Author Archives: Squatter

Security Heads-Up

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There is still a bit of rough stuff going around town and it doesn’t really help expats when they read about “Street Gangs Running Riot in Dili” in the international press. I was actually on my bicycle when this was happening and didn’t see or hear a thing at the time.

Yes, I know where it happened (Taibesse) but only a very brave expat would roam around that area without good reason.

But I do have a bit of a beef. How is it that so much of the info on events of this nature comes by way of the international media (often a bit over the top) or security reports from various institutions security advisors. It really depends on the insurance exposure of some of these institutions as to the advice given to staff.

My point is that there is no proven source for information on these sort of security incidents. All I want to know is what happened and where – just the facts. Having some “security expert” tell me what I should do (without these facts) does not cut the mustard with me. And I will venture to say that a few others would think the same way.

Yes, there will be some who “need” to be told what to do but if I am told the facts, then it is a lot easier to convince me of the most appropriate response. I know there is pressure not to report on bad news but that does not cut the mustard either.

I want the facts before the tears.

Dangerous Mangoes

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Over the last couple of weeks, mangoes have hit the streets in big numbers.  The tree hanging over the back fence had been bulging with ripe fruit until today when some of the local kids got up into it and harvested as many as they could.  They did a lot of shaking and quite a few landed on our side of the fence.  Thanks guys.  I ain’t climbing up into a 15m high mango tree.

Just yesterday, I had been speaking to a volunteer doctor who had told me one of the most common injuries at this time of year is kids who have fallen from mango trees. It is always kids and there are few safety measures put into practice.  At this time of year, there is no lush greenery so wherever you fall, it is hard.

Whereas I am happy to wait for them to fall, when it comes to the potential income hanging up there in the tree, why wait when someone else may nab them first.

I just wish mangoes were easier to eat, instead of being like a slippery bar of soap. But I just lurv mangoes.

Community Events

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It is worth noting that a number of community events have been going on over the last couple of weeks. They continue over the next week and include :

Event Location Date Time
Traditional music, poetry Independence Park 5 Dec 5pm
Contemporary music Independence Park 6 Dec 4pm to 10pm
Traditional music, poetry Independence Park 7 Dec 5pm
Hamuluk Prayer Ceremony Independence Park 7 Dec 6pm
Contemporary music Independence Park 8 Dec 4pm to 10pm
Traditional music, poetry Independence Park 9 Dec 5pm
“Soru Mutu ba Dame” followed by
Open Air Mass by Bishop Ricardo		 Palacio do Governo 10 Dec 7:30am to 1pm
Traditional music, poetry Palacio do Governo 10 Dec 6pm

Independence Park is the discretely located park just west of the Motael Church. If you walk past the Motael Church on the beach road heading west, Independence Park is the next street on the left.

The Hamuluk prayer ceremony involves returning weapons to their scabbards, symbolising a return to peace (or something like that). The President will receive the symbolic weapons from the Elders.

I am guessing “Soru Mutu ba Dame” translates to “Peace Rally” (literally “Peace Discussions”).

The local papers will have more details.

The Power Cuts

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Three weeks ago, the Dili power supply encountered problems and there have been numerous and lengthy power cuts right across the city ever since.

Now this is OK if you have a generator supplying backup power. Generators are quite common here but domestically, tend to be available at hotels, some restaurants, serviced apartments and the numerous smaller accommodation complexes around town. Outside that, it is pretty much for the elite. Many expats enjoy the benefits of these generators.

I am in the smaller accommodation complexes category. This is good except the generator has been failing ever since this round of cuts started. For the last 2 weeks, the cuts have been daily and usually between 7pm and midnight and averaging about 3 hours.

You might think it is just a matter of calling a mechanic and the job is done. Well, local Timorese mechanics were unable to solve the problem, so a search went out for the best man in town. However, the best man in town was in hospital in Darwin.

Eventually, about the 5th person to look at the generator found a loose wire and re-connected it. Problem solved ! Hopefully, 2 weeks of candle power are over and I can remember the 1st half of the book I was reading 2 weeks ago.

First Lady Fun Run Results

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Last Sunday’s 2nd Annual First Lady Cup Fun Run is over and was a great success. The UN police were most impressed with the organisation of the run and it was totally problem free.

For the record, the results are shown below. Timor-Leste runners did pretty well, particularly the girls.

Top Ten Male

1st... William Harding 35.03
2nd... Richard Quirk
3rd... Filipe Rodrigues (TL)
4th... Augusto Ramos (TL)
5th... Januario da Costa (TL)
6th... Jameto Doreigo (TL)
7th... Steven Tetley
8th... Salim
9th... Robert Murphy
10th... Christian George

Top Ten Female

1st... Ines Markes 48.50 (TL)
2nd... Ruth Cornelius
3rd... Lola salves de Gama (TL)
4th... Gloriana Fatima (TL)
5th... Celia Martin
6th... Annabel Taylor
7th... Fatima Soares (TL)
8th... Aliansa Ramos (TL)
9th... Maria Duana (TL)
10th... Maureen Bronjes

I finished the 10kms … lets talk about the weather, shall we ?

Where am I ?

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I asked myself this question last weekend after agreeing to move on from a bar to go to a friend’s place for gin and tonics. And when the tonic ran out, agreeing to replace it with vodka AND thinking it was a good idea.

But I am a map sort of guy and when I arrived, I was frustrated by the lack of a good up-to-date map of Dili and key locations. Whenever a new location appears on the scene, its always “its 200 metres west of such and such across from the so and so”. And in reality, it is south-west and 400 metres.

I always like to know where I am (last Saturday excluded) so I have chipped away at working on a landmark locator using Google Earth. I am publishing it for the benefit of the geographically challenged and newbies fresh off the boat. (I’d still like to say it is my baby, so don’t rip it off and call it your own.)

You will find it in my “Other Stuff” section at the top of dili-gence as “Dili via Google Earth” or by going here which are really the same place. I am happy to receive any comments and additions and I will keep it up-to-date. Enjoy … and no jokes about my personal hobbies.

To all my friends in Beijing

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This is an open letter to all of my friends in Beijing who call me on my mobile phone. In reality, it is to anyone from outside TL who calls me on my mobile phone. If I don’t answer it, then the recorded number on my mobile is a Beijing number.

I don’t know if this applies to international calls from everywhere but nevertheless, returning a call to that Beijing number is futile. Don’t ask me how it works but it would appear that international calls (from OZ, I assume) are routed through Beijing via some internet mechanism.

So I am really not being rude in not responding. I just don’t know who called. But it could be worse, Kiwis can not call home from a mobile here, presumably because there is no agreement between the respective phone companies. Whereas I can call and text quite freely from mobile to anywhere in OZ.

Mozambique – a different look

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A friend of mine moved to Maputo in Mozambique 3 or 4 years ago and at that time, Timor-Leste had not even entered my radar screen.  We have both had a laugh at ending up in old Portuguese colonies and two with some significant historic links.  A few of the senior politicians here have spent quite a few years in Maputo during Indonesian times.
But I have never heard/seen Mozambique becoming a media issue over anything.  However, my mate has urged me to exercise caution and provided a few security tips that apply in Maputo.  Some of his advice includes :

  • always travel outside work and home in a car with windows up and AC on re-circulate (to prevent the bad guys putting gas into the air vents)
  • if you are on a bike (he assumes motorbike here) carry a machete or pepper spray, if you can get it
  • it is essential to have barred windows on both your workplace and home, with razor wire on surrounding fences if you can get it

From his words, I have always assumed Maputo is a bit rougher than here.  The recently released UNDP’s Human Development Report shows TL in position 142 and Mozambique at 168.  It’s hard to compare some of the figures but TL’s life expectancy of 56 is well ahead of Mozambique’s 42.

But I have never heard my mate express a desire to leave Maputo, nor have I expressed a desire to leave here – yet.

The Wet Season Crisis

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The subject of the wet season crops up in conversation regularly.  Not so much for the potential humanitarian crisis, but just for a change from the relentless dry.  Normally, I would check my facts with a meteorology service, but it seems like it has rained about twice in the last 8 months.

From about a month ago, the humidity ramped up but although there has been the odd afternoon with dark clouds, there has been nothing.

Maybe I should get out more but I have still not seen a water storage dam in the country yet.  Groundwater appears to be an very important resource.

Anyway, a result of the endless dry period is bare hills.  These are the same bare hills that I could hardly believe possible when I first arrived in the wet season. The ground is gravelly and where there is no gravel, powdery bulldust.

So this is what the people in the IDP camps face.  Bulldust plus a couple of deluges and they will turn into mud and sanitation will be a nightmare issue.  The deluges themselves may drive some of them back to their old homes (if they still exist).  Yeah, it will be difficult.