We’ve got limes! – East Timor 1/6/06

Yesterday in Dili, the supermarkets opened and the petrol stations. Ann had a field day, she even bought frozen limes, which turned out to be a cross between a lime and an orange, but what the hell, they still tasted good. Supplies were limited but she managed to concoct a fantastic feast for eight people that night. I was the only non-journalist related person in the crowd which is fascinating because you get a completely different take on things. One of the die hard journo’s was concerned about his rookie cameraman because the cameraman had got some superb up close and personal shot that day, but the temptation with the adrenaline buzzing is to get an even better shot the next day, regardless of his personal safety.

The French Ambassador came round. His contract actually expired today, but he has his staff and their families living in his home at the moment, so he’s not going to leave until his staff are re-housed safely, even though as from today he will not be insured to be in the country.

Hector is a very eccentric Australian guy who speaks the most fluent Tetun of any westerner. He lives up in the hills with the Timorese community. Up in the hills there is a shortage of rice, you can’t buy rice or water in the supermarkets because the UN has bought it all for redistribution to the refugees. Hector came down escorting a microlet on his motorbike, the microlet was full of vegetable, the local community here was ecstatic. One old guy was driving past on his motorbike and screeched to a halt, bought a bag of vegetables then drove away singing at the top of his voice. All the villagers seemed to have smiles on their faces and the chicken vendors even set up stall for a couple of hours tonight.

The vegetable truck really saw the turning of a corner because trade s starting to happen again, also many people that are stuck up in the hills with no money and no petrol are now seeing an empty microlet returning to the village with rice after having ventured into the city. That vegetable truck speaks volumes to the local community about safety.

I saw my first Australian army foot patrol in East Timor today, there were only two of them on foot, but it reassures the villagers that they are being protected. There are still gangs fighting on the streets of Dili, but the press have finally got it right, they are gangs of scroates, not army versus police. What makes it worse is many of the gangs have Chinese fire crackers which to the untrained ear sound like gunfire, of course there is still some gunfire but it makes it hard to differentiate. Here, if you insult a Timorese then you insult 30 members of their family, so much of the violence and burning is to do with revenge, also jealousy, if one family has more than another in their Campong.

The atmosphere is definitely calmer today with the Ozzy troops and Xanana declaring a state of emergency yesterday whilst taking control of the country’s forces. That’s the one guy that has the history and charisma to command respect in East Timor, let’s hope a peaceful solution is around the corner. The water is calmer again and I cant wait to get diving!