--------------------------------------------------------
From On Line Opinion, March - What challenges must East Timor overcome? by Dionisio Da Cruz Pereira who is doing an MA in Development Studies in Sydney. Previously, he worked for the UN and the World Bank group in East Timor.
"Seven years after independence, poverty is one of the biggest problems facing East Timor. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 is challenging. The World Bank predicts that youth unemployment is widespread and currently runs at 43 per cent nationally and 50 per cent in Dili...."
------------------------------------------
From the Sydney Morning Herald, February 14, 2009 - "Little Airline, Big Country" "Jo Kennett buckles up for air adventures from Elcho Island to East Timor.
Our steward on the 30-seat aeroplane is showing two passengers how to open the door and throw it out. I can't see who is sitting next to the emergency exit but I'm praying it's not a pair of children. Wendy, the steward, must be reading our minds - she looks at us and adds with a smile, "but only do it on my command".
It's a characteristically offbeat introduction to one of Airnorth's unusual destinations: Dili, East Timor. This little airline with the rather unimaginative motto - "together we fly" - is the major regional airline for the Top End. Based in Darwin, Airnorth has for the past 30 years served remote communities and stations, regional centres and run industry charters."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Age, February 5, 2009 - "Timor tears of joy as world weeps" by Jill Jolliffe in Dili
"WITH the rest of the world bathed in gloom, East Timor's economy is surging. The International Monetary Fund registered its growth rate as 10.5 per cent in 2008 and predicts around 7.8 per cent this year.
Dili, the once-sleepy capital, is barely recognisable to returning visitors. Old and new cars dodge shoppers that fill the streets, more than 20 freighters are waiting to unload, and shops are stacked with rice and other imports. It is now a boom town."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From UN New Centre, December 24, 2008 - "Timor-Leste making good progress despite this year’s challenges, stresses UN envoy"
"Timor-Leste has made good progress towards peace and stability after the violent attacks in February that almost claimed the life of its President, a senior United Nations envoy to the tiny South-East Asian nation the world body helped shepherd to independence in 2002 stressed today.
"We can say clearly that we feel very good about the progress that has been made in Timor in 2008 and the resiliency demonstrated by the Timorese people in a year that started with great challenge,” acting UN Special Representative Finn Reske-Nielsen said in a statement issued in the capital, Dili..."
-----------------------------------------------------------
From UNICEF, February 27, 2008 - "Volunteers help bridge the gap between rural communities and their health centres"
"AILEU, Timor-Leste – Some Timorese communities face many challenges in ensuring the survival of their children. On average, each person in Timor-Leste visits health facilities less than twice a year. This low number is due largely to the country’s extremely rugged terrain, as impassable as it is beautiful.
...Pointing to the struggle Liquidoe faces in addressing undernutrition and poor growth in children, Mr. Ramos said, “The food here is ample and available. We have corn, rice and plenty of fruits. But the parents don’t know how to prepare appropriate food for their children.” "
No comments:
Post a Comment