Relax - East Timor through the eyes of its children

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[Above: Drawn to the writer's camera, children loved posing for photos.]

LAST November, I landed in a country that could have come out of a U2 song.

East Timor, where the streets have no name – not even in its capital city of Dili; you won’t find any street signs there. A friend and I, part of a growing breed of “volun-tourists” – travellers with a do-good yen – were there to teach photography to young Timorese students of a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Armed with cameras the NGO provided the students – aged 16 to 22, who are either orphaned or from poor families – we roamed the dusty Dili streets together on foot.

We taught them basic photography skills and encouraged them to express their feelings and visions about their country through their pictures.

It’s nothing like a comfortable package tour, but there is no better way to get to know East Timor.

Our first stop was the newly built war museum. There, foreigners and locals alike sombrely pondered over the violent history of the young country, which endured a nigh on 25-year occupation by Indonesia before it gained independence in 2002.

Today, East Timor, or Timor-Leste, remains one of Asia’s poorest nations. On the streets, signs of poverty and United Nations peacekeepers are common.

Family children in the neighbourhood who never failed to offer a chirpy greeting to whoever walked past their house.

In the days I spent there, the students took me to visit the “mad people of Comera”, who, despite their maladies, were willing photography subjects.

We slurped US$1 (S$1.40) noodles at sweltering roadside stalls. As the youths passionately discussed their photographs, our eyes were opened to national issues: poverty, youth unemployment and poor education for children.

The places that the young people did not take me to in person, I saw through their photos:

- The now-tranquil Santa Cruz cemetery, site of a 1991 massacre by Indonesian troops, covered with wreaths paying tribute to the fallen.

- The bullet holes in the doors of their homes and burnt-down buildings in their neighbourhood, remnants of the Indonesian occupation and civil riots in 2006.

- The knife scars proudly sported by their friends, all children of conflict.

- The smiles of their family members, the beautiful starshaped weed flowers and the blue coastline.

East Timor photography workshop participant, Julia, took this picture of a homeless man sleeping on a bence in the grounds of an abandoned youth centre.

Their pictures later became part of a community exhibition that the students helmed.

Through their eyes I saw East Timor – and it wasn’t through a tourist’s lens.

Not having a fixed travel schedule allowed for many serendipitous discoveries.

Wandering the streets of Dili alone on foot, I stumbled across a cock-fighting competition and watched the feathers fly.

I loitered beneath jambu trees, calling out to children who would happily throw fruit down to me to fill my pockets.

Photography workshop participant Marcelio took this shot of a boy who is paying for school by selling eggs.

My trusty camera was a magnet for the street waifs, whom I talked to in broken Tetum, language book in hand.

At the house of our gracious hosts, two Singaporean NGO workers, we enjoyed air-conditioning at night and showers – via pail and bucket – to beat the 30 deg C heat.

Our lodgings seemed luxurious compared to our neighbours’ across the street, a family of eight who lived in a small zinc shack and pumped their water from an underground well by hand twice a day.

Ironically, one of the best parts of this holiday was the blackouts. Without fail, they would happen almost daily – inevitably at night – leaving us in darkness.

At such moments, there was nothing else to do but sit at the porch, where it was cooler, and enjoy uninterrupted conversations with my companions.

And if the blackouts happened when I was alone, well, that was the perfect opportunity to just sit and think, or read by torchlight.

Rest and relaxation? Most definitely.

We did visit some of the usual tourist haunts, such as the 300- step climb to Dili’s iconic statue of Christ that looks out to the ocean. But that wasn’t the point of the trip.

Other friends who have tried volunteer tourism say the experience changed their lives.

What I can say is that I left East Timor feeling fulfilled and rested, but knowing I would return for work yet to be done.

VOLUNTEER TOURISM 101

WANT to participate in a volunteer project overseas? my paper shares essential tips with you.

Assess your interests
- Decide what kind of work you want and what you are qualified to do. Decide where you want to go and how much time you want to spend volunteering versus sightseeing.

Do your research

VOLUN-TOURISTS: The writer (in red) in Dili with AsiaOne webknowledgist Hannah Teoh.

- Whatever outfit you choose to go with on your journey, find out what the organisation’s values are (political or religious, for example).

- Check out the scope of work and whether it is in need of short- or long-term volunteers.

- Know how long it has been in operation and how involved it is with the local community.

- It is also important to find out how sustainable and communityempowering its projects are.

- Find out what the organisation would do if you were to become ill or get injured. Find out if it has liability insurance and if it has a crisis-management plan.

- Ask to speak to former volunteers who have had both good and bad experiences.

ORGANISATIONS:
Non-profit:
- Singapore International Foundation (www.sif.org.sg)

Under its Singapore Volunteers Overseas programme, volunteers live and work in Singapore International Foundation host agencies in Asia for six months to two years, serving as teachers, health-care workers, community and social workers, vocational trainers, business and IT advisers, or medical practitioners.

For those looking for a less ambitious stint, volunteers can also participate in short-term skill-training workshops.

- YMCA Singapore (www.ymca.org.sg)

Under its International Service Programme, volunteers spend around two weeks running programmes and refurbishing orphanages and schools in Cambodia, Thailand and China.

- Commercial outfits:
X-Trekkers (www.x-trekkers.com)
Provides mainly travel services but also offers community-aid and volunteer programmes in the Asia-Pacific.

Also check the websites of the Singapore Red Cross (www.redcross.org.sg), Voluntourism International (http://voluntourism.org) and Idealist.org (www.idealist.org).

myp@sph.com.sg

The writer is a former my paper journalist who has since left the paper. She will return to Dili to teach English.

For more my paper stories click here.

East Timor through the eyes of its children

By Dawn Tay, my paper | Mon, Mar 8 2010

Through their eyes the writer, Dawn Tay, saw East Timor – and it wasn't through a tourist's lens.