An Irishman's 14 year campaign in East Timor
Tuesday, 4 July 2006
Why support of Irish government is vital - an interview with Irish activitist Tom Hyland.
Tom Hyland a long-standing and Irish-born campaigner in East Timor says Concern's work is critical in helping get the Timorese through the recent crisis. Here he tells Concern's Michael Commane how he got involved and why his mission is not yet complete.
After slipping off the media radar for some years, East Timor's latest crisis managed to catapult it back onto the agenda of worlds government's and international aid agencies.
But not for Irish man Tom Hyland, he has been active since 1992, highlighting the plight of the East Timorese. Hyland spends ten months of every year living in the capital, Dili as part of his humanitarian efforts and as a founding member of the Irish chapter of the East Timor solidarity group.
Hyland's affair with East Timor began in 1992, after taking a voluntary redundancy package from Dublin Bus. A documentary by award winning camera-journalist, Max Stahl, served as the catalyst for Hyland to form the the solidarity group.
East Timor became autonomous in May of 2002, following hundreds of years of Portugese colonisation and about two decades of Indonesian occupation. It was a hard won journey characterised by conflict and trauma, and today East Timorese still bear the scars of their painful history as they strive to move on as the world's newest nation.
Concern helps more than 300 families develop work skills
Hyland commends the work Concern has been doing in East Timor. It began work there in 1999, and continues to play a vital role the development and reconstruction of East Timor and its people.
Since 2003 Concern has focused on the isolated communities in the Luro and Turiscai sub-districts. Through training and start up schemes, over 300 families benefit from activities including carpentry, bakeries and joint operation of rice and corn mills. Moreover, Concern has supported the completion of twenty four water systems. Over 4000 people now have access to safe water. Concern also facilitates training on hygiene and sanitation.
"It [Concern] is providing shelter for the displaced people. It is also offering some sort of normality to the children living in the tents. It is organising football games and all those things children so badly need, especially in these conditions," said Mr Hyland in an interview with Concern.
East Timor poorest country in Asia
Hyland points out that East Timor is the poorest country in Asia, and he sees the current political and social unrest in the context of the greater poverty that exists in the country.
The recent violence that forced people to flee their homes was sparked in March when the government dismissed 600 soldiers, who had gone on strike complaining of discrimination.
This triggered a series of bloody clashes with forces loyal to the government of former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. The bloodshed prompted a widespread eruption of gang violence, fueled by ethnic and regional differences.
The deployment of 2,500 peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal has largely restored stability. But tensions remain and many of those forced to abandon their homes are still too afraid to return.
But Hyland is adamant that the current crisis will not escalate into a full-scale civil war.
As many as 150,000 displaced by recent violence
As a result of the violence, 150,000 people have been displaced, living in makeshift tent camps in and around the capital Dili.
Meanwhile the UN warns that emergency supplies in this tiny, but troubled Southeast Asian country are running dangerously low. As a result of the donor shortfall, supplies to the more than 150,000 people living in makeshift camps have had to be scaled back.
The UN estimates that malnutrition already affects 40 percent of East Timor's population.
Malnutrition chronic, says UN
Tarek Elguidi of the UN's world food programme says that the cutbacks will worsen the crisis. "The situation is bad," he said. "You have to consider that even before the crisis the malnutrition rate is high. It's chronic malnutrition. The poverty rate is quite high - is equal to one of the worst countries in Africa."
Hyland, RTE personality Joe Duffy, and the Irish intervention
The Irish government has singled out East Timor as a priority country for its aid programme.
Tom Hyland's campaign played a significant role in getting the attention of the Irish government and indeed the world to focus on what was really happening in the country.
Mr Hyland recalls, "Joe Duffy came around to my house to do an interview for the Gay Byrne Show and that was a great breakthrough for us. I went all over the country and to schools telling them what was going on. All the political parties came on board."
"Up to then there was no Irish policy on the country, though back in 1982, Ireland did support a UN vote for independence for East Timor."
"In 1994 Dick Spring who was Foreign Minister walked out of a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart," recalls Mr Hyland.
Five years later, in 1999, Indonesia agreed to a referendum in East Timor and 80 per cent of the population voted for independence. But in a savage act of reprisal, Indonesian troops along with local militia burned and looted most of the country.
"After that the UN came in and solved the problem. They were led by Australian troops but there were also Irish troops involved, and I think it was the first time that the Irish Rangers were employed abroad," Mr Hyland says.
Irish support continues to be vital, says Hyland
There are signs that East Timor may be slowly getting back to normal. The parliament met Monday, July 3 for the first time in weeks, to discuss a budget and whether to waive immunity for ousted Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who faces allegations of supplying weapons to civilian militias to eliminate his opponents. Mr. Alkatiri denies the allegations.
Mr Hyland's campaign to stir governments and the general public into action appears to be a success, but Hyland says his mission is far from finished. Hyland is at pains to point out that the support from the Irish government and Irish people has, and continues to be invaluable, in helping the people of East Timor.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs are always particularly welcoming and will always willing to sit down and talk, maybe in Ireland at times, we don't value the easy access we have to Government," he concludes.
