East Timor

Christine and David (SA) are preparing to serve as volunteers in a placement in East Timor with the Protestant Church of East Timor. Christine will offer support as a nurse educator/trainer to remote village clinics. The main clinic has as many as 200 patients a day to treat so there is a vital need for the placement. Christine and David are committed to work for change in the living circumstances of people in East Timor and are preparing for a 2-3 year placement. It will be a costly exercise and the Uniting Church in Australia is seeking to raise adequate funds to support David and Christine in their placement as volunteers. If you or your congregation is interested in supporting this project, please contact Rev John Barr, jbarr@nat.uca.org.au, for more information.

East Timor continues to face enormous social, political and economic problems including the IDF camps (Internally Displaced People). Geert and Grietje from the Netherlands have been working in East Timor since November 2004. Geert is working as an advisor to the development agency of the Protestant Church of East Timor, Yasona, in the capital Dili. They write: 'A question heard many times in the last months, is: “why don’t people return to their homes?” People are not going back, because their houses were burnt down or looted, or because people are not welcome anymore in their neighbourhood. They had to go away because of the East-West conflict in this country. It has worsened in the past months. Written messages on the walls of houses say: “Easterners are not welcome” and in different variations. Nowadays there are still many people in the camps. The exact number is not known, but approximately there are 40,000 people. Four out of 15 camps will have problems when the rain starts. But these people cannot be forced (based on international law) to leave. One of the camps will surely have at least half a metre of water. People do know it, but are still waiting, maybe thinking and wondering, whether the government will do something for them'.

Please remember people in East Timor, struggling with economic hardship, social upheaval and political uncertainty.