Did you know?

Did you know that there has been political unrest in Ethiopia for more than a tear? Government forces are killing insurgents. The internet is blocked almost everywhere.


No, dear readers, I haven't suddenly flown half way across the world. I visited the Resistance Museum in Dili, and chatted with the couple that I saw there.  They are visiting from Ottawa, on a short term contract dealing with banking. When they were recently in Addis Ababa, she tried to pull up some You Tube videos for her English lesson for hotel staff. No You Tube. The staff told her why, since the troubles are not evident in the capital.


They joke that he is sometimes thought of suspiciously by border officials, since he's been so many places that have troubles. He assured me that he just gets contracts where people need help stabilizing their banks. There was no nudging or winking involved in this conversation.


I think I'm going to save a recounting of the museum for another day. It's a lot to process, and I've given you some bytes of history already. I guess what I've had the most trouble adjusting to is the pivotal points. Locally, the injustices started when the Indonesians refused to acknowledge independence in 1975. The Portuguese were in East Timor for 400 years. They are viewed as colonialists. But the bad guys are the Indonesians.


Long ago, the Dutch and the Portuguese structure a deal over this island. The Dutch would have the west, and the Portuguese would have the east, with the exception of Oecussi, where the Portuguese first landed. Portuguese is still an official language. The mother country let go of the colony when the mother country was embroiled in political turmoil. In addition, all around the world, colonies had gained independence.


Initially, the Portuguese exported sandalwood from East Timor to China. I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and it's not a plant that I recognize here in the city. We saw so much on our adventure last weekend, that I don't have a clue whether there was any sandalwood. Likely there was, but not in harvestable quantities.


As I was walking to the museum this morning, I saw two things go note: the lowest tide so far, and a wedding underway at the seaside church.


At the former, I saw A LOT of people wading in the water. Until this morning, I'd pretty much only seen the occasional 20-something man tending to a fishing net. This morning, people were leaving no stone unturned, and there were young and old alike. Most people were wearing their ordinary clothing. Some small children were bare.


At the latter, I saw people dressed in their finery, standing by open doors. I didn't go closer fot a better look, but I thought about it.


I'm pleased to say that I did not get lost! I can hear your gasps of disbelief from here, and I assure you, I'm telling the truth.


And on that good note, I'll sign off for the day.


Juliette