A tremendous lack of sleep

The 16th of this month will mark 4 months since I've been in Maliana and nearly 5 since arriving in Timor. In these past 4 months, there has not been one night where I can say I have slept well. By well, I mean, well...when you wake up and you do not feel tired or riddled with back pain and where your eyes look fresh and aren't puffy or sore. I can honestly say that the last time I slept really well was back in New York, in the biggest and noisiest city, of all places...


To be true, I am a city girl, always have been. I like my forays into the country, picnics and camping and to my father's country house or my mother's but the most time I ever spent there was usually one week, consecutively, in the summer, when you don't have an alarm clock to wake you out of peaceful slumber.


I live in the country here, Maliana is the biggest city in Bobonaro, hence it is its capital but it is still the country by anyone's standards and it comes with country afflictions. I tend to wake up with murderous thoughts on my head of killing the neighbor's cow, let alone its roosters! All I can say for Timor roosters is that at least they don't start at the god forsaken hour of 4am like the Lao roosters tended to do. But start they do and apparently have a really hard time stopping... Being an avid reader of Asterix in my childhood (okay, I admit, I still read them!), a rooster to me always had one very specific purpose, to crow when the sun comes out...apparently this isn't the case or otherwise their biological clock is messed up because the sun hasn't even shown its head and they're already off crowing away much to my chagrin!


But if it were only the odd rooster and the blasted cow...they are part of nature, I have to endure them, unless I actually do turn into Rambo and sneak into the black night and kill them...no, never mind, I don't think I'll be doing that (must be the effect of reading The Road that has brought these urges on!) but unfortunately my lack of sleep is mostly manmade, much like climate change!


In Lao PDR, when a Lao is throwing a party, his biggest concern is how loud he can get his sound system to go. I'll explain, it's a symbol of wealth if you can get your loudpseakers to sound in a radius of 1-3km from your party. it means it is potent and therefore expensive. Yes, it will probably disturd the neighbors (if they haven't been invited) but it is the custom so there! But the Lao at least are fair...they turn up the volume as loud as possible for an excruciating number of hours but they never go past 1am or 2 at the latest. Not so in Timor! When they throw a party, they really throw a party and they last until dawn...


This past weekend was no different. Our colleague - well, actually the head logisitics officer - in STAE just came out of mourning. Here in Timor, when a family member dies you mourn them for a year - yes, a year - and you do so by wearing black. Women will use a black scarf on their head and men will dress all in black, for an entire year. And by the end of the mourning year you throw a party. This party will most likely put you in debt as you have to invite and feed everyone, not to mention the beer and alcohol that you have to buy. Our colleague threw his 'end of mourning' party this past Saturday, hence I didn't get to sleep until about 6am (my only respite came when the electricity failed and the party would go silent until the power came on again - this happened about 3 times that night)...as just as I was finally dozing off, our guards decided to sing! Unfortunately they do this VERY often. We have had to politely tell them on numerous occasions, such as on a peaceful Sunday afternoon when you are trying to nap and catch up on the lack of sleep to please keep it down, but they still keep singing - very badly at that - and at any given hour of the day...


So, already after having faced a weekend of no real good sleep I was looking forward to Sunday night. I actually slept alright, no major coil digging its way into my twisted back. I had even planned to wake up and go jogging - the landscape is most beautiful just as the sun is coming up - but alas, at 6am, our neihgbor's guard dedides to go for a walk while listening to the radio right outside our door!! It was the last straw! With rage I jumped out of my bed, only to find M, my roommate with the same thought in her head, kill the radio! I marched outside in my PJs and begged that guard to shut off his radio!!! He did luckily, while apologising profusely - "no need to apologise just don't do it again! Please!" and made my way back into my lumpy bed to try to find sleep again for the remaining hour until the alarm went off...


This is a constant battle between nature, the guards and me...considering I'll be leaving in a month I don't think I'll be the winner of this fight but I do know of a bed in Brooklyn that has my name on it!

Farewell to Ameerah Haq

This week, UNMIT has had to say goodbye to its SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary General), Ms. Ammerah Haq, who, as of next monday, will become the head of UN Field Support in New York.
This was her message to us on her farewell:

Dear colleagues and friends,

The time has come for my departure from UNMIT and Timor-Leste, to take up my new duties as the head of the UN Department for Field Support. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve with you over the past two and a half years, and I would like to thank you all for your contributions to the United Nations' work in Timor-Leste.

I am especially grateful to all our Timorese staff, who have welcomed me so warmly, and taught me so much about their country. I am so pleased that my last official event in the mission was the graduation ceremony for the National Staff Capacity-Building Programme yesterday. I know that each and every one of you will continue to contribute to the peace, development and prosperity of your beautiful nation.

For international peacekeeping staff, Timor-Leste offers an inspiring opportunity to the see first-hand the progress that is possible in countries struck by conflict, if their people, leaders, and international partners are committed to a brighter future. I feel very proud to have accompanied Timor-Leste for a short part of its extraordinary journey, and to have led a UN team so committed to helping the Timorese people achieve their aspirations.

Earlier this week, at my fantastic farewell party, I was once again reminded of the warm sense of community that we enjoy in this mission and in the UN Country Team. Thank you all for making that evening, and my entire time here, so memorable. I leave you now in the very capable hands of Finn Reske-Nielsen, knowing that you will extend the same extraordinary support and friendship to him as you have done to me.

With thanks and warm regards,

Ameerah

Ameerah Haq
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIT

The Deputy SRSG, Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen, will therefore replace her and become the new SRSG until UNMIT closes up shop on December 31st by taking down its flag from the mast in its headquarters in Dili.

Mr. Reske-Nielsen, was also, by coincidence in Lao PDR before coming here, like me, although I missed his presence entirely since he left right before J arrived.

He also came to pay us a very special visit yesterday in Maliana. What was supposed to be an electoral visit to the political candidates of the parliamentary elections and to the electoral UNVs, such as myself, somewhat became hijacked into a courtesy visit to the Maliana Regional Security Centre, much to the chagrin of the UNVs that were looking forward to sharing their questions and concerns with our UNEST boss regarding the forthcoming elections...but as politics goes, anything can change at the last minute. It was still a nice visit, it even involved a tea with the head of the Pakistani forces - well, not for me of course - but we did get to see the Pakistani army dressed in full rigour which isn't something we see everyday.

At the moment, everything is quiet on the eastern front, everyone is hoping and crossing their fingers that there won't be any problems or violence in the forthcoming elections and that UNMIT can close as expected. People's major concerns at the moment are what's going to happen to them when UNMIT leaves as the unemployment hole created by its departure could be quite damaging to the national economy! In the case of national staff, the government has promised to take in some of the staff and UN agencies have also pledged to do their share, let's just hope it's not a false promise...it would be a shame to waste all the training and experience that the national staff have gained since the arrival of the UN. As for the international staff, most are looking towards the next mission, some have already been called to Libya and Syria is also on the horizon. As for me, I'm New York bound in one month and I already know finding a job there won't be easy and the application procedures are anything but...all I can do is keep applying and keep my fingers crossed!

When it gets too much

Yesterday I saw a puppy have its paw run over by a motorcycle.
Nobody cared.
I was just leaving the market with M when we hear this intense wailing, I turn and I see a motorcycle next to a puppy, the puppy clearly in pain with its paw raised up. I saw the motorcyclist drive off and everyone else return to what they were doing. I ran to the puppy, wailing in agony, it got scared and ran on three legs into the nearest store, I followed it inside trying to coax it out to see what the damage was. see if I could make it better. No one cared. The store owner was more worried about having a Malay near her things then having a wailing puppy in her store. I mean, who cares, it just a dog, besides if it dies, we'll have meat for supper!!! Dogs to them are hitting targets, pets that you don't really need to feed and once they die, by natural causes or otherwise, they turn into dinner. They just laughed at me, found it amusing because I am Malay and because I cared.
Yesterday, I had enough!
Yesterday, I was ready to go home.

I know sometimes I care too much, but to be honest, I would rather care too much than not at all. But in the 4 months that I have been in Timor Leste I have had to turn my eyes and close my heart too many times. And it's not just about animals, it's about everything. Naked children running around with bloated bellies from malnutrition. Too many with dirty little faces and runny noses, too many that, given the existing medical services here, might not make it to their teen years.
Too many times I've had to 'not care' about people throwing garbage onto the street or burning trash in their yard. They don't care. Either because they don't know that they should or because it would be too much work if they did.

If it's broken, why fix it? It will only break again. This seems to be a recurring mentality here. Our house for example, is falling to pieces, the mosquito nets are tearing away, the electricity is erratic if non-existent, we've had the refrigerator break twice because of the lack of enough current pulsing through the wires. The water tank is alive only due to the ingeniuty of the security guards that risk getting electrocuted everytime they turn the pump on by touching one cable to another and we are down to only one stove top. But the landlord would rather put us out on the street than bother with these little things, it's just too much trouble, so much so that he actually forbade the electrician from coming to the house the next time we called them. Thankfully for us the electricician has a conscience.

I don't know. I just don't feel like I'm helping in any way. Yes, I'm providing electoral support, and yes, election day is a wonderful occasion in this country but mostly I feel like I'm just providing my services as a glofied chauffer...

If the reason for this country to still be in the state that it's in was lack of money... but it's not!!! Timor is rolling in oil money. But Dili is such an elitist bubble that they just don't see any need to develop the districts. Take Bobonaro for instance, these past 4 months we have seen machinery on the roads to improve the sidewalks. Thing is the sidewalks already existed, they just changed them from cobblestone to concrete and people still don't use them! Was that necessary? More so than getting electricity 24/7 or better yet, getting Bobonaro wired with solar panels so that they wouldn't need to rely on polluting generators and petrol for their measly supply of electricity?? I mean, they have enough sun and they have the money, what are they waiting for? Just the other day I was told by a reliable source that the government had ordered cement blocks from Portugal...from Portugal???? Who was the smart guy behind that idea?! There are far too many people in Dili looking out for their own backs and how to squeeze a little more money from the gullible Timorese. Not enough caring for the people themselves. Too many worried about the status of the portuguese language in the education system rather than the efficiency of the education system. Will these children have a future? Can they afford one?

And what's going to happen to all this when UNMIT leaves? I'm not talking just about the jobs that it provides although just that alone will leave an enormous hole, but also the false economy bubble that is has created. No one will be able to afford Dili unless the prices drop drastically. J, when he came for a visit, said that he woulnd't mind coming to work in Dili, especially since when UNMIT leaves UNDP will probably expand and take over many of the projects. I don't know how I feel about that. I think Timor needs time. Time to grow and develop, time to understand and to help its people get out of the poverty of their everyday lives, time to provide the right education and opportunity for their children. The democracy part is there, now they just need to listen to their people. They need to care.

A bad omen?

Yesterday, as always, we arrived early at our STAE office in Maliana to check what our assignments would be for the day. Unfortunately, the work has been slow for these past few days since voter registration finished. Well, actually, voter registration, meaning the time for people to come and register for their electoral cards or change their existing ones due to change of address or because their cards may be damaged,  may be over but apparently there is a national shortage of cards so we have to patiently wait for more cards to be delivered all the way from Singapore in order to process all the registration requests, but anyways, on with the story...

So to resume, yesterday, we arrive at our office in STAE which is in the District Admnistrator's compound. We share a meeting hall with the DA and usually STAE staff is in charge of cleaning it everyday since we use it more often. Well, yesterday when the doors linking the office to the hall were opened we encountered a pretty disturbing sight. On the floor there lay a dead bird in a pool of blood with a string tied to its neck!!!! It was actually a very pretty bird, with blue wings and a white chest which made it all the more sad. The most distrubing part of this though is the string...if there had been no string one could presume that the bird came in through the window and then having failed in its attempt to leave the hall collapsed from exhaustion or simple heart attack but the mere fact that it had a string around its neck means that it either belonged to someone and it escaped but this still wouldn't explain its death in the hall of the DA...

Timorese people, although extremely catholic, still believe in some forms of animism. They believe that if there is a problem in a village, ie. someone is ill or a teenager is in trouble or something of the sort, you can understand whether the problem will go away by opening a dog and checking its entrails. If its entrails are good then the problem will go away, however, if their entrails happen to be rotten it means the problem will stay and a more drastic solution is needed...no wonder most dogs here are afraid to come near people!

For celebrations it is also tradition to sacrifice pigs or chickens. Luckily I have yet to be invited to such celebrations, I don't think my stomach or heart could take it to be honest but some of my colleagues have had the 'privilege' to see these sacrifices...Could you imagine if they had done something similar when the foreign dignitaries came for the celebration of the retoration of independence!?! Now that would have been a sight!

I brought up animism because, just maybe, in my wildest imagination, I'm thinking the bird can be a sign or a warning, perhaps, from one of the political parties to STAE, to watch their backs during the election, wouldn't that be something! Or maybe I've just been reading too many Agatha Christie books, but all the same, it makes you wonder...

A long weekend of celebrations

Just this past weekend Timor Leste celebrated not only the transition of power from the incubent president, Jose Ramos-Horta, to its new and 5th president, Taur Matan Ruak, but it also celebrated it's 10th anniversary since the Restoration of Independence!

It's the restoration because Timor declared its independence from Portuguese colonial rule back in 1975, on November 28th to be precise, and they still celebrate this particular day as Independence Day. However, shortly after this declaration, Timor-Leste was invaded by neighbouring Indonesia - with the full support of the US and Australia's complacency, I might add - and its independence was only restored again on May 20, 2002, with the help of the UN and after many years of bloody struggle and lost diplomacy.

This Sunday (and well, the whole weekend) was, therefore, a huge day for Timor and we were invited! As were the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Portugal (I might be forgetting someone, apologies!)

Before I say anything further though, one big gain from all these VIP visits was that Dili got a new makeover - the government's palace was whitewashed and the bullet holes were finally covered, the holes in the roads were also covered up (let's count how many days those last!), a new park was inaugurated and the city just looked cleaner...almost unrecognizable!

On Friday we were invited to the President's Palace - I finally got to see Timor's dinosaur - for the ceremony presenting the final honours bestowed by the president before he left office. Our director general from STAE, Mr. Tomas Cabral, was receiving one of these honours and he invited all the STAE UNVs to be present. The President gave out several honours to those that have helped in the development of Timor, among them, to FRETILIN, STAE and CNE. It was quite a sight and it felt very special to be attending the final moments of Ramos Horta's presidency. It was funnier though to hear him speak, I'd never seen this in a politician but it was quite amazing the way he used his speech to show his outward contempt and dislike for the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao! But he did it in a humourous way so you couldn't help but laugh with him which is quite appealing and comic at the same time.

Afterwards we were invited back to STAE to greet Tomas Cabral and congratulate him on this honour, oh and eat of course. Our STAE nationals put out quite a feast! TC even invited Ameera Haq (our SRSG by the way) to celebrate. We all ended up a bit tipsy and unfortunately the girls were 'forced' to dance...Timorese style...I kept telling them I had two left feet but they wouldnt listen, but it was all in good fun.

Later on that afternoon - yes, still Friday! -  we had a visit from President Ramos-Horta at the UN barracks in Dili to present Ameera Haq and Luis Carrilho (Head of UNPOL) with a medal and to thank the UN staff for their hard work and dedication to the development of Timor. He also presented the honourees with Timorese coffee, which he then went on to tell us, to the immense laughter of those present, that scientists found that it contained a high degree of viagra so we should drink up!!! Quite a comedian, really!

 Saturday, at precisely midnight, saw the beginning of the official festivities. We were told that the roads would be closed going out to the event's location but with the help of our UN cars we were able to sail through the crowds and after 'infiltrating' the VIP tent, we were able to witness Ramos-Horta handing over his position as president to Taur Matan Ruak, in the presence of thousands of Timorese as well as foreign dignitaries.

                                                            (photo by N. Lobato)


The crowd was vibrant and happy albeit calmer than I expected. This was great and emotional moment for them, a truly great step in their right to free determination, democracy and freedom and the whole world was watching.

(Photo by M. Perret)

With the handover of power and the official ceremony over, it was time to truly celebrate, with a massive show of fire works that could be seen from the entire city.

Saturday festivities were followed by a concert on Sunday given by the Prime Minister - he wanted Michel Telo but got Leandro and Leonardo instead (Portuguese and Brazilian readers will know who I'm talking about those, those that don't, you're better off for it!)

And on Monday, we, the Portuguese residents of Timor, were invited by our own President, Cavaco Silva, to dress up to the nine's to attend a reception at the Portuguese School in honour of his excellency's visit to Timor as well as Timor's 10th anniversary. After some controversy over the dress code - I mean, who wears a dark suit in tropical climates? - the evening took off quite pleasantly. Tuar Matan Ruak was also present and his speech, probably one of his first since assuming office, was impressive and actually surprising. And we finished the evening off with bacalhau - of course! - and lots of croquetes, pasteis de bacalhau and paes com chorico - oh yeah!

It was indeed a very long weekend of celebrations and I am happy that I was here to witness such a momentous occasion in the history of this nation. Thank you, Timor, yet again, for the honour!

Timor-Leste's marathon is more than just a race

And after two blissful weeks of holiday with J, who pampered and spoiled me so much that I found it quite hard to come back to Maliana, it's now back to work and back to the daily routine. However, over this past weekend, Timor Leste hosted its third annual marathon and although I didn't actually attend and I only saw one final runner making his way to the finish line (I know, I know, I should have been there as quite a lot of volunteers helped out during the event but, in my defense, J left that day and every minute that I could spend with him was precious!) here is what The Guardian had to say on the event...


The Guardian (UK), 11 May 2012

Dili marathon is a vibrant departure from decades of brutal and bloody foreign occupation that ended, officially, 10 years ago

They stand on street corners, clutching tiny versions of their nation's red, black and gold flag, all anxious for a sale before the big day. "Maratao, maratao!" they cry out – "marathon, marathon!" – their excitement palpable over Saturday's 26-mile run through the waterfront lanes of Dili, Timor-Leste's capital.

For these young hawkers, as well as many other islanders, the event marks not only the third-ever international marathon in this nation's young history, but a vibrant departure from decades of brutal and bloody foreign occupation that ended, officially, 10 years ago on 20 May.

This small island nation of 1.2 million people was taken over by Indonesia soon after it was granted independence from Portugal in 1975. The brutal annexation killed off nearly one-third of Timor-Leste's population by 1999, when it pursued a UN-sponsored act of self-determination. It finally gained independence in 2002.

Now, thanks to international and forward-focused events such as the Dili marathon, tourism has boomed. "Finally, there's a positive news story about Timor-Leste," says Sean Ferguson-Borrell, one of the organisers of the 2012 marathon. "It's proof that, in spite of how bad things can get, there are solutions for the future as well."

While thunderstorms are predicted, more than 8,000 people are expected to turn out for the day's sporting events, which include a full and half-marathon, as well as a 5km and 10km "Run for Peace". Participants are primarily Timor-Lestese, but many have travelled from other countries, among them Ireland, Estonia, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Portugal.

"It's a great opportunity to see some parts of Dili that you don't normally see, plus it's a great physical challenge," says first-time participant Tom Coghlan, 27, a lawyer from Melbourne, as he collects his jersey and numbered bib from the registration office at the Presidential Palace, where a queue of Timor-Lestese men in business suits are registering for the 5km "fun run" during their lunchbreak.

This year is a hugely important one for Timor-Leste, which in April elected a new president – former guerrilla fighter Taur Matan Ruak – who will be sworn in on 20 May and replace Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, and whose election marked a significant transition in a country still scarred by violence from the 2006 vote. Next Sunday marks 10 years of independence, parliamentary elections are scheduled for July, and the UN peacekeeping force, which began in 2006 and can still be seen throughout Dili, is due to fully withdraw by December.

For many locals, the marathon represents a collective effort to build new bridges and move on from the past. "There is no more significant event in Timor-Leste," says Manuel da Costa Lake, the Timor-Leste national team's coach and mentor, who has been training 12 runners – six men and six women – every morning and afternoon for the past few months. "Everyone gets involved, through participating, cheering runners on, or coming out from the districts. It creates stability in our country and is a chance for people to have fun. It's hugely important to our national psyche."

For President Ramos-Horta, who created the "Dili – City of Peace" initiative in 2009, which comprises the marathon and sister events, such as the Tour de Timor, a mountain biking competition held in September, sport is a form of "group therapy" for the nation to help heal resentment and conflict.

"When you're confronted with a society suffering from conflict and violence, you devise strategies to deal with it. Every society needs role models," he says. "Now, look at us. For the first time in 10 years, we're fully eligible to attend the Olympics on our own merit, instead of 'being permitted' out of sympathy to participate. That creates pride in our people."

This weekend's winners will take home $5,000 for the full marathon and $2,500 for the half, huge sums in a country where nearly 40% of the population survives on less than 78p a day.

For Juventina Napoleao, 23, and Augusto Ramos Soares, 25, of the Timor-Leste national team, both of whom have qualified to participate in the upcoming London Olympics, winning the race would allow them to send money home to their families, who live as farmers and market sellers in impoverished outer districts.

"In my village, no one has any skills or knowledge," says Ramos Soares. "If I didn't have this opportunity, I'd be doing what my parents are doing: farming. Now I represent my country to the rest of the world and prove that we can do this. Timor-Leste can do this."

Rest & Recuperation

That's the technical term for mandatory holidays in UN peace-keeping missions. Every 12 weeks - it used to be 8! - we are 'forced' out of the country for some well earned rest. By that count I should already have gone but we had a frozen period during the elections which has just been opened as of tomorrow...

So with no time to waste, tomorrow will see me on a plane - just hope my ear drum won't mind too much - to Bali to meet up with J, FINALLY! We haven't seen each other since I left and although communication has been great, albeit the running credit and the shortage of network, I have missed him, A LOT!

Needless to say, you probably won't be hearing from me for the next two weeks, I'll be busy exploring Bali for the second time in a year and Timor's east side of the island, among other things of course hihihi

See you in two weeks!

Not for the faint hearted

I mean it! Please ignore this post otherwise.
The photo you are about to see is a photo we received last friday from our security officer with the head title "Human leg found at Batugade Beach: FYI and avoid swimming"...

It's ghastly isn't it!? A reminder that crocodiles definitely exist in Timor Leste!
The worst was that on the way back from Dili on Friday, M and I decided to stop at this same beach to enjoy the sunset over the water before we had to go back to the mountains and the valley of Maliana. It was a beautiful sunset and we said to ourselves we have to come back one weekend and enjoy Batugade beach. We're both Portuguese so the need for water and the sea runs in our veins. Everytime we come down from Maliana, as soon as we see the ocean from up in the mountains it's like we're at peace, like everything is alright. I can't explain it, I just need to see water, especially the sea. But you can imagine our horror when, after arriving back at home in Maliana, M goes through her e-mails and finds this warning from our security officer, supposedly having happened at the beach we had just vacated!!

Our flatmate J, though, told us that he has received this photo before, a year ago or so... so apparently, it's one of those things that are running around the e-mails of Timor Leste and people pick it up now and again to serve as a warning not to underestimate the crocodiles of Timor Leste, even though none of us, UNVs, has yet seen one since arriving...

So, apologies to the faint hearted, it's just another story from Timor Leste, the island of the 'not so sleeping' crocodile...

Second round and a new president for Timor Leste

I was supposed to have written this post last Tuesday, the day after the second round of elections. However, at 8:30 am on Tuesday last I was told last minute that I would have to go to Dili to accompany the convoy carrying the final ballot box with Bobonaro's result for national tabulation. The convoy left two hours after, leaving me only with time to do my MOP - authorization required in peacekeeping missions for travel outside of your duty station - and a small suitcase for 3 days in Dili.

But I should really start at the beginning...

Sunday, April 15th, at 7am, the sun was out and Bobonaro STAE office was ready and set to deploy the ballot boxes to the 68 polling centres and 81 polling stations in the district. This time we were finally using helicopters, albeit some very stressing last minute changes with MOPs - for the use of helicopters, an MOP is like your ticket onboard, without it you don't fly so you can imagine how stressful it can be when I was missing 8 MOPs for the PNTL officers 20 minutes before flight! But all was sorted in the end and the helicopter came and went with the electoral materials to the two inacessible sites in Bobonaro, that was the fun part!

After I was done getting the helicopters sorted back to STAE I went to join the convoy to my other two assigned polling stations...unfortunately, I was too late and my convoy left without me...I ended up staying in  Maliana on standby all day listening to the radio to hear the progress in dropping off the electoral material.

Monday, however, was another story. Election day for the second round in the presidential elections. Two candidates, both heroes in the war against the Indonesian invasion, both with military background but only with the backing of Xanana Gusmao. As soon as we heard that Xanana was giving his support to TMR, the outcome was obvious. This nation vibrates off of Xanana's emotions and political leanings. In Ainaro, for instance, my colleague told me that after Xanana came for a political rally people believed that he was the candidate, or otherwise, that it didn't matter if he was the candidate or not, whatever he said, went, the people are behind him. One old lady even said that she would stop voting after Xanana died, considering she was older than Xanana, I find that unlikely but she will continue her support for Xanana and whoever he backs, that's a certainty.

We started by going around Maliana monitoring the polling stations. Everything was calm and peaceful. We even got to accompany the mobile units, the ones that go to the hospitals so that patients and hospital staff can vote. We had one minor incident involving backing up into a motorcyle - it seems they do it on purpose even, they park their bikes right behind a car so that the car can't see (we were in the buffalo, our line of vision was completely impaired) and then they wait until it's too late and they ask for money, oh well, thank goodness the UN has insurance...After lunch, we were on our way to collect the ballot boxes and results from our assigned polling centres. I got two different ones this time, Lourba and Lour...in the last round, due to the rain, these two centres were on helicopter request so you can imagine the roads, or lack thereof, to actually get there! But get there we did, the counting was done well, the trainings that the polling staff had in between rounds definitely helped a lot! When the counting was done and we were set to go, dark clouds looming in the sky could be seen, making the descent down to Maliana very risky if they started to pour but luckily all they did was loom, no rain was seen all day, which was a welcome change from the first round. Everything realyl went a lot better this time, we were back in Maliana by 8pm! I was surprised when I was told by the CNE commissioner that the helicopters would not be required to pick up the ballot boxes from the inacessible places, they had all managed to get to Maliana by car...so much for inacessible!!! We were set to finish everything by 11-midnight at the max when the internet server went down and we had to wait for two excruciating hours - some of the staff even made makeshift beds with the cabin booths so they could sleep! By 2:30 internet was back, we were online and finished! All 68 polling centers were accounted for, the mistakes were minor and rather technical and everyone seemed happy with the results: TMR won with 70.01% of the vote and Lu'Olo trailed behing with a 29.99%. The results were mirrored in the rest of the country except for Baucau and Viqueque (Viqueque witness some burnt houses and stoning but it was expected, it's the only volatile district that blows at any election) , the two strongholds of Lu'Olo but otherwise no incidents were accounted on election day...

The next day, Tuesday, as I wrote earlier, we sped off to Dili, sometimes travelling at 120km an hour down very perilous roads, it was quite a show, barreling down the main avenue inDdili with 10 cars, half of them police with sirens and everything, into the CNE headquaters with the final Aktas bearing the results for Bobonaro district! Very exciting indeed!

The national results have by now been announced, Tuar Matan Ruak (TMR) won with a wide majority and Lu'Olo has accepted the results, peacefully and calmly, which is what the UN and the world needed to see, the proof that Timor Leste is ready for independent governance, ready for a new dawn.

Fingerprints and ballot papers

I know, you're probably wondering why I haven't written for a while...
To be honest, it's because nothing worthwhile has happened since the last time I wrote!

Easter came and went in a stupor of heat with nothing to do...at least we had an Easter dinner, but with Indian, Philippine and Indonesian food as well as shisha smoking, I have to say it was the most interesting Easter dinner I've ever witnessed!

We're also starting to crave and plan for our vacations! We're entitled to rest and recuperation breaks every 12 weeks...by that count we were supposed to have taken them already but all leave was frozen until after the presidential elections so we only have permission to go on leave from April 28th onwards...Bali, here I come!

Oh and I witnessed a very interesting thing, I went to the bank the other day and there was a Timorese lady in front of me, since she couldn't write, the bank teller had her sign with her fingerprint in red ink! I don't know how they do in other countries with high illiteracy rates but I thought this to be very cool indeed, now I just wonder if they keep a fingerprint record of all their clients like the police do with all the criminals!

As for work, it came to a near standstill here after the first round of elections. No orders were coming from Dili or even from STAE...

I therefore learned to make my own clothes in the meantime just to pass the time...There is a great deal of batik fabric from Indonesia available here that make beautiful tops and skirts! Orders available, enquire here hihi

Voter education finally started up again last week, the polling staff had another training to try to avoid the same mistakes that happened in the first round and that was about it until this week...

With three days to go until the second round everyone is making sure that we are set and ready to go!
Ballot papers arrived on time and were thoroughly verified...that is, until a rumour came up that some of the ballot papers that went to Covalima were already perforated for one the candidates! Oh the scandal!! What did this mean for us? We actually had to recheck every single ballot paper to check for perforations or marks in favour of one of the candidates!! We started yesterday before lunch and finally finished this morning, all 65,000 ballot papers assigned to Bobonaro District, that's a LOT of ballot papers to check!

Now the sensistive ballot boxes are being filled up as we speak and will be ready for deployment on Sunday. The government has already granted Monday and Tuesday as holidays to allow people to travel to their assigned polling centers to vote. The only thing that could get in our way this time is, again, the weather...it has hardly rained in the last 2 weeks and yet both today, yesterday and the day before the skies decided to darken and come pouring down! So c'mon weather gods, please let it not rain again! The helicopters are actually set and ready this time and all the controversial arguments against using them - lack of police protection and what not - have been sorted, so fingers crossed it will be an easy one...

Only thing is, there are already signs of trouble among the voters, with news of opposing supporters attacking each other...time to get my evacuation bag ready and hope for the best!

Oh, and the president - incubent not future of course - has already set the date for the Parliamentary Elections...they will be held July 7th, meaning, in all likehood, I'll be staying put here until end of July!

In the meantime, here are some elections news for you:

José Luís Guterres: Timorese should determine UN mission
Timor Post (page 20)Acting Prime Minister José Luís Guterres said that it is important for the Timorese to determine the mission of the United Nations in Timor-Leste through its election by maintaining peace and stability during the election period.

"The Timorese should maintain peace and stability; this is not only to create calm or have a good situation for us but to show to the international people that the Timorese are also democratic people, respect each other and have political maturity. By this we can show the international community that we do not need people from other countries to come to maintain security and other countries should not come to help us organize the elections," said Guterres.

Guterres said that the run-off election campaign is running peacefully, demonstrating that the Timorese people can maintain peace and security.

“We hope that stability will hold well, not only during the elections but that it will be ongoing, because we want to govern ourselves,” said Guterres.

He said that some minor isolated cases continue to happen, but that the Timorese Defence Force (F-FDTL) and the National Police (PNTL) are ready to ensure security during the second round of the presidential election.

Supporters of two candidates attack each other, two injured
Independente (cover page) The recent incident occurred in Osso-Huna Village, Baucau District, in which the supporters of the two presidential candidates attacked each other resulting in two injured people who were hospitalized in Baucau.

One Ruak supporter was also injured when assaulted by supporters of Lu-Olo in Maluro, Quelicai Sub-District on 4April.

Fretilin Coordinator in Baucau, Talik Reis said that their followers were attacked by supporters of Ruak in Osso-Huna Village while the victims were on their way to Baguia.

"The victim sustained a number of injures on his body, his mouth is also swollen," said Reis.

He said that they will hand the case over to the Baucau District Police to resolve it, and that they will continue to contribute to maintenance of peace.

Timorese Police Deputy Commander Afonso de Jesus said that the general security situation is under control even though some minor cases continue to happen.

Bishop da Silva: Using Bishop's picture in campaigning is manipulation
Diário Nacional (cover page)

Bishop for Dili Diocese, Monsignor Alberto Ricardo said that the Catholic Church accuses the promotion team of Lu-Olo of manipulation during their political campaigns as they used the picture of three bishops of Timor-Leste in their political interest.

"Using the picture of a bishop in a political campaign is not good and is considered to be manipulation," said Ricardo.

Gusmão reads Alkatiri and Horta's SMS to the people of Suai
Diário Nacional (cover page)

President of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) Xanana Gusmão shared the short message services (SMS) that he received from Mari Alkatiri and José Ramos-Horta.

"This morning I received a SMS from Alkatiri asking me to stop insulting other people. I said I do not insult other people," said Gusmão, while speaking to the people of Suai, in Covalima District.

“If you keep stoning people, destroying others’ objects and threatening others I will keep telling the population and your militants to become a militant of a good party,” said Gusmão in his message to Alkatiri.

According to Gusmão, if they (Lu-Olo and Alkatiri) mention his name in the campaign it does not mean that they insult him.

Gusmão said that he supports Taur Matan Ruak because he is an independent candidate and a candidate for all the people.

“When a candidate is independent he will gather all the people as Taur Matan Ruak is embracing all Timorese. That is the reason why Xanana is behind Taur Matan Ruak,” said Gusmão.