Friday October 11,
2002.
Maryborough delivers
Rod Simpson, one of the founders of Maryborough's sister city
relationship with village Loi Huno, arrived in East Timor last week.
He sent the following email to The Advertiser to inform the
community of his experience.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2: DILI TO LOI HUNO
We arose at 4 am and were ready to be picked up at the
pre-arranged time of 5 am.
Our driver, Carlo, arrived at 6 am in a Landeruiser troop-carrier
and we loaded our gear into the back. Carlo was accompanied by Gilberto, who
lives in Viqueque, 12 kilometres south of Loi Huno.
The trip along the north coast road from Dili to Baucau took two
and a half hours, covering only 122 kilometres, winding through steep hillsides
and along stretches of coastal plain.
We passed through many villages with children carrying school
books on their way to school - some walk up to six kilometres each way. In some
areas paddy fields of green were in stark contrast to the brown hills due to
the effects of the dry season.
From Baucau we headed south into the mountains, the narrow road
now twisting through areas of tropical rainforest.
Travel was slow because many sections of the road needed repair, and the 62 kilometres from Bacau to Loi Huno took two hours, passing over the mountains and descending through the town of Ossu, only 10 kilometres from Loi Huno.
My excitement mounted at the prospect of seeing our sister village
for the first time. The road into town was bordered by tall tropical trees,
giving dense shade.
We stopped briefly to view the spring fed waterfall beside the
road, the water cascading over rocky outcrops.
On the opposite side of the road and about 30 metres below the
road was a narrow valley, parallel to the road with houses built of bamboo and
palm roofing.
The first view of Loi Huno was most picturesque. Turning down a
side track we drove to the house of the "head man", Miguel da Costa.
Following introductions our hosts took us on a tour, viewing the
recently rebuilt (with still unfinished interior) church and the school The
children were as-sembled beneath the only shade tree in the grounds and
welcomed us with song, beautiful singing voices.
I was presented with a tais (traditional garment) and 1 thanked
them for their warm welcome and congratulated them on their singing.
We inspected the school, which had three classrooms, and a office/ storage room. Furnishings and equipment were minimal - desks for the students, a blackboard and four posters on a display board.
A walk back to Miguel da Costa's house was followed by further
discussions on the needs of the towns-people.
We then enjoyed a delicious East Timorese lunch prepared by the
women of the village.
Before being served much trouble was taken, setting the table with
a lace tablecloth, and serving chinaware platters of food. Rice, chicken,
salad, meatballs and bread were served, followed by sweet Timorese coffee.
There was some apology made for only being able to serve us East
Timorese food, not western, so we had to explain that it was a delicious meal-
Our hosts arranged for us to be taken on a walk to view a
limestone cave in the afternoon, which we were looking forward to while still
considering our first impressions of Loi Huno - a physically
very attractive village and beautiful, friendly people, but
certainly a place which requires considerable assistance, particularly in the
areas of education and health.
-Rod Simpson. (Further articles to follow).
Australia owes nation
important favour
Australia's tireless support for neighbour East Timor is in fact a favour well owed.
In 1942, during World War 2, the Independent Army was behind
Japanese lines conducting guerrilla warfare deep in the East Timorese
mountains.
The company of 250 Australian men all survived the operation,
despite consistent shadowing of Japanese soldiers.
With no Navy, Air Force or vast legions of Army supply units, the
support which guided their survival came from the Timorese.
They sent their young sons, aged 10 to 16 years old, to feed and
guide the Australians along the Timorese trails.
They carried their gear and helped in ambushes, their families in
villages along the way warmly welcoming the soldiers.
The Australians declared they would have been annihilated were it not for the young boys who guided them onto secret tracks
when the Japanese advanced.
The Independent Army described the loyalty of the Timorese as
priceless and accounts tell of the "debt they felt they owed".
Harry Levy, who fought in the Independent Army wrote: "It is
a debt that we owe unto the third and fourth generations, and in all the
generations to come, we established a blood bond."
Letter
arrives giving thanks
Dear friends in the Maryborough and district.
On behalf of the people of East Timor and of the village of Loi
Huno, 1 thank you for your efforts in establishing the Maryborough friends of
East Timor support group.
This solidarity demonstrates the strong bonds of friendship
between of our two nations.
The support to Loi Huno in particular will help in a very
practical way.
A small and poor community which was devastated during the years
on Indonesian occupation and the post election violence.
From my personal experience of, and involvement in similar
initiatives, I can attest to their mutual value and strongly encourage as broad
a participation from across the Maryborough community as possible.
Kirsty
Sword-Gusmao
East Timor