Timor's history

Timor’s history
Cultural practices are vital for the sustainment of a life that is meaningful and promoting of wellbeing. This is so for all peoples, but particularly so for those whose cultures have been impacted by negative external forces, particularly colonisation in all its forms. The people of Timor-Leste, a small half-island that lies to the north-west of Australia and the east of Indonesia, have been subject to the most extreme forms of colonisation over centuries, with concomitant impact on local culture.

In the early years of Timor’s history, small tribal groups lived separately, divided by rugged terrain. At least twenty-five distinct mother tongues were in use during this time (Soares & Dooradi, 2011). Traders occasionally visited these communities, but otherwise they were isolated from the outside world (Connelly, 2003). Portugal claimed the eastern half of the island as a colony in the 1600s for the financial potential they recognised in its forests of sandalwood and teak. For four centuries, the Portuguese ruled this isolated colony in what has been described as a “haze of apathy”, with few resources invested in the Timorese people and their nation (Dunn, 1996, p. 23). When the Portuguese abandoned the Timorese to the next wave of invaders in 1974, only 20 kilometres of paved roads, two hospitals and three high schools had been established (Robinson, 2010) and the illiteracy rate was more than 90% (Taylor, 1991). During World War II, the Japanese occupied the island, and local volunteers supported Allied Forces in their battles against the occupiers. This period had tragic consequences for Timor, with loss of life estimated to be as many as 70,000 (Department of Defence Australia, 2002) out of a population of less than 500,000 (Magalhaes, 1996). 

A brutal 25-year occupation by Indonesia began in 1974, with as many as 180,000 Timorese people, one-third of the population, losing their lives (UNDP, 2010). Forced re-settlement from productive villages to Indonesian-controlled roadside settlements resulted in widespread starvation over many seasons (Shalom, Chomsky & Albert, 1999; Taylor, 1991). Murder, torture, rape and enforced sterilization made very effective weapons of war. Whole villages were obliterated in frequent large-scale massacres. Scarce resources were spent in support of the long drawn-out resistance battle, and the majority of able men spent decades fighting from inaccessible places in the mountains (Kiernan, 2003).  Generations of children had little or no access to education in the chaos.

In 1999, the first national elections stimulated the participation of 98% of the electorate, with an overwhelming majority voting for independence (TLAVA, 2009b). This was an amazing outcome given the well-grounded fears of retaliation from Indonesia. The immediate cataclysm and ensuing violence resulted in the internal displacement of 400,000 people and hundreds of deaths at the hands of Indonesian militia (Nevins, 2005).  Almost 90% of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, much of which had been built by the Indonesians themselves (Connelly, 2003). After two years of post-election re-organisation, independence was finally celebrated in May 2002. In the ensuing decade and a half, Timor has been working to establish a functioning independent democracy.