Author Archives: Squatter

Recent security crackdown

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A couple of days ago, UNPol (with military support) conducted an operation to seek out illegal weapons in the Ailoklaran area. Ailoklaran and Hudilaran have been areas with quite heavy gang fighting for a number of weeks. Total deaths for January were six.

The international media have pretty much ignored the daily fighting, and it was almost a surprise to see this operation get into the foreign press. Who knows how successful it will be, particularly when one of the 49 detainees is the leader of the PSHT (Setia Hati) gang.

I heard that one result of detaining these people was the burning of some of the detainees houses by the other gang (I guess).

It was obvious something special was going on with helicopters circling the area for some time. Until the operation, Dr.Dan’s Bairo Pite clinic was subjected to nightly rock assaults. This is believed to be directed at some of the patients rather than the clinic itself. Yesterday was rather quiet.

The day after the operation (I must find out the code name used), I saw a fleet of trucks (Ministry of Labour and Community Re-insertion and IOM) and UNPol vehicles heading out east. As I was returning to Dili at the time, it was easy to count them. But they were on their way somewhere east of Metinaro and the trucks contained a lot of construction steel and wood beams, presumably for housing construction. There were quite a few UNPol vehicles and maybe some IDPs (refugees). Don’t know really.

I have updated my Google Earth information to include the UN security hotspot areas as of 31 Jan 2007.  Many are the same as 3 months ago, but some of the eastern parts that were hot are no longer – in particular the Santa Ana area, Dili National Hospital and Becora.  But the Hudilaran, Ailoklaran and Bairo Pite areas have been added and are now the current hotspots.  I was a bit surprised that the Delta area, just east of the Comorro River and south of the Leader supermarket has not been included.  And if the Bairo Pite clinic is getting stoned every night, why is it not included.

For my latest Google Earth file, go here.

TL, Global Warming and environmental footprints

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One could argue it is warm enough here already, but with the UN report on global warming about to come out, I thought I would oar in and comment on the TL contribution.

Back in my western world, I have long practised the art of turning off lights, rejecting useless packaging, recycling to the point of analness, using a compost bin, cycling when feasible, public transport when possible and no doubt some other particularly rectal pursuits.

In the expat world, many expats may have their electricity paid for by employers or at least, bundled into an accommodation package.  If you live in a hotel or serviced apartment etc., this will certainly be the case. So do you turn off un-necessary lights, turn off the air-con – usually no.  And when the power blackouts cut in, there is often a diesel generator to take up the slack. (Note that the last 2 weeks has been pretty bad for power cuts. I heard that the issue is contaminated fuel this time.)

And there is no recycling system, so bottles, cans, paper all go into the same bin. Maybe there is some separation done at the rubbish dumps (whatever that is). For locals, waste disposal is into public concrete bins with easy access for the local pigs to snorkle up every last morsel of nutrient. After the pigs have done their job, the left-overs are burnt. This often causes palls of dark smoke which a few months ago, was disconcerting as it was not clear if this was another house going up in flames in the distance.

You do see plastic water bottles being recycled for re-use as containers for diesel/petrol and “tua” – the local palm wine and fire water. And occasionally, glass drink bottles are seen doing a similar job.

But it seems like many expats have a large 4WD and use it for everything. If one wishes to avoid breaking out into a huge sweat, the 4WD with AC on full bore is the norm. And with current security concerns, it is seen as better to travel in 4WD with windows up and doors locked at all times. Use of taxis has plummeted following targeting of taxis by rock throwers and reports of taxi drivers conducting dubious practices in their vehicles particularly with foreign women.

The air is a big winner. With no industry to speak of, it is only the vehicle pollution to worry about. Without strict controls on vehicle emissions, some vehicles are a disgrace in this area and can cause significant local distress to those otherwise appreciating the fresh air in their vicinity.
At the end of the day, it is the same old picture. The locals at the lower end of the income scale find themselves unable to contribute much to CO2 footprints. While the well-heeled foreigner probably is at the other slothful end most of the time.

As for the rise of sea level, most of the damage will be in Dili where the already crumbling sea walls cop a pounding during storms at high tide.  There are many breaks in the walls and it is not uncommon to see the esplanade covered in sand after a storm.  I guess this will get worse.  Mostly, it will upset those that have the means to sort themselves out.  The people at the lower income end will probably just move their small rustic palm frond and tin shacks further away from the beach.  Most places on the northern coast tend to drop sharply to the sea so probably will not have much of a problem, except maybe Com.

Atlases – Census 2004 and Geo-historical

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One of the more useful TL government web sites is the National Statistics Directorate, otherwise known as “Direccao Nacional de Estatistica” at http://dne.mopf.gov.tl

I have seen a paper copy of the census reports (dated September 2006) which comes in 2 booklets :

Timor-Leste Census of Population and Housing 2004 – Population Projections 2004 – 2050
Timor-Leste Census of Population and Housing 2004 – Atlas

I looked at the first and thought it a bit inpenetrable to anybody but someone keenly interested. The Atlas version contains lots of coloured maps which are easier for me make sense of, and I intend to get myself a copy – as a momento of what things are like here when my own memory fails me one day.

I am not sure when it appeared but an abbreviated (but not readily downloadable) version is now available on the Directorate web site. It reminded me to put acquisition of a copy on the todo list.

Some interesting numbers (from 2004) :

  • Population : total 923,198 ; Dili 173,541 (2010 projected : 1,149,028)
  • 19% of population in Dili (trending upwards rapidly)
  • 103 males per 100 females (but trending lower outside Dili, down to as low as 89)
  • Mean number of people per household : 4.7
  • Median age : 18.3
  • Age distribution is uniformly suggesting high birthrates and high deathrates, the only blip being in males of 25 to 29 years.
  • Agriculture is by far the biggest “employer” with 27% of al families involved in coffee growing
  • Language proficiency in Dili : Tetun 75% ; Indonesian 71% ; Portuguese 19% ; English 12%
  • Illiteracy : Total 54% ; Dili 26%
  • High school graduates : Total 15% ; Dili 38%
  • Fertility rate (babies per woman) : Total 7 (the highest in the world) ; Dili 4.5 (lowest district value in Dili which is still very high)
  • Infant mortality (1st year of birth) : 98 per 1,000 (very high)

A recent acquisition and recent appearance (at the Hotel Timor gift shop) is the “East Timor Geo-Historical Atlas” by Frederic Durand (published by Silkwork Books in 2006). It is an English translation of the French “Timor Lorosa’e, pays au carrefour de l’Asie et du Pacifique” published in 2000. It has some updates but is basically the 2000 version in English. As it has a historic rather than geographical /social emphasis (like say the census), it probably does not suffer too much from this. Locally, it is US$45 which may be a bit pricey but compared to what !

New Presidential Palace

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I read yesterday that approval has been given to commence construction on a new Presidential Palace, with work to commence in February.  I admit to confusion on this as the current President works out of very modest premises in Caicoli right next door to the burnt-out “Palace of the Ashes”.

Meanwhile up the hill towards Dare is what I thought was the Presidential Palace – the Portuguese-style “pink building” which was renovated not so long ago but seems rarely used.

So the new plan is to build a Presidential Palace on the heliport facing Comorro Road.  This area is currently being used by Australian military forces, and who have not so long ago, erected a large warehouse in the prime position.

The new palace will be built (and funded ?) by the Chinese government.  This follows the Chinese government funded (and currently under construction) new Timorese Foreign Ministry building and new Chinese Embassy.  This possibly makes the Chinese government the initiator of the 3 biggest building projects in Dili and all (?) with Chinese funding.

Yep, the political environment is a little more complicated than just a forthcoming local election.

Just an aside : one problem that concerns me greatly is the massive effect of environmental problems in China and their impact on China and the rest of the world (northern hemisphere in particular).  It really is a huge problem guys and I can not see things turning around in the near future.  If you worry about leaving a light switch on or not taking your own shopping bag to the supermarket, take a deep breath before reading the following :

http://www.chinadialogue.net 

Driving – Dili-style

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During the week, UNPol announced that they would be clamping down on cars without licence plates, unregistered cars and unlicenced drivers. They were also going to target riding on the roof of microlets (mini-buses) – a very common sight outside of Dili.

The roof riding practice is a bit dangerous, particularly on some of the mountainous roads around the place. UNPol refer to the high accident rate but I would like to see some statistics on this.

One day, the infamous new traffic lights will actually be switched on and this is likely to cause quite a bit of trouble. People do not bother with give-way rules or stop and give-way signs so it will take some to time to become accustomed to a new road discipline.

My general feel is that speeding is the most dangerous form of driving here. Supposedly, the Dili speed limit is 45km/hr but I would think that apart from taxis, this limit is exceeded by most drivers most of the time. But I am not talking about drivers doing 50 kph but those sprinting down Dili streets at closer to 100 kph. When I am on my bicycle, I don’t like it.

Although I have never had a dangerous moment, I have withdrawn off the road a couple of times in the face of vehicles overtaking and coming straight for me. They had plenty of time to adjust their manouevre but elected to press on. I had plenty of time to move off the road and on the odd occasion, have enough time to make rude hand gestures and curse their mothers. There is just a bit too much overtaking on urban roads for my liking.

That brings us to “Whitey”. I don’t know “Whitey” but apparently, he was a well-known local fixture in the building contractor game. While riding his motorbike on New Years’ Eve, he encountered 2 F-FDTL army trucks seemingly racing down the beach road near the Ocean Harbour View cafe*. He was hit badly and sustained very serious injuries. The army trucks did not stop and I am unaware if there has been any success in finding the trucks or drivers.

I believe “Whitey” has had a number of operations in hospital in Australia and I know a number of people here are thinking about him. It is worth noting that there is no insurance system in TL, so unless his employer has some decent cover, it could be a bit of a problem financially.

* I often make the mistake and call Harbour View the Ocean View which is of course the other end of town.

Dili peacekeepers holiday resort

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During the week, the Fretilin party President, Francisco Guterres (more commonly known as Lu-Olo) suggested that foreign military and police were treating their mission here as a holiday by the sea.

Although I can understand that the continued gang violence in the face of the foreign security presence may be frustrating, perhaps a few things need clarification.

The foreign military forces are mainly Australian and New Zealand (and earlier, Malaysian).  These guys are on-duty 24×7 and carry arms at all times according to normal practice.  These guys are not permitted to eat or drink in local establishments, nor do I believe they have any down-time in TL itself.  So these guys are off the hook.

Initially, the police presence was an international contingent of OZ, NZ and Portuguese (perhaps Malaysian) but has now morphed into a UN Police force from numerous countries.  Initially, the police were not allowed out in their down-time but that has been relaxed now.  In the early days when the Portuguese military police were barracked in the Hotel Dili 2000, they were a common sight down at the Cristo Rei beaches.  When most expats had been evacuated, it was pretty obvious but it is a bit harder to detect now that there are a huge number of foreign aid workers here.

But you do get the impression that there are a lot of UN police vehicles moving around not actually doing much.  Someone told me that there are a number of UN police who are not actually police back in their home country.  And for the more professional officers from OZ and NZ, this is known to be a frustration.

The need for information

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It appears that this week has seen an increase in gang related violence, particularly in the Bairo Pite area. The official figure for the number of dead is 5 since Thursday last week. I know that a large number of injuries have also been treated. When things are quiet, there is very little helicopter activity. A tell-tale sign of trouble is helicopters circling over trouble spots.

This helicopter activity has been noticeable over the last few days, but I don’t know of any particular incidents. I had heard that about 100 Timorese attempted to get into the OZ military controlled heliport area, seeking a safe place but I don’t know much more than that.

I had heard there was fighting near the tennis courts in Bebonuk yesterday, but again I don’t know any detail. A UN policeman told me there is stuff going on all of the time. He commented about the stupid expats who move around as if nothing is happening. Well, when I look at the UN Security Briefings, I learn next to nothing. How else is one to find out but rely on word of mouth.

On a related matter, while travelling out east, something came to my attention that I had not really ever considered before, but once it got onto my radar screen, I deemed it worthy to note. But outside of Dili, there is no re-broadcasting of Dili radio or television. And no ready access to Dili’s newspapers. Each of the districts appears to have a RTTL (Radio Television Timor Leste) broadcasting antennae (and a Timor Telecom microwave antennae) but the RTTL antennae and associated broadcasting equipment has not been functioning for a couple of years (I recall someone said 3 or 4 years). Many districts have some form of local community radio but I don’t know to what extent it fills up the information vacuum.

What you do see is a smattering of IndoVision satellite dishes. Even in some pretty remote places, you might see this, even if electricity is available for only 3 hours a day. So you can be right up to date with what is happening in the world but be a bit behind on what is really happening here … like a forthcoming election.

Security getting worse again

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While I was out of town for a few days, the security situation seemed to get worse. The on-again off-again gang fights seemed to have turned into a full-on conflict. IDP numbers are going up and medical facilities are handling a large number of hand-to-hand combat injuries. I was told at least 5 have died over the last 4 days.

Not being around, I asked many questions regarding where not to go and who is involved etc. A lot of the information is still based on piecing together news from several sources to come up with a personal assessment of things. While looking up the parliamentary pension thing, I came across a site which is the first I am aware of that re-publishes the (now almost daily) UN security briefings reports in historic fullness. The security reports are on the East Timor Legal Information site.

Up until now, I had been looking at the Ministry of Work and Community web site which only gives you the last 2 reports. It also gives a bit of info on other security and humanitarian issues.

The current trouble is an escalation of gang fighting in the Bairo Pite area which has been going on for over a week now. At the end of last week, it seemed to be between the Setia Hati (PSHT) and 77 gangs which have bedded down each side of the road between Ailoklaran and Hudilaran (ie heading south-west from the Vila Verde cathedral). I think it is still the same.

Parliamentary pension bill

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I have been out of town for a few days doing a bit of touring around which has been off the agenda for a while. It is a different world out there, and the capital is a long way away.

While away, one of my group casually mentioned that the parliament had passed legislation giving parliamentarians quite extraordinary pension allowances. I had never seen it, so I have since asked a local just when did this happen (3 weeks ago) and how come I had not come across it. Was it on the radio ? No. Was it on the TV ? No. Was it is the Dili papers ? Yes, but on page 5 amongst other government news. It didn’t seem to raise any great concern.

So I look it up on the internet when I got back here. “Lao Hamutuk” seems to be taking up the case and reports that the parliamentarian’s pension bill includes :

A pension for life at 100% of final salary with money for healthcare (both in TL and overseas) and

  • A government house, a government car with fuel, a private secretary, an adviser, two telephones, internet access and a security person.

  • Tax exemption on car imports and building material for private use (for up to two houses)

  • A diplomatic passport and a VIP travel treatment (even when not on an official mission)

  • Two times a year, a paid intercontinental trip with two other people, and more…

Outside of Dili, the generally lower living standards are fairly obvious so it was fairly hard for me to rationalise this smorgasbord of benefits with the living conditions of many Timorese. To be honest, this sort of stuff is why politics turns me off and why I struggle to decide who to talk to – a politician or a car salesman.

The interesting side event to this is that the President has vetoed the bill but if it is handed back a second time, he must either pass it or resign. (This was also new to me.) Then it hits you. The Timorese President has almost no power so comparing the position to George Dubya is misleading. I am no expert in politics or the (or any) constitution but the President’s power seems more like a Queen/Governor-General in the Commonwealth system.

It almost makes me think that this bill was out to test the President’s mettle.

Indian Food and Bimoli

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Now I love Indian food and can cook a pretty mean curry.

It all goes back to when I first started living away from the parental home and ended up sharing houses with all sorts of people. Once I shared with a guy and his girlfriend and he introduced me to coming home from work, opening a beer, opening a jar of chilis, slicing some cheese and eating each slice with a chili on top. It was hot but the mission was to test one’s limits. Later on, I ended up having curry cook-offs with another guy (different house) where the aim was to exceed the extremes of the last one and when eating, last the longest before breaking out into a sweat.

So I am pretty critical when it comes to Indian restaurants. I have eaten at both the Sun (southern Indian) and the Piyashi (northern Indian) restaurants. Today, I spoke with an Indian guy who lives in the apartments at the Piyashi and he explained everything. Not only did he explain which one was southern and which one northern, but dissected the menus with withering precision.

I was but mince meat in his company. However, he did explain one weakness which I had inaccurately analysed. I thought Piyashi used too much ghee and he quickly corrected me and said, “no, they use Bimoli … I try to tell them … next time you are there, ask for me and I will guide you on eating what they do best”. He’s my man.

So what is Bimoli ? Bimoli is palm oil and is used everywhere here. I have heard some bad stuff about Bimoli but decided to look into it, so I have put together a table of % of saturated fats in each of the oils listed :

Oil % saturated fat
canola 7
safflower 9
sunflower 10
olive 13
corn 13
margarine 17
peanut 17
palm (Bimoli) 49
butter (ghee ?) 62
coconut 86

To be honest, I use a blend of canola and butter in my curries. At other times, I use olive oil, which may not be the lowest in saturated fat, but it is very high in mono-unsaturated fats which is meant to be good. Got to get on my bike … come to think of it, palm oil is probably safer.