Anthropological investigations indicate that the first people to arrive in Timor, approximately 40,000 to 20,000 years BC, were of the Vedo-Australoide type, similar to the Vedas of Ceylon. A second wave, which arrived around 3000 years BC, consisted of Melanesians, similar to those living today in Papua New-Guinea and some Pacific Islands. Probably due to the mountainous nature of the country, these new arrivals did not mix with the former inhabitants, who withdrew to the interior mountainous regions. This may be one reason why Timor-Leste has so many different languages. A third wave of people who arrived around 2500 BC consisted of 'proto-malays' - people coming from South China and North Indochina. Even today the Chinese in Timor-Leste, mainly Hakka, are one of the more important trading communities. (TL official web site)
16th Century - Timor Leste was colonised by the Portuguese in 1515. This occupation was often bloody and violent. The Portuguese exploited the natural resource of sandalwood which almost became extinct. Coffee, sugar cane and cotton were introduced for trade.
18th Century - Timor was divided into East and West late in the 18th Century as the power of Portugal nation waned. West Timor became part of the Dutch Colonies. East Timor comprising of the Eastern half of the island of Timor, Oecussi –Ambenoe (a small area in West Timor), and the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco.
Seccond World War - Despite being under developed and under resourced with no electricity or water supplies, Timor Leste was considered strategically important. In 1942 the Australian Government placed troops on the neutral country of East Timor to observe the movement of the Japanese. The Australian were supported by the “Creados”, East Timorese men. When Australia rescued their service men due to increase and occupation of the Island by the Japanese an estimated 45,000 Timorese were slaughtered by the Japanese. Many Australian service men believe Australia will always suffer from a “Debt of Honor.”Timor Leste was in ruins when the Japanese left in 1945.
Tthe letter below was written by John (Paddy) Kenneally was a young private with the 2/2 Independent Company of the Australian Army, which was stranded in Timor by the Japanese invasion of 1942. He speaks of his anger at the subsequent betrayal of the East Timorese people.
“We went to Timor and brought nothing but misery on those poor people. That is all they ever got out of helping us – misery.
And there I was, alive because of them! In 1942 we were just a handful of men, short of everything and fighting an all-conquering enemy. We were the only unit from the Philippines, Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies which didn’t surrender and survived, and only because of their help. We were living off them. We arrived in Timor with plenty of ammunition but only one month’s ration and we were there for twelve! They didn’t sit down and say, ‘The fight’s between you and the Japanese. You paddle your own canoe.’ If they hadn’t given food to us we’d have had to take it, because we had no money at the start and we weren’t going to starve, and once you start to grab, |
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abuses creep in. This is true of every army in the world. It wouldn’t have stopped at taking food, they’d be taking money and women and anything else going. Once we’d started those sort of relations we wouldn’t have lasted a month because they’d have informed on us and you couldn’t blame them. The Government has never really acknowledged our debt to the Timorese from the War. Governments are pretty unreliable, you can’t leave your conscience with them. In 1975 everyone behaved very badly. I thought it was an absolute disgrace. No one seemed to care about the Timorese. About all they got out of it was that we put a monument to them at a place called Dare, on the heights overlooking Dili."'
Debt of Honor
For more information view the University of NSW
1975 - East Timor gain independence from Portugal - intense factional fighting develops - Nine days later it was invaded and occupied by Indonesian militia where upon it became the province of East Timor for the next 24 years. Between 1974 and 1999, there were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths (approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 'excess' deaths from hunger and illness), the majority of which occurred during the Indonesian occupation.
1999 - The United Nations condemned Indonesia's occupation, and in 1999 an UN-organized referendum showed that most East Timorese wanted independence. Militias caused damage after the vote. Despite overwhelming support for independence (78.5%), Indonesian militia and Indonesian soldiers carried out a campaign of violence and terrorism in retaliation. In one month, this massive military operation murdered some 2,000 people, raped hundreds of women and girls, displaced three-quarters of the population, and demolished 75 percent of the country's infrastructure. In 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the International Force for Timor-Leste (INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end.
2002 - On May 20th 2002 Timor Leste becomes a nation. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste provides for a Federal Parliamentary System of government, with President as the Head of State and the popularly elected Prime Minister as Head of government. The Federal Legislature is a unicameral Parliament (one house), composed of the National Assembly. However, Timor-Leste continues to suffer the after effects of a decades-long independence struggle against Indonesia. The territory lagged behind the rest of South Asia in most social indicators, and, according to the World Bank, 30 percent of the population lived below the poverty line - twice the national average. It is the poorest country in Asia, as rated by the Human Development Index (HDI).
2006 - Another period of civil unrest where it is estimated 200,000 people were displaced from their homes. Dili became a victim of looting and destruction once more.
Hiam Health was developed in response to some of the devastating effects the war has had on health and nutrition for the people of Timor-Leste. |
