Report on 2008 visit to Timor-Leste and the Timor-Leste – Australia Friendship Conference June 2008

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Report on a visit to Timor-Leste and the Timor-Leste – Australia Friendship Conference June 2008

Prepared by Richard Brown July 2008


Background

The purpose of the visit to Aileu was to meet with our project partners, review the progress of current projects and discuss new ones, and to prepare for the Friendship Conference. A delegation from Friends of Aileu (FOA), the Campaspe East Timor Association in Friendship (CETAF), and the Moora Moora Cooperative Community visited Aileu District and attended the Friendship Conference. For some members, it was their first visit to TimorLeste.

A representative of the Kangaroo ValleyRemexio Partnership from Shoalhaven (NSW) also visited Remexio SubDistrict independently and later attended the Conference.

At the same time, Anton Vikstrom, the International Project Manager for the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), visited Aileu to evaluate a solar lighting project in Besilau village, with the Moora Moora representatives, and later attended the Conference. (Bill Bennett of the ATA also attended the Conference, and later led a small ATA team to visit the Lequidoe windpower pilot project).

The visit, and the Conference, came at a particularly important time for the Friendship relationship with Aileu. The situation in the District, and the country as a whole, was relatively calm after the unrest of 20062007. The relationships with local project partners, including the District Administration, the Sisters of Maryknoll, the Aileu Resource & Training Centre, the SubDistrict Administration of Lequidoe and the Besilau community, had survived the period of unrest, (things had quietened down in Aileu more quickly after the 2006 events than in some other areas of the country), and it was time to discuss the next stage of their development.

The following people visited Aileu and later attended the Conference (see Attachment 1 for an outline of their itinerary during the visit):

FOA Cr Gary Jungwirth (Hume City Council), Chair

Cr Joe Caputo (Moreland City Council)

Richard Brown, Project Coordinator

Janna Candy (CardnoACIL), Friends of Aileu member

CETAF Dianne Holland, Chair

Rhonda Sutton

Judith O’Farrell

Pauline Cleary

Moora Moora Community Dr Peter Cock

Sandra Cock KangarooValley

– Remexio Partnership Christine Nobel

ATA Anton Vikstrom (plus Bill Bennett, Patrick Eijsvogel and Oliver Crowder, after the Conference)

Kate Jeffery, the Coordinator of East Timor Projects for the Moreland Community Health Service, also attended the Conference, and later visited Aileu.

Visit to Aileu

The FOA, CETAF, Moora Moora and ATA representatives visited Aileu between 13 –17 June 2008. During that time, some of them made separate visits to different places and organisations and met different people, according to their interests. Particular thanks are due to Deputy District Administrator, Sr Mario Soares and the Friends of AileuAVI Volunteer, Chris Adams, for arranging the busy program of meetings and visits.

Accommodation for the representatives was provided at a number of venues: the house owned by the parish priest, the Zery Restaurant, the AVI Volunteer’s house and a house owned by the family of one of the scholarship students in Namaleso. Each person paid for their transport, accommodation and daily living expenses. However, some transport and several meals were provided courtesy of the District Administration.

Highlights of the visit included:

1. Official receptions

Official receptions were provided by District officials on 13, 14 and 15 June, as representatives arrived in Aileu. The District Administrator, the Deputy District Administrator and the Aileu Vila SubDistrict Administrator each hosted a meeting, where they welcomed the representatives and spoke of the importance of the friendship relationship to the District. On 13 June, the District Administrator outlined his priorities for Aileu, which included education, health and agriculture, water and communications.


Brown, Cr Gary Jungwirth, Cr Caputo, Janna Candy, Aileu Vila SubDistrict DA, Sr Zisto Amaral, Deputy DA, Sr Mario Soares representatives, lr Anton Vikstrom (ATA), Judith O’Farrell, Rhonda Sutton, Pauline Cleary, Dianne Holland, Richard Brown, Sandra Cock, Dr Peter Cock, Sr Martinho Matos, Sr Mario Soares

2. Aileu Friendship Commission

Cr Gary Jungwirth, Cr Joe Caputo, Richard Brown and the AVI Volunteer Project officer, Chris Adams, met with the Deputy District Administrator, Sr Mario Soares, who is also the Liaison Officer for the Aileu Friendship Commission. They discussed the restructuring of the Commission, following the disruption of 20062007, the plan for the new Commission to meet after the Conference and the preparation of a detailed financial report. They discussed a proposal for restructuring the scholarship programs, with a revised funding formula, which will be submitted to the Friends of Aileu and the new Commission. They also discussed a proposal for support for Sr Soares to undertake a course in public administration, which will be put to the Friends of Aileu and a proposal for him to visit Melbourne in November 2008 to study the Victorian local government elections.

3. Sisters of Maryknoll

On 14 June, some representatives visited the Uma Ita Nian Clinic, which is operated by the Sisters of Maryknoll for the Aileu Parish. They met with Sister Dorothy McGowan and Sister Susan Gubbins, who outlined the history of the clinic, which has operated for over 15 years in Aileu, and the range of programs which they provide, including clinical services, rehabilitation programs for disabled people, a nutrition program, a mobile library for local primary schools, and a range of community development initiatives. They also met with Rui, a project worker who assists villagers to build efficient, woodfired cooking stoves, which contribute considerably to their health.

The staff of the Clinic expressed their appreciation for Friends of Aileu’s financial assistance to meet the costs of Internet access and material aid from the Moreland Community Health Service.

4. St Francis of Assisi Disability Workshop

Some representatives visited the St Francis of Assisi Disability Workshop in Aileu, which is operated in association with Maryknoll clinic. It is managed by two American Maryknoll laymissioners and employs physically disabled people who manufacture specially designed tricycles for local people, to enable them to travel over the very rough roads in the area. They also make specially designed shoes for disabled people.

The workshop has developed a standardised design for the tricycles, which they hope to manufacture in larger numbers in response to an expected government order. The workshop formerly manufactured wheelchairs. However, these are now imported in quantity from China by a Dilibased organisation, which distributes them nationally, so the workshop continues to make these on a limited basis only, mainly for local clients who use the Maryknoll clinic.

The workshop has requested assistance to purchase a new welder and generator for the manufacture of the newly designed tricycles, and Friends of Aileu and Moreland Community Health Service are investigating sources of funding.

Shoemaker at the disability workshop (centre)

One of the tricycles manufactured at the workshop

5. Ministry of Health Clinic

Some representatives visited the governmentoperated hospital and health clinic in Aileu and inspected a building which has been identified for rehabilitation for use by nurses and midwives who need to stay overnight. The AVI volunteer has undertaken to have a plan with costings prepared, including the possible installation of solar power. Moreland Community Health Service has indicated an interest in assisting with funding the project and other sources of funding will be sought.

The government clinic also has a dental surgery and employs dental nurses. Dental Health Services Victoria has indicated an interest in supporting the provision of dental services in Aileu, and in Dili, and the AVI volunteer will follow this up with the local Superintendent of Health.


6. Aileu Resource and Training Centre

On 14 June, some representatives visited the Centre and met with the Director, Sra Maria Diamantine Martins, Sr Rosalva Sandi and project worker Juaninho. They were given a tour of the centre, including the small library, which is operated by the Ministry of Education, and the computer training room. They were also given an outline of the history of the Centre and current programs, including literacy, computer skills (basic and advanced), civic education and a range of community development initiatives. They also heard about future plans for teaching English and possible expansion of the Education Ministry library, which would require an extension of the building, or a new building.

The visit to Aileu followed soon after the visit to Melbourne by the Centre Director, Sra Maria Diamantina, for a onemonth study tour.


Members of the visiting delegation meeting with staff of the Aileu Resource & Training centre

The Director of the ARTC, Sra Maria Diamantina Martins

7. Besilau Community Lighting Project

Some representatives, including Peter and Sandra Cock from Moora Moora, visited the Besilau village, with Anton Vikstrom from ATA, and inspected the solar lighting systems in individual houses and the central battery charger, which had been installed by ATA volunteers in October 2007, with funding assistance from Moora Moora Community. Meetings were held with village residents, using a local resident as a facilitator and supported by Timorese interpreters. They held a meeting with over seventy community representatives and separate meetings with women and children, to assess their view of the equipment and to plan the next stage of the development.


Besilau villagers at the community consultation Children from Besilau at the community meeting consultation meeting

It was agreed to establish a community committee in Besilau to manage the system as it is progressively installed in some 200 houses, to train local people to do the installations and maintenance, and to employ a Timorese technician to oversee the installations and undertake maintenance. It was also agreed that householders would pay a small fee to have the equipment installed in their homes and a small monthly fee to contribute to the cost of ongoing maintenance. Written agreements will also be drawn up to cover the installation and the maintenance of the equipment. Moora Moora Community are committed to assisting with the funding of the project, and are seeking other partners to assist with the funding.

Pilot wind generator

Some members visited the pilot wind generator in Fahisoi, Lequidoe SubDistrict, installed near the subDistrict Administration office in October 2007 by ATA volunteers, with support from CETAF. The group also met with Sr Luis Quintao, the SubDistrict Local Government Officer. A team from ATA visited the site to evaluate the pilot installation the following week. The representatives also sighted the solar lighting panel installed at the nearby Health post, with support from CETAF.
Betulau Biogas project

Some representatives visited the village of Betulau and inspected a communitymanaged project which aims to produce electricity for household lighting in the village from a methane generator fed by animal dung. The villagers have constructed the plant using their own labour, with support from the Aileu Resource and Training Centre and the Ministry of Energy. The ARTC is seeking partners to provide funding for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the system.


Biogas project at Betulau Vegetable seedlings at Manu Casa horticulture project

Manu Casa Horticulture Project

Representatives visited the village of Manu Casa and saw a communitymanaged horticulture project, which produces vegetable seedlings for local use and plans to grow mahogany seedlings for local planting. They saw the processing of locally grown coffee and discussed the possible future supply of coffee to Australia from the village. They also saw a new village meeting building under construction using local labour and government funding, and inspected an adjacent former meeting hall, which could be refurbished for use as a training centre for future programs run by the Centre in the village.
School visits

Representatives visited two schools in the Lequidoe SubDistrict, Namaleso No.1 Primary and the Bereleu Central and ‘Filial’ schools, which are linked to schools in Australia (Brunswick South West Primary and Echuca West Primary). They delivered a typewriter from the Alola Foundation and a quantity of typing paper, donated by Friends of Aileu, to each school, talked to teachers and met students. Pauline Cleary, Assistant Principal at Echuca SW PS, did some classroom activities with students at the Bereleu school, using materials which students at her school had produced. Students at Bereleu gave her some paintings they had done to pass on to the Echuca students.


Echuca teacher, Pauline Cleary, giving students at Members of the FOSCAPA youth group in Aileu Bereleu PS an impromptu lesson

Youth groups

Representatives visited two youth groups in Aileu town, and heard about their activities. Four members of one youth group and one member of the other, plan to visit Australia for the World Youth Day in Sydney and to visit Ballarat or Echuca on the way.
Visit to Remexio

Christine Nobel, from the Shoalhaven (NSW), Kangaroo ValleyRemexio Partnership, visited Aileu District independently. Before the Conference, she travelled to Baucau, where three female students from Remexio SubDistrict, who are supported on scholarships by the Partnership, are studying at the Baucau Teachers College. She provided them with some additional food, furniture and materials for their study. Later, she visited Remexio and met the new priest, Father David, and arranged to buy some guitars and volleyballs for local school students. At the Dili Conference, she presented the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão with a dulcimer shaped like a crocodile, made by her partner Terry Hennessy.


The three scholarship students from Remexio in Christine Nobel presents the crocodile dulcimer to Baucau Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão

Dili Friendship Conference

Following the visit to Aileu, the representatives attended the TimorLeste – Australia Friendship Conference in Dili from 1820 June. The Conference was first proposed in 2003 by the then President Xanana Gusmão, but was postponed until 2008 due to unrest in TimorLeste and other difficulties.

The purpose of the Conference was to celebrate the achievement of the nearly fifty friendship relationships established between parts of Australia and TimorLeste since 1999, to develop closer understanding between the groups, improve the structures and processes underpinning the relationships and plan for future activities. A copy of the Conference program is at Attachment 2

The Conference was preceded by a reception for Conference delegates at the residence of the Australian Ambassador to TimorLeste, which was also attended by the President of Timorleste, Dr José RamosHorta.

The Conference was attended by over two hundred Australian and TimorLeste delegates, including representatives of over forty Australian Friendship groups and all thirteen of the TimorLeste Districts. Senior TimorLeste politicians and bureaucrats attended, including the President, Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for State Administration. The Minister for Finance and the Secretary of State for Natural Resources also addressed delegates on TimorLeste’s development plans, reforms to customs and excise and proposals for a gas pipeline, and the Minister for Tourism spoke about TimorLeste’s tourism potential.


The following representatives from Aileu District attended the Conference with the
representatives from Australia: Sr Martinho Matos – Aileu District Administrator Sr Mario Soares – Aileu Deputy District Administrator Sr Jacinto Mendonca – Local Government Officer, Remexio SubDistrict Sr Domingos Verdial – Community Development Officer, Lequidoe SubDistrict Sra Maria Diamantina Martins – Director, Aileu Resource & Training Centre Sister Rosalva Sandi – Maryknoll Sisters/ARTC board member Chris Adams – Friends of AileuAVI Volunteer Project Officer

The Conference heard a number of speeches from TimorLeste politicians, who spoke favourably of the Friendship relationships. On the second day of the Conference, delegates met in District groups and discussed how the Friendship relationships had been progressing and options for future development. The participants in the Aileu group identified the following as priority areas for action:

Building on & learning from existing programs

Improving systems for reporting and followup e.g. evaluation of financial and other outcomes

Ensuring that all new projects in Australia and TimorLeste are socially and environmentally sustainable

Other areas identified for action were:

Support for education activities such as English language learning & adult literacy

Australians to learn Tetum

Reconstituting the Aileu Friendship Commission, with new goals and operating processes and improve local understanding of the friendship relationship and the operation of the Friendship Commission

Involving the Australian East Timorese community, including the Chinese East Timorese

Improving coordination between project planning and Timor Leste Government plans

Increasing the number of secondary scholarships

Developing youth programs in the areas of employment, education and sport

Networking with, and engaging other community organisations to work together in priority areas

Developing programs to benefit women e.g. a fuelefficient stove in every kitchen

Maintaining good relationships and regular contact, utilising a range of communications media

Developing specific project plans, which list the expertise required, budget, etc.


Presentations

On 20 June, Richard Brown facilitated a session during which Sra Maria Diamantina gave a presentation on the work of the ARTC, Anton Vikstrom (ATA) and an East Timorese counterpart gave a presentation on solar projects, and the Baucau District Administrator, the Friends of Baucau AVI Volunteer and a TimorLeste English language trainer spoke about the work of the Baucau Buka Hatene (Friendship and Learning Centre). In introducing the speakers, he emphasised the importance of Friendship groups working with their TimorLeste partners, and supporting their processes, rather than imposing solutions on them.

Displays Many Friendship groups, including Friends of Aileu, displayed information about their activities. Friends of Aileu also made information available about the Australia East Timor Friendship School Project, in both English and Tetum.

Other activities A number of activities were attended by delegates which were organised by local NGOs to complement the Conference program. These included:

A display of photographs and screening of video interviews with East Timorese expolitical prisoners by the Living Memory Project (which receives financial support from the Moreland Community Health Service)

The screening of a film about the recent history of East Timor as told by ordinary people, made by the East Timorese Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR)

An open day at the Alola Foundation

Coordination of Friendship Groups. A motion was moved by the Aileu District Administrator, Sr Martinho Matos, seconded by the Friends of Aileu Project Coordinator and passed unanimously by the Conference, to establish offices in Australia and TimorLeste to coordinate the activities of the Friendship groups. A suggestion was also made to establish an ‘association’ of the Friendship groups in Australia to improve liaison and cooperation.


Temporary visas for TimorLeste workers. Another motion, which was passed unanimously by the Conference, called for the establishment of temporary visas for TimorLeste workers to come to Australia and work in areas where there are labour shortages, particularly in agriculture. (See copy of newspaper article at Attachment 5.)

Speech by Rob Hudson MP The Victorian Member for Bentleigh, Rob Hudson MP, representing the Victorian Government, gave a closing speech, in which he described the Friendship relationships as ‘the most enduring relationships’ between Australia and TimorLeste which had grown ‘stronger and deeper’ as a result of the conference (the text of his speech is at Attachment 3). On his return to Melbourne, Mr Hudson gave a Members Statement on his involvement in the Conference, in which he described the Friendship relationships as ’…transcending aid, government and bureaucracy… and about more than money… (it) is a bond between two peoples and many communities’. (The full text of the statement is at Attachment 4)

Friendship School Project While in Dili, the Project Officer, Richard Brown, joined other representatives of the Australia East Timor Friendship School Project at a meeting with the Alola Foundation, which is responsible for contact with the schools in TimorLeste linked to schools in Australia. They discussed the future development of Project and the support available from the Alola Foundation.

Speech by Rob Hudson MP, Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport and the Arts

Dr. Arcangelo Leite, Minister for State Administration

I am delighted to be representing the Victorian Premier, John Brumby and the Victorian Minister for Local Government, Richard Wynne at this International Friendship Conference.

The involvement of the Victorian Government in Timor Leste goes back to 2000, when Xanana Gusmao asked then Premier Steve Bracks to come to Timor Leste and see what could be done to assist this devastated country as it moved under the UN mandate towards independence.

Since then the Victorian Government has funded a range of activities, including training and exchange programs with the Government of Timor Leste.

I am also Chair of the Balibo House Trust.

The Balibo House is where the five Australian based journalists were staying shortly before they were murdered by the Indonesian army on 16th October 1975.

It is now a community learning centre.

How we responded to the killing of the journalists and the subsequent invasion of your country is a symbol of all that was wrong with how we dealt with both Indonesia and you at that time.

You have made history as the largest gathering of foreigners in TimorLeste since independence for this conference.

It may have taken five years, as the Prime Minister said, but as the President reminded us, building a nation takes longer than establishing a Chinese restaurant.

It also takes time and hard work to build communities and relationships between two nations.

You have done that. Many of you have come at a great expense to yourselves and your communities to attend this conference, so you should give yourself a clap.

The friendship groups are grounded in our shared history and the continuing good will of our people towards each other.

And irrespective of our governments, the people of Australia have retained a strong affinity for the people of TimorLeste.

The participation at this conference has shown the depth and extent of the friendship between us.

It is a friendship built on mutual respect and it is a bond that goes beyond mere

assistance. Our respect for you is built on what you have done for us, and the sacrifices you have made for us in support of our freedom.

We owe to you an enormous debt, which we have taken far too long to repay. I doubt that there is an Australian in this room who regards their work here as charity. Rather, it is an act of true friendship; a friendship we felt should have been extended

more forcefully more than 30 years ago. We let you down then – we do not want to let you down again. As Prime Minister Gusmao said, friendships throughout the world do not just depend

on good diplomatic relations.

Throughout the world, relationships between people are more long lasting that between politicians As he noted, politicians come and go, but friendships remain forever. To understand a nation you must understand its people. And it is extremely rewarding for us to have an understanding of you, of your culture,

and of your history.

And our own development is enriched through engagement with the people of Timor Leste. The first act of friendship commenced with active support for the people's right to

selfdetermination in the ballot of 1999.

And the first friendship group was started even as the world struggled to come to terms with the extent of the destruction wreaked upon your people. From the beginning, the friendship groups have proven to be our most enduring

relationship with you.

And this conference has demonstrated that this relationship does not just endure, but has grown stronger and the friendships are now even deeper. And if we have one challenge before us in Australia, it is to remind fellow Australians

that these friendship groups are not just a ‘feelgood’ relationship.

But a relationship that is delivering still desperately needed services and infrastructure that no one else is currently delivering. As Richard Brown said, we are now a movement, and we can become much a much

bigger movement if people understand the great success that you have achieved. We need to tell the stories of your success more widely in the Australian community. Those stories are your credibility and require a wider audience.

Because when people understand what a big difference carefully targeted assistance can make – and makes here – and the conditions that our East Timorese friends face, they will also want to get involved.

And the achievements of the Friendship groups have been impressive schools,

community centres, food security, housing, solar power and scholarship support. You have funded projects that governments and aid agencies can’t or won’t, because you are with the people.

As we have heard here, there are still many opportunities for this movement to grow

and develop. Among them is greater capacity for skills transfer and strengthening the friendship groups.

New projects that provide clean water, sanitation and appropriate alternative

technologies. There is also greater potential for the involvement of Australian Timorese, and the greater involvement of the sucos, subdistricts and districts in these programs.

Councillor Beth Davidson, the President of the Victorian Local Governance Association, said at the start of the conference that we hoped to achieve three things: First, to celebrate eight years of achievement by the friendship groups. Second, to identify opportunities for improvement and development.

Third, to share information and learn from each other: But as this conference and last night’s conference dinner demonstrated, you have achieved a lot more than that.

You have developed a bond that transcends aid, government and bureaucracy. These friendship groups can be even stronger. And thanks to the hard work you have done and the organisers of this conference,

they will become even stronger. And I pledge to take back the two resolutions of this conference. The resolution requesting that temporary visas be granted to East Timorese to work

as guest workers in Australia, I will take up with the Australian Government. I will also take up the resolution requesting that resources be provided in Australia and TimorLeste to facilitate projects and communication by friendships groups with my Government.

For this is the time to recognise the real achievements of this movement and put in place the right support structures. And I hope that we together can achieve this goal.

But I am sure we will all take away the real lesson of this conference. That this is a relationship that is about more than money. It is a bond between two peoples and many communities. You are now ambassadors for this movement and for your countries. Congratulations on what you have achieved at this conference. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality. The friendships we have forged will last forever. Thank you.