Overview
Concern has been working in Timor Leste since 1999, focusing on education, malnutrition and improving resources available to rural communities.
The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonised it in mid-16th century. In 1859, the Portuguese eventually ceded the western portion of the island to the Dutch. Imperial Japan occupied East Timor from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. In 1975, Timor Leste declared independence. Nine days later it was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of East Timor.
Over the next 20 years, thousands were killed as Indonesia unsuccessfully campaigned for peace. In 1999, an overwhelming majority voted for independence from Indonesia. In late 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias, supported by the Indonesian military, began a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. This campaign resulted in the killing of about 1,400 Timorese and pushed 300,000 people into West Timor as refugees. The Timorese militia destroyed the majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes and schools, irrigation and water supplies. This plunged the country into an electrical black out. In 1999, Australian-led peacekeeping troops ended the violence. In 2002, Timor Leste became independent, becoming the first new sovereign state of the twenty-first century.
Timor Leste today
A massive international programme, led by thousands of peacekeepers, led to the return or resettlement of all refugees by the end of 2005. Unrest started again in the country in April 2006, following riots in Dili. The country faces huge challenges in continuing infrastructure rebuilding, strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs for new workers. Oil and gas production at the current high prices are supplementing government revenues ahead of schedule and above expectations. However, technology-intensive industry does little to create jobs because there are no production facilities in Timor and the gas is piped to Australia. The government is slowly putting more resources into the heavily populated rural areas and helping to elect village councils.
Concern in Timor Leste
Concern has been working in Timor Leste since 1999, focusing on:
• Improving resources available to rural communities
• Education
• Reducing the impact of disasters
• Malnutrition
Concern Timor Leste have created a number of posters for information and awareness raising that they use and are avaiable here to for download in .pdf format
