Day 3 - 1st June 2009

On the third day, we met up with some government officials to discuss certain opportunities. Not surprisingly, the government officials are the elite class of people in East Timor. (I must reiterate that my stay in the country is very short, hence, my observations and deductions might not be accurate.)

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Based on my small sample size, the general characteristics of this Elite group are that most of them have strong Portuguese background (Facial features are more like Portuguese than Indigenous Timorese) and they are educated overseas (especially in Portugal). My sense is that they are quite successful overseas, however, they see the need to go back and contribute to East Timor. In short, they have a strong attachment to Portugal and its culture.

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This group of people is quite a contrast to the Timorese you will see on the street. Generally, the Timorese on the street looks like a mixed of Indonesian, Papua New Guinea features.... their skin tone are generally darker compared to the Elite, and their facial features are not as sharp.

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Government Building

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I was very fortunate to listen, talk and discuss the issues facing East Timor.

The fertility of the women in East Timor is pretty high – around 8 children per woman. While the country has population slightly less than 1 million, and with its new found wealth – oil reserve, it should be another Brunei in the making.

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However, one of the main potential problems would be the increase in population with its high fertility rate (as Roman Catholic forbids any kinds of contraception). With limited resources and increasing population,there is bound to have more social unrest and shortage of resources (aka poverty). In fact, the world is facing the problem of overpopulation NOW!

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I asked one of the government officials about the solution, since it will be a big problem.

They do not have a solution now,

how can they have a solution when contraception (e.g. use of condoms & pills) is discouraged?

The root of the matter is not solved.

This is not a good picture.

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Street
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Department Store
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The main currency in Timor Leste is USD, unfortunately, as they do not have manufacturing facilities, hence, the country has to import everything from overseas. Inevitably, despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, the things ain’t exactly cheap. In fact, the some items are more expensive than Singapore.
For example: We the meal in the restaurant, a dish is around 12-14 USD, considering the average monthly salary of a local is around 40USD, we only see westerners around. Those Caucasians are mainly UN troops that are stationed in Timor Leste.
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UN Police
Common Sight in Dili
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Local Vendor
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Cross as shadow
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Signboard (in Tetun... i think)
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Local Kids
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Hotel Timor
(The most luxurious hotel in Timor)
Room rate is around 160USD
(but i heard it was not up to standard for this price)
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Street of Dili on Monday afternoon.
Lotsa young people are hanging around, as they are unemployed.
High unemployment is one of the main problems in East Timor.
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Just felt that Timor-Leste is very fortunate that it has oil reserve and the exploration has only started. The future would be bleak if they don’t have this endowed treasure.
Interestingly, we heard conflicting feedbacks about the culture of local Timorese.
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One group of people (employers) informed us that the Timorese are generally unmotivated and lazy. It is part of their culture to enjoy as much as possible and start working only if they finished spending their money.
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Another group of people (govt officials) informed us that the Timorese are not properly motivated, and under bad leadership, they would not be incentivised to work hard (well, as like anyone of us).
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The NGO feedback was that the kids are very keen to learn and work hard.
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I do not know... my general gut feel is that there is not enough employment opportunities around (that’s why you see lotsa young people walking around on the street during weekday afternoon), then it might be habitual that people is just used to the a slower pace of life. Hence, they might appear to be lazy.
Well, as long as they are happy.... it is alright.
The problem is: Are they really happy?
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Singapore Car?!?!?
Most of the car are second-cars from Singapore.
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"Familia Hope Gleno"
This Australian guy is a Christian who became a Muslim, then return back to his Christianity faith again. He runs a charity organization for the orphans in the rural areas of East Timor.
Respect!!!
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Beautiful Sky

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Boon @ Timor

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Timor Leste is an interesting place for me in that it is such a young country that there is alot of space to implement policy and system that would dramatically improve the lives of people. In fact, if you have a good and innovative system, this could be a place to implement it.