There was a big war here


Cheryl and I recently visited the resistance Museum. It Chronicles the struggle for Independence that began in about 1974 and ended in 2003. During that time estimates of up to one third of the population perished. Any native who is at least in their early twenties has memories and experiences all the event. One of our humanitarian partners recited for us how he and his family had to flee and live in the jungle for many years. Our waitress at the local restaurant remembers fleeing into the mountains to avoid the soldiers.
Because it was so recent, the museum has many artifacts that you usually do not see such as articles of clothing and color pictures. The revolution seemed fairly complicated. With strife among the revolting parties as well as many changes in leadership and philosophies. The majority of those who perished were not by bullets or bombs but through famine caused by the conflict and it's policies.

 There are not many public artworks or statues except for large monuments to the revolutionaries.
This is a statue of the one of the leaders of the revolution, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato . He was the country's first prime minister and a fallen war hero. It is in front of the airport that is named after him.

In about 1973 the Portuguese who had occupied Timor-Leste since the 16th century handed the country over to the citizens. 9 days later neighboring Indonesia invaded and occupied the country. The occupation lasted for almost 30 years after which a United Nations brokered ceasefire and Country handover was put into place. A few years later Timor-Leste was an independent parliamentary run country..

What I find most amazing about the whole story is the feelings that the Timorese  have for the Indonesians. Almost every adult citizen experienced the revolution. Almost one-third of all the people perished which means that almost everyone has a family member who died. Yet in spite of all this I've never sensed any hostility or bad feelings toward Indonesia. They don't seem to talk about it very much. They just seem to get along in their lives and look towards the future. There are many Indonesians that live here. There is even an Indonesian shopping area. Many of the youth here go to Indonesian universities.

During World War II the country was invaded and occupied by the Japanese. There was an active resistance on the island that included the Australian military.






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