Wot No Electricity! - East Timor 25th August 2006

Its been a while, but take that as good news as things are calming down :-)

All was quiet in East Timor for a few weeks and then just before I went to Bali the stone throwing started again. We were at Dili Rock just kitting up for a dive when an Aussie policeman stopped for a chinwag and recounted a story from the previous evening:-

He received a call from the IDP camp near the airport reporting some trouble, so when they arrived a male Timorese IDP was complaining that they were not safe because they had no security. The first policeman then asked him where his security was, the man replied ‘I don’t know’, to which the second policeman replied ‘You do know, you stabbed him yesterday!’ If it wasn’t so tragic, it would be funny.

There are certain things you get used to here that would be totally unacceptable in a western world, like electricity cuts. In East Timor, electricity is incredibly expensive, as are most things. To purchase electricity in Dili you need to prepay at an office in central Dili where they issue with a computer generated code to punch into your meter. The problem is when you try to pay for electricity when the whole of Dili is having a power cut, their computers don’t work, because there is no electricity! Only in East Timor do you shrug your shoulders at this and say ‘Welcome to Timor’.

When you arrive in East Timor with a fresh pair of eyes, you notice things that are different, and then you get used to the place. One newcomer pointed out today that there is not one traffic light in the whole of East Timor, 6 months I’ve been driving around and never noticed that.

Any newcomers to Dili now, unfortunately won’t get a great first impression of the country. After getting off the plane in the grounds of the airport, you pass Aussie army tents on which some bored soldier has put up an Australian flag and cardboard signs saying ‘Casa De Mutley’, ‘Diligaf’ and ‘Sydney → A Bloody long way!’ After going through baggage reclaim your first sight will be an Australian APV, behind which is a huge IDP camp, ‘Welcome to East Timor’. In truth though in the past few weeks the IDP camps are getting smaller as people are returning home and there are no longer any road blocks.

There are however, still outbreaks of stone throwing and arson in the city, which appear to be organised, all going off at the same time. We were having a BBQ the other night when Major Wayne and Major Sergeant (Yes, he really is called that!) suddenly got a call and had to go. A good excuse for leaving a party. I arrived back from diving last week to find 12 police cars outside the dive centre. Some local lads were throwing stones so the ‘Joint Task Force’ was called. (No, they don’t deliver Whacky Backy!). Talk about rapid reaction force, although 12 combined Malaysian, Australian and Portuguese police vehicles seems a little excessive.

Ann is teaching the local kids on the veggie stall opposite some words in English, they now can count out your change in English and say thank you. Unfortunately they can also say ‘One Dollar’ and have started to beg from the Malai, a habit we are trying to discourage, but its getting more widespread as more troops and UN are pouring in and don’t know any better. You can’t blame the kids if they can make a quick buck.

I had to go to Bali recently to get a new passport because after 3 years mine was full. I had a choice of going to the honorary consulate in Bali or the British Embassy in Jakarta, a tough choice that one! Bali is wonderful, a beautiful scenic island which is magical and musical, such a refreshing change from East Timor which can be tough going at times. Of course I dived; you can’t go to Bali without doing The Liberty wreck at Tulamben which was fabulous for really unusual critters such as pigme seahorses, nudibranch, and harlequin ghost pipefish, as well as big fish such as Napoleon Wrasse. The unusual thing about Tulamben is the local women of the village carry the gear and the tanks, up to three at a time, one on each shoulder and one on their head. Their posture puts Miss Jean Brodie to shame. For this they get 40 cents per tank from the dive centres which the village has used to create a cultural centre in the village. But it extends further than the women because the men police the reef to ensure that any fishing is done on the outer reefs which are not accessible to divers, so the inner reefs are not damaged by fishing equipment and the fish are not scared off. It’s a great scheme.

I also dived with H and Camilla who own Global Aquatic. I had to write a thank you email to them both, Camilla for the diving and H for the hangovers, they are both really good fun. Camilla took me to Manta Ray cove where surprise, surprise, I saw my first Manta Rays, two of them playing above us, awesome. I told Camilla she was now my best friend forever!

I had a brilliant time in Bali with good company, good diving and good food. It was hard getting back on the plane to East Timor, just like the normal feeling when you go on holiday and then have to go back to work. However, things are starting to get busy, new faces coming through the door and some old ones returning. It’s amazing how a break can recharge your batteries and get you enthusiastic again.