got involved in yet another game of football with the local Railaco boys; somehow their enthusiasm and energy never fade. Their excitement about a small game of football, once again reminded of how much we too can treasure every day and attempt to live our life with just as much enthusiasm and love as these little ones. The maxim of our schools is about approaching each new day with an attitude of conscience, competence and compassion. This has become even more meaningful here.
Today’s visit to the villages leaves a question unanswered. It resides within a comparison of drastically contrasting living conditions. Little food, dirty water, worn out clothes and houses, are common place in the villages surrounding Railaco, however we do not find, as we might expect, a sense of disenchantment that could correspond with such conditions. What we do find in these villages and in East Timor generally, is something immediate and absolute. We are met with contented smiles, song and dance, a deep resilient culture, and gratitude for our coming to visit. We may rightly feel the pangs of guilt, but not of pity. The bright-lit faces of the East Timorese people show such happiness in the face of adversity. This is to be respected and admired rather than to feel sorry for. The question then, becomes a niggling criticism of the home from which we come with its affluence and apparent prosperity: ‘When was the last time you saw a smile like this in a ‘wealthy’ Australian city?’
After a little chill out time when we washed ourselves with a ‘mandy’ and a few washed some clothes, we had another scrumptious dinner, and time for journalling to recollect all we did today. It is powerful to sit together in silence writing about our experiences. It is especially in these comfortable silences of the interior journey that we are bonding more and more. Eventually after our sharing with the Examen, we headed to our quarters tired and contented.
Tom Mahony-Brack and Jess Louth