From Tonga to Melbourne and back

We arrived back in Lospalos last week after a few days in scorching Dili, a week in tepid Tonga and ten days in freezing cold Melbourne. There’s been a change in the weather here in the last four weeks; it’s getting hot and seems the dry season has arrived even though it’s way too late. It must be all so confusing for farmers, but then they have their own way of understanding the change. There’s also been so many people pass away over the past few days here but there’s also a local understanding as to why this is happening. In both cases – broadly speaking – according to local belief, the active connection to the spirit of the land and ancestors has been lost and so the whole system has been thrown off balance. Now people focus on ‘money’ and ‘development’ so the rituals that maintained the connections with the things that kept the balance have faded away. Sad…welcome to capitalism!

 Our three-week ‘international’ sojourn was interesting and a wonderful experience. This was Elsa’s first time out of East Timor and as is to be expected, it was difficult for her to adjust. Our first destination was Tonga to attend the ACWW (Associated Country Women of the World) triennial conference, hosted by the Country Women’s Association of Victoria. The ACWW is a global women’s organisation with over 9 million (yes- 9 million!) members and the CWA are one of the many organisations involved. The organizational model of the ACWW is pretty amazing. They’ve divided the globe into nine areas and Australia and the Pacific fall into the South Pacific Region. The conference was more like a big meeting where member organisations present their activities, vote on resolutions and generally get together. Two Tongan women’s organisations managed logistics for the conference with support from the South Pacific Area President and her helpers.

Elsa was invited to speak on the last day of the conference and blew everyone away with her heart-felt presentation. We also signed CTKDS up as members of ACWW and in true Timorese fashion gave gifts to the organisers and host organisations. It was very moving. Sadly, the way things worked out we didn’t get a chance to see much of the landscape and visit the rural communities but we did see many beautiful cultural performances and even a recording of ‘Search for a Star’ which was recorded live at our hotel!

After even days in Tonga, we headed to Melbourne, totally unprepared for the cold snap that hit the day we arrived- this is where the culture shock hit hardest (and not just for Elsa). The city, the speed; the cold, the language… the busy-ness of it all. Rachael picked us up at the airport and we spent our first two nights with Sally, Marcus, Maleve and Mira in Footsacry. ETWA then ran a beautiful event which was very special as I got to see so many, many great friends and Elsa finally got to meet people she had heard so much about. ETWA members as always took care of us and welcomed Elsa with open arms. I caught up with family at my niece’s baby shower the following day and hung out with Clinton for a few days before our next major event in Archies Creek down near Leogatha. This was a black tie event organised by the crew from Change the World… an amazing and highly lucrative fundraiser raising in excess of $20k for our work here. Thanks to David, Anne, Wayne, Belinda and the team for your incredible hard work! Also a big thank you to the musicians and the owner of the venue and his hard-working staff.

Other activities included meetings with the Friends of Lospalos, AVI, Rotary and Andrea, the beautiful architect who has volunteered to design the Sustainability Centre. Dinner with the Santos family; lunch with my family and a party at our apartment in the city to say hello-goodbye to friends was a lovely end to the social side of our visit. Our last appointment was an afternoon tea with the CWA of Victoria in their heritage listed building in Toorak thank you very much

In both Tonga and Melbourne we made great new contacts and opened up opportunities for partnerships which will support our work here. It was a whirlwind and a wee bit overwhelming at times but the memories will linger through the stories we’ll share here with everyone here.

Thanks to everyone for your support and generosity during our stay, particularly Clinton, Sally, Rachael, Marcus, Sophie, Darrylin and ETWA members and Machelle from the CWA.

Until next time!

Deb

Post-last-post post

Mid August… um… how did that happen? Time is a slippery concept. We’ll soon be off to Tonga and Melbourne but we’re not ready and before we know it we’ll be back but we still won’t be ready to go (hehehe). But time isn’t the only thing flying. Last week, Maleve and I got to fly from Dili to Lospalos in a light plane with a film crew – what a high (pardon the pun)! The crew had visited us with a lovely bunch of Australian women who travelled over with Shirley from Timor Adventures. It was sad to say goodbye. Meeting like-minded Aussies is a pleasure and a relief. We’d freshly renovated the office before they arrived- seriously, the paint was still drying- which leads me to the main story I wanted to share.

Often from small things larger cultural differences become so very clear here in Lospalos. A young and very talented local guy agreed to take responsibility to build a wall and paint our office. It was a very informal agreement; no written contract, no risk management plan, no union or association rules to abide by- simple. But of course I never think anything is simple. So what did I do? Half-way through the job, a couple of the other young guys offered to help and I accepted, thinking this would make the job easier for the ‘foreman’ as I dubbed him. Fortunately, my confidant (Elsa) told me that the foreman was no longer motivated to finish the job on time. I immediately apologised and after much discussion, we sorted it out. Troug this process I learned that the informal is as legitimate as more formal processes. Leadership isn’t taken lightly here, even in what seems to us, the most relaxed of situations. For this young guy, to lead means to take responsibility for the people you’re leading and for a whole task from start to finish, but the leadership style and outcomes of that leadership are also very different to what we would expect back home. Everyone- except me of course- seemed to understand who was leading.

Drilling the timber for the new wall

Nonetheless, from this small example I’m a little more aware of the boundaries; the social norms that prevent me and offer me a space to intervene. Although I reckon there’s bound to be a whopper one day – a situation where our cultural worlds are so far apart that the situation is irreconcilable. But hey, if this doesn’t happen then I’ve learned more than I think I have.

Elsa and I are travelling to a women’s conference in Tonga at the end of this month and then on to Melbourne from the 8^th to the 18^th of Sept. There’s a range of activities where you can catch up with us both- just stay tuned to ETWA’s website www.etwa.org.au

Ate loron seluk!

Expo & Conference in Dili

Victoria University and the National University of Timor-Leste delivered a two conference over the 4^th and 5^th of July, proceeded by an expo at the Caicoli campus in Dili. I was invited to speak at the conference and CTKDS was also invited to have a stall. This was all rather last minute but two members from Lospalos and Fuat groups and Mariana from the Kainliu group travelled to Dili with me and attended the two day expo, followed by one more day at the conference venue in Mercado Lama. This was the first time the women had attended such an event and it was a great success with sales totaling USD$910! Regina from the Lospalos group surprised us with her natural flair for sales, persuading customers with her warm smile and welcoming character. The four other women seemed out of their depth, not understanding how to ‘do’ face-to-face customer service. However they did their best to represent CTKDS.

The women also participated in painting a community mural with the Arte Moris artists on the second day of the expo.

 

The power of participation: Community Forum in Review

This post can also be read on the forum blog

 

The Participation is Power Forum ran over two days from the 11^th to 12^th July. It was attended by more than 250 people, with participants, speakers and students coming from remote communities in the Lautem area and further afield in East Timor, Australia and Indonesia.

The forum was the first of its kind in Lospalos and the first time such a large and diverse event has been run in a rural community in Timor-Leste. The event was a space where rural communities, NGOs and local government representatives came together to discuss development, share ideas and listen to a range of presentations from grassroots communities, international NGOs and high level government officials.

The lead time to get the event off the ground was minimal as were resources but the event demonstrated what communities can do when collaboration is the central principle. Seventy odd local high school students directed the event, supported by staff and volunteers from lead organisations CTKDS, Café Maubere and Verupupuk. Nine community development students from the National University came down from Dili for two weeks to support their younger brothers and sisters. The key organiser and mobiliser, Maleve de Oliveira, took a hands-off leadership approach to give the students the confidence and freedom to explore their capacity in a doing- as-learning fashion. Considering their youth and inexperience, the student group did an incredible job. Like any major event where there are hundreds of last-minute tasks of course left to the very last minute, there were glitches in the event delivery but with help from CTKDS members and friends, things were held together and the event provided a moving experience for all who attended.

The Program:

The forum consisted of formal and informal presentations and activities by a range of local and international organisations and individuals. The first day’s proceedings were opened by the District Administrator’s (local government) representative, Mr Julio Cantu who later on in the day Mr Cantu spoke about the development plan for Lautem. Well-known local artist Osme Gonsalves presented inspired poetry followed by an electric performance by members of the rock band Galaxy. Iliwatu Danabere from Arte Moris discussed the role of art in social change.  A lengthy discussion about education followed the presentation by a representative from the Ministry of Education with some tricky questions from forum attendees. The day closed with a short but very sweet acoustic performance by Galaxy.

The forum’s second day was a day of international collaboration. The proceedings opened with resistance fighter Albina Freitas speaking on youth participation past and present, followed by emotive poetry from Osme Gonsalves and a rhythmic drumming set by members of the Galaxy.  John Hunter from Australian Volunteers International spoke about their global volunteer programs, with a focus on East Timor and Indonesia. Darrylin Galanos from Australian-based volunteer organisation ETWA was up next. ETWA has been working to support CTKDS members since 2008. Darrylin’s eloquent presentation highlighted some of the obstacles between local and international organisations working across oceans and cultures.  Barbara Godfrey from Friends of Lospalos read a letter from the Mayor of Mornington Peninsula and presented the story of Friends of Lospalos. Iliwatu then took to the stage calling for forum attendees to help make develop some community art with the famous artists from Arte Moris. After another delicious lunch, Andre from Naterra gave a detailed presentation about permaculture and sustainable agriculture. Debra Salvagno followed with a presentation on the impact of economic development on local culture, using her experience with an Aboriginal project in Australia.  Representatives from the Oaktree Foundation then presented on social movements using the internet.  The forum then shifted to representatives from UNTL, who shared student’s perspectives on the right way to do community development in Timor-Leste.  This was followed by Elsa Oliveira from CTKDS who spoke about the benefits of Cooperatives to poverty alleviation and preservation of local culture.

The formal proceedings finished with a question session with forum participants. A representative from the District Administrator’s office then formally closed the forum, commenting on the uniqueness of the event, particularly the cooperation between women and the youth. Galaxy then delivered a electrifying performance which went well into the night, bringing the celebrations to a close.

The forum was a success both for participants and stakeholders, involving local volunteers of all ages and genders. Varied voices both local and international were heard and many prosperous new relationships were formed. The forum helped to build stronger relationships between geographically isolated communities, greater confidence in the youth and confirmed the benefits and power of participation and collaboration.

We wish to express recognition and appreciation to the following individuals and organisations:

Our Presenters

Mr Julio Cantu from the District Administrator’s office, Maleve de Oliveira from Verupupk and Cafe Maubere, the representative from Ministry of Education, Iliwatu Danabere and artists from Arte Moris, Osme Gonsalves and the Galaxy Band, Albina Freitas, Darrylin Gallanos from ETWA, John Hunter from AVI, Barbara Godfrey from Friends of Lospalos, Andre from Naterra, Nela and Caitlin from the Oaktree Foundation, Elsa de Oliveira and Debra Salvagno from CTKDS and Pasqal from the National University of Timor-Leste.

Our Sponsors

East Timor Women Australia

Friends of Lospalos

Australian Volunteers International

Oaktree Foundation

Our Friends

Mana Dulce and her sister for taking last minute control of the kitchen, CTKDS members for their contributions to catering, Juvenal for his assistance with transport and keeping our spirits high and Galaxy for their assistance with sound.

http://participationispower.tumblr.com/

Lospalos Forum & youth participation

Lospalos is under a constant cover of cloud. A chilly breeze is blowing in through my window so I’ll put sleeves on soon. It’s a damp, quiet and slow Sunday but it will soon get busy because the 70 odd youth who have volunteered to help with the forum will come within the next hour.

When I arrived back on Friday, after a quick and crazy trip to Aus, the verandah here at the office was packed. These kids ooze energy and discipline – it’s amazing- and with only two weeks to go until the forum starts, it’s a massive relief. I think this will be a very dynamic experience, particularly for them. The kids range in age from 15 up to 25. Most will finish high school this year. The way they’ve organised themselves is smart and unique. There’s a formal structure so everyone knows their responsibilities and duties. A secretariat, treasury and six sections, each with a coordinator, who are responsible for different parts of the forum organisation and delivery- logistics and decorations, reception, relations, documentation and media and food. They’ve done research into important and sacred sites, distances between villages; the cost and availability of local food as they’re committed to buying locally- visiting farmers and market gardeners; cost of local accommodation and a heap of other things necessary for the forum to be successful. They shared the results if their research yesterday during the first meeting I’ve attended. It was very impressive.

Maleve has been facilitating meetings with these kids for the last three weeks and it’s clear from the capable way they’ve taken control that he’s done a fantastic job. He just sits back now, and in a way so do I except for the budget short-fall, which I hope I can fill.

Many young girls are participating and have been given responsibility. CTKDS members also participate in the secretariat and sections, but sadly, as most of them have young children, they don’t come to every meeting. This forum will really demonstrate local capacity.

I gotta go… they’re here

Ate logu!

Keeping you posted

Apologies for the long silence; this month has been exceptionally busy. I’ve been writing this entry off and on for three weeks so it’s a rather long account of what we’ve been up to in April….floods, borders, donations, funerals, ceremonies, holidays, meetings, visitors, debacles, successes … you name it!

We made a trip from Lospalos to Dili to transport goods from Rotary for CTKDS and soon after, made a mad rush across the border to West Timor to buy cotton. We’ve had various planning meetings and a visit from lovely Rosie, an Irish journalist. The youngest child of the family to my right passed away late last month, alone in the Dili national hospital after a long illness that no one really understands and then the ensuing week of mourning. Neighbours to my left searched for and buried their son’s remains- a Falintil fighter- and then had an intense political and cultural ceremonies surrounding such an important event. There are funerals almost every weekend.

The two most memorable experiences of April were participating in much of the five-day cultural ceremony for the returning of the Falintil fighter’s bones and the visit to Betun and Kefamenanu in Indonesia, which was amazing. In my last post I spoke about research and the right to information, particularly in the context of the cultural processes surrounding the returning of the remains of loved ones killed during the resistance. Fortunately, my colleagues had spoken to Pedro’s family (the Falintil fighter whose bones were returned in late March) and they’re keen to have their story told. By coincidence, when we went to West Timor, Acasio, Pedro’s younger brother was our guide and host so I got to spend hours talking with him. Acasio and his wife’s family fled to West Timor during the militia violence in 1999 and have since established a community with one hundred other Timorese refugee families, complete with roads, running water, a cemetery and a school in a village called Numponi in the mountainous region of Betun. Acasio graciously gave me two hours of his time and told me about the process of bringing his brother’s bones home and its importance to the family and to their culture; and also the trauma and sense of relief that due to the ceremony, his brother’s soul is now free to return to Mount Matebian, the spirit mountain, with his ancestors.

Pedro was shot by the Indonesian military near Baguia in 1978 and his body was taken to the family’s camp on Mt Matebian where they had fled along with thousands of other Timorese families. Pedro died three days later and was buried near the camp. Consequently, late last month, Acasio and his uncles found the grave relatively quickly considering the landscape had changed dramatically in the last three decades. The search lasted for 18hours. He said there were times when it felt helpless. Heavy rain, the track concealed and overgrown with weeds and in places landslides rendered the path unrecognisable. An elder familiar with the right prayers accompanied them and undertook particular Adat (sacred process) ceremonies along the way to unlock the path to Pedro’s grave. Once his grave was found, another Adat ceremony took place then his remains were wrapped in Tais and carried back to Lospalos to his grieving family.

I was at the house at that moment. It was impossible not to feel what the family was feeling, particularly Pedro’s mother who last year went through the same process for her husband. Relief, grief, freedom, suffering, loss, desolation … all these emotions bound together in the women’s falling tears. This seemed a very private moment for the family and the community. I felt like an intruder so tried to hide my tears of empathy. But Elsa reminded me that I had been invited and welcomed by the family so I felt blessed but still embarrassed. I can’t begin to identify with all that has happened to shape these people, their culture; their strength and determination and their strong sense of nationalism and pride but at the moment the mother held the bones of her long-dead son, her head shrouded in a cloth to hide her despair, I got a sense of how deep the sorrow goes. This is something every mother the world over would feel.

The trip to Indonesia was wonderful. Arriving on Saturday; Acasio and his children met us at the border in their little ramshackle Microlet. We took our time to get to Betun and his family welcomed us with open arms when we arrived. On Sunday, we took a leisurely drive through lush forest to Kefamenanu to visit a very professional community business to purchase cotton. This is a very exciting part of my work with CTKDS weavers as their enthusiasm about cotton is infectious! It’s wonderful to see how other textile projects work, this one in particular as Kefa is quite remote and the project has been going for almost a decade. It’s also an interesting place with a large recently refurbished Catholic Church and shabby shopping strip nestled in a massive forest. Many people in that part West Timor speak Tetun and the tais are very similar to those produced in Lospalos by the Fataluku people. We arrived back at Acasio’s late in the evening, drank a little local tua sabu and watched music videos made by one of his nephews- pretty cool!

So… now it’s Saturday and I’m back in Lospalos after a few days break in Bali with Clinton over Easter. Re-reading what I wrote a couple of weeks back, I appreciate just how demanding the last few weeks have been.

But wait there’s more!!

Massive floods in Lautem last week washed away one of the larger bridges so we had to wait until Monday to try and get through, keeping in mind my flight to come here to Bali left the following morning. The land-side of the bridge was impassable as it had become a massive bog so we waited a few hours for the tide to go out and crossed the river on the sea-side. Once through, my 4WD wouldn’t disengage so Alex and my ex-driver Nono (sob sob) came to the rescue. By the time the car was fixed, it was too late to travel to Dili so we went back to Lospalos. I was hungry, tired, frustrated and pretty worried about missing my flight. I contacted Jose (my life-line in Dili) and the next morning Maleve flew me – on his motorbike – to Baucau and Juve raced to the airport with just twenty minutes to spare before my plane took off. PHEW!

So I really do feel my Bali trip was a well-deserved break although I missed everyone in Lospalos terribly. There are many lessons from Ubud for Timor about tourism, service delivery, art and its presentation, living with the environment etc, etc. Not so sure about Kuta though- that’s a what-not-to-do-lesson methinks. I hope we can organize an exposure tour for some CTKDS members to Ubud soon as I’m sure the sensory overload here would spark their imagination! We visited Threads of Life, something I’ve wanted to do for years- amazing, amazing place; a gallery of traditional textiles from across the archipelago and the living stories of the weavers and their culture.

Until next time… selamat jalan!