Sometimes the news that does not make the front page says a
great deal about the state of affairs in today's world. Take,
for example, a story relegated to the foreign-news section of
most newspapers about the declaration of independence in East
Timor, a district of 800,000 souls that gained statehood a
few months ago.
Located on the eastern side of an island between Indonesia
and Australia, East Timor has been under Portuguese and
Indonesian rule for 450 years. Delegates from 80 countries
and tens of thousands of local residents were on hand when
Francisco Kutrash, chairman of the new parliament, said, "I
hereby declare the founding of the Democratic Republic of
East Timor."
At the stroke of midnight the azure United Nations flag
waving in the district capital for the past 33 months was
lowered and replaced with the new black, red and white flag,
the aspiration of the fledgling country's leaders and
citizens. UN Secretary Kofi Annan spoke at the ceremony
saying he was proud of the cooperation between East Timor and
the United Nations, which has been in control since pro-
Indonesian forces murdered residents and plotted to seek
revenge for the decision to secede from Indonesia. "I salute
you, the people of East Timor, for the courage and
perseverance you have demonstrated," said Annan.
Independence has been achieved. A flag and national hymn have
already been adopted. But the young nation, wrote
Ha'aretz's Yair Ettinger, still faces a number of
serious hurdles even without the more dramatic tasks at hand
of setting up governing institutions, rehabilitating refugees
and stabilizing the economy.
Portuguese has been selected as the official language,
although only one-tenth of the population still remembers it.
Yet president-elect Shenana Gushmov remains insistent,
explaining that he and his fellow guerrilla fighters used
Portuguese during their struggle for independence making it
"an essential component of the national identity." Thus a
country facing hunger and death is devoting resources to this
matter "of great importance:" 150 teachers have been brought
in from Portugal to reintroduce the language to a new
generation of teachers, students, politicians, officers and
journalists.
To understand their "hunger for independence" requires a
glance at the region's past. Until 1975, for more than 400
years, the Portuguese controlled the eastern portion of the
island. As soon as the last of the Portuguese rulers died,
Indonesia -- already in control of the western half of the
island -- invaded the eastern side, annexed it, and tried to
subdue the population and the secessionist movement. As part
of its efforts to exert influence, the rulers changed the
language in schools and government institutions to Indonesian
and Tatom, the local language. Indonesian sovereignty was
never officially recognized, but the international community
was accused of turning a blind eye to actions by the
Indonesian ruling authorities and indirectly backing the
Indonesian conquest by supplying arms.
In 1999 Indonesia finally agreed to allow the local
population to decide its political future through a national
referendum sponsored by the United Nations and, despite
actions by pro-Indonesian terrorists, the Timorese voted
overwhelmingly in favor of independence. Following the
referendum, however, pro-Indonesia militias, apparently
backed by the army, invaded the island. According to
estimates, 200,000 people -- one- fourth of the population --
died of hunger or sickness during the incursions. Fighting
stopped only after the UN sent troops to the island.
Along with independent nation status, East Timor holds the
title of the most impoverished nation in Asia and joins the
UN's list of the 20 poorest countries in the world. The
annual average per capita income is $478, and half of the
population earns less than 55 cents per day. Fifty percent of
the population over the age of 14 is illiterate. Tens of
thousands live without electricity, running water or health
care services- particularly in the interior region where the
majority of the population resides. Many also suffer from
tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.
Despite these shocking statistics the young nation's leaders
and citizens are still rejoicing over their new independence.
The sense of nationhood and symbols like the new flag are
worth more to them than anything else.
*
By nature man aspires to independence, but modern
civilization has engendered national longings and transformed
the personal desire for liberation into a psychological need
among masses united together. Over the last several hundred
years blood has been spilled like water due to national
aspirations for independence. In some cases national goals
are severely divorced from the reality in the field.
Terrible poverty, epidemics and illiteracy plague the
citizens of East Timor, yet here these drastic problems have
faded into the background, replaced by the long- awaited
independence, which has become a source of pride for the
downtrodden, indigent population.
This bizarre phenomenon is reminiscent of the popular joke
about the schoolboy who comes home with a bad report card.
His father examines the column of poor grades in every
subject with a degree of tolerance until he arrives at a
single grade of "Very Good" in music. The father grows
furious and slaps the boy across the face: "`Very Good' in
music? After a report card like this you're still
singing?"
