East Timor

Ministry in Timor Leste
[This report follows a recent visit to East Timor]

East Timor [Timor Leste] has been an unstable entity since it gained its independence from Portugal in 1975, at which time it became part of Indonesia. An independence movement in the 1990s eventually led, through much agitation and bloodshed, to Timor Leste gaining its independence from Indonesia.
Frictions among different political groups within the country led to the a United Nations force coming into the country in 2006. The presence of UN is very much in evidence but seems to have the desired effect of bringing stability to the country.
Cemeteries and monuments are reminders of the recent past and massacres.
An agreement on oil revenue sharing with Australia seems to have assured East Timor of an ongoing source of revenue.

Communidade Edmund Rice [CER] has existed in East Timor since around 1998, primarily through the initiative of Dan Courtney who, since 1990, had continually pressurised the Leadership Teams in Australia to establish a mission in this country.
Since that time six Christian Brothers and around 30 volunteers, [including Religious Sisters from three different Congregations], have been part of the community and offered service to the East Timorese people for varying lengths of time.

RIALCO

CER is focussed on promoting holistic community development in the Rialco area, a mountainous area one and a half hours out of Dili, reached via twisting mountain roads. It is a neglected area in terms of Government support and there is no evidence of any other NGO’s in area. The Rialco area comprises five villages, each with a community centre, constructed by Rotary Clubs from Australia, and used for a medical clinic, a sewing centre and a gathering place for functions of the villagers. A number of churches in the area have been constructed with funds from The Church in Need and finished off by funds that Bill Tynan has collected from Australia.
The community has been responsible for setting in place a water supply for each of the villages, providing solar lighting for most houses of village people as well as for community centres and churches. The community has consistently over the years, provided education of school children and also young adults in English, the teaching of sewing to women of the village, and services in five health clinics, one in each of the villages. The community members avail of Tetum translators, although all seem to have some propensity in this language and a couple are very fluent. Promising young people have been given scholarships to attend the Marist Brothers Teachers’ College in Baucau, and then have come back to the area as enthusiastic and competent teachers, offering skills which are not common in the area. A number of young people have been sent to the Nudgee International College in Brisbane for the intensive ten week English Training Course. These are now in prominent positions in the Rialco area with the possibility of stepping into significant positions, including political positions, over time.

COMMUNIDADE EDMUND RICE

The community has varied considerably over time as Volunteers come and go, some for a year or more, others for shorter terms. Volunteers have come from Australia and NZ and most have prior connections to Edmund Rice Camps or Schools.
When I was there four were present in the community – Bill Tynan cfc, Sr Gail Henry rndm, Katrina Powell [Brisbane], Claire Tomlinson [Bathurst]. Gail has been in the area for five years and her focus has been on teaching sewing and working with people with disabilities. Katrina, a very talented and enthusiastic teacher of English has been there for all of 2007, and Claire has run the clinics very competently for the past three months. Also present was a newly arrived Doctor from Brisbane and formerly of Iran, by name Shala, on a ‘come and see’ experience. The community is scattered into two houses when up country and at weekends they come down to a house in Dili. The community has a meeting on Friday evenings and prayer together on Sunday mornings.
There is confidence in Bill as manager, leader, the driving force, gatherer of personnel and financial resources, with connections back to Brisbane, where he is supported by Mary Davies in fund raising. They have good connections to schools particularly to Gregory Terrace and Nudgee, as well as to other supporters around Australia and New Zealand..
Members of the community are well known and well accepted around Rialco and Dili, and the atmosphere is very welcoming and hospitable.
Whilst I was there, the annual Mass for Dan Courtney was celebrated in one of the villages, with Fr Peter, Claretian, presiding. Dan, who has been in a coma in Brisbane since suffering a road accident in East Timor six years ago, is well remembered by many people in the area.

FILM CREW
Also present during my stay was the Albert St Production film crew from Melbourne which has been commissioned by the Oceania Province to do a one hour documentary on the ministries of the Brothers around Oceania. They expect to take about forty hours of footage to do the documentary. So far they have visited New Zealand, ministry sites around Australia and were on their way to PNG. In Timor, they took much footage including interviews with the community members. They were very taken by what is happening in Rialco and suggested they may make an extra half hour documentary on East Timor from their footage.
Overall the ministry in East Timor is one which appears to be very faithful to the charism of Edmund Rice and is quite inspirational in what it is doing for the community development of marginalised people. It is also an immersion site which has provided great opportunities for volunteers to offer their skills in service to people of a disadvantaged country.

Michael Godfrey 31st October, 07