Asal-Usul LAUT MATI

Laut Mati sebenarnya bukanlah benar-benar laut, melainkan hanya sebuah danau saja. Disebut laut karena danau ‘Laut Mati’ berair asin dan memiliki wilayah yang luas: panjang 47 mil dan lebar 10 mil, dengan total luas permukaan sekitar 360 mil, sedangkan kedalaman laut mencapai 422 meter. Lalu mengapa namanya Laut Mati? Disebut demikian karena tidak ada ikan yang dapat hidup di Laut Mati karena keasinan airnya yang sangat tinggi. Jangankan hidup, berenang pun ikan akan sulit karena dia pasti akan terapung terus!

Pemuda Luar Biasa yang Paling Berpengaruh dalam Perkembangan Dunia Internet

Larry Page dan Sergey Brin

Menemukan Google pada tahun 1998 ketika mereka baru berusia 24 tahun. Mulai di dalam garasi yang menjadi “kantor” pertama mereka, dua orang ini mengilhami ribuan anak muda untuk mencari uang online. Larry dan Sergey kemudian menciptakan perusahaan senilai satu multi milyar dollar yang mengguncang Internet.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, mahasiswa universitas Harvard yang menemukan Facebook sebagai satu platform jaringan sosial bagi remaja di perguruan tinggi ketika dia baru berusia 19 tahun. Facebook kini merupakan situs web jaringan sosial terbesar kedua setelah MySpace. Facebook terus tumbuh hari demi hari, dengan jutaan pengguna baru yang terus mendaftar setiap bulan.

Ties that Bind: Studying Social Networks in Timor-Leste

By Pamela Dale

Social networks have been a hot topic in the past year, not least because of the buzz around the Oscar-winning film about the founding of Facebook. Even in countries with relatively low internet connectivity, use of social networking sites is on the rise – just ask Timor-Leste’s President José Ramos Horta and his 378 Facebook friends. But even before the internet empowered us to connect and communicate at the speed of a whim, we have all lived fully immersed in social networks. Social networks are the links between family and friends, classmates and teammates, coworkers and colleagues, enemies and ‘frenemies’. They are the relationships – around 150 meaningful ones, according to Dunbar’s number – that feed and bound our choices and actions, provide us with emotional sustenance and sounding boards, and provide structure to our lives. But beyond their intrinsic value, what do these connections mean – for individuals, for communities, and for development?

Finding meaning behind the networks

It is hardly groundbreaking to point out that we are all connected, however tenuously, to those around us. The more important question is, do these connections matter?

The answer is a resounding yes. Social networks play a role in what we know, what we learn, how we behave, who we trust. They influence our health choices and outcomes, from smoking and obesity to contraceptive use and even mortality. Recent research on the link between social networks and economic outcomes has shown that networks can influence entry into the labor market and initiation of corporate trading relationships, among others. Social networks can play a beneficial role by channeling information, bringing new ideas, or providing social support in times of emergency. Undeniably, though, they can also contribute to harmful or exclusionary practices such as nepotism and collusion. 

Identifying networks in Timor-Leste

Malae Barak ona mak Koalia Lian Tetun

By Joao M. Saldanha

Maluk Internasional sira,

Tetum prasa ne'e fasil hela, Hau hare ita bot sira Malae barak mak koalia ona Tetum. Balu koalia diak liu tan ami Timor oan tanba aprende koalia ho estrutura formal lian nia. Imi balu sai tradutor Portuguese - Tetum ho Tetum - Portugues, balu Ingles - Tetum ho Tetum - Ingles kapas los. Balu koalia tan Mambae ho Makasae. Sei ajuda barak bainhira imi servisu iha Timor. Mas los, la os obriga imi mas husu imi nia atensaun.

I think it helps a lot when you speak local language anywhere in the world. For capacity building purposes with counterparts, my reading is faster to do it in Tetum because the whole body of Public Administration, Local NGO, or local organizations most people do not speak English and Portuguese. That is why one of the initiatives to bridge the gap in capacity building of international adviser with national staffs is through national adviser. 

An Expectation that International Advisers will Learn Tetun in Timor Leste

The necessity for Tetum as a prerequisite for effective working relationships between Timorese and technical advisors. If an advisor is to be effective, our own education must be addressed first. There are many reasons why external advisers fail to make a positive difference in Timor-Leste but failure to effectively communicate is the most obvious. This is most clearly an issue with short-term advisors. At least with longer-term assignments the issue can be addressed. But I am disappointed by how many English speakers, who have been here awhile, have a vocabulary limited to, “obrigadu mana”.

Speech of Angolan Head of State, under Timorese Presidents visit to Angola

Luanda - Speech delivered by His Excellency President of the Republic of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, in the ambit of the four-day state visit of His Excellency, President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Jose Ramos Horta.

Luanda on 27 June 27 in 2011

HIS EXCELLENCY JOSE RAMOS HORTA,

PRESIDENT OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

EAST TIMOR

DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE ANGOLAN AND TIMORESE DELEGATIONS

DEAR GUESTS,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

It is with a great pleasure that we receive you in our country, in the framework of your first state visit to the Republic of Angola as the President of the sister Republic of East Timor.

Despite the geographical distance that splits our two countries, both nations are linked by  indestructible historical ties of fraternity, friendship and solidarity based on the defence of the most important cause of our peoples in the conquest of freedom and national independence.

Girls have the Same Right to go to School

Foto (Jano)

For Fidelia Soares, mother of six and participant in CARE’s Young Women Young Nation program, sending her children to school is as important as buying food.

In Timor Leste, a country where one third of the population experiences food shortages, it is difficult for families to balance the need for food with the importance of education. While primary school is free, the cost of school books and uniforms is often prohibitively high for families who survive on subsistence farming alone.

Eleisaun 2012: Entre Marie Alkatiri, Xanana Gusmao no Pierre Bourdieu

* Husi: S. R. Leite,
http://forum-haksesuk.blogspot.com/

Alkatiri (foto AFP)

Xanana (foto: freedom.tp)

Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002), Sosiólogu grande husi França ne’ebé mak iha influénsia boot tebes iha mundu akadémiku liu husi introdusaun teoría kona-ba prátika (Theory of Practice), Habitus, Field no Violénsia Simbóliku. Iha Theory of Practice, Bourdieu esplika katak, autór sira hetan influénsia liu husi rekursu (kapitál) ne’ebé mak sira iha. Rekursu hirak ne’e mak hanesan: ekonómiku (finanseiru), kulturál, sosiál no mos simbóliku.

Rekursu ekonómiku klaru tanba iha relasaun ho osan, kuandu ema iha osan barak, automatikamente, ema ne’e iha influénsia ba ema seluk ne’ebe serbisu ho sira. Rekursu Kulturál-Sosiál iha relasaun ho aspeitu sosiál no kultura hanesan lingua, étniku, tradisaun, relijiaun, sst. Rekursu Simbóliku mak hanesan karísma, istória boot iha funu, sst.

Prosesu eleisaun 2012 iha Timor Leste mos, ita bele esplika uza teoría husi Bourdieu ne’e. Primeiru, eleisaun ne’e rasik ita bele hare hanesan field (kampu) ne’ebé partidu sira atu prátika hadau malu eleitór. Segundu, partidu ne’e rasik mak field (kampu) ba líder partidu sira atu hadau influénsia. Ikus liu mak, terseiru, kombinasaun entre Partidu no Eleisaun hanesan field ba líder sira atu influénsia palku nasionál Timor-Leste.

Kada field (kampu) iha jogadór: partidu no liu-liu líder partidu sira. Iha eleisaun 2012, maske iha partidu pulítiku barak hamutuk ho sira nia líder, konstelesaun (field) pulítika Timor-Leste sei hale’u deit iha figura nain rua, katak kampu (field) ne’e ita bele fahe ba ema nain rua deit: Alkatiri no Xanana.

Trafficking in Persons Report 2011 - Timor-Leste chapter

Timor-Leste is a destination country for women from Indonesia and China subjected to forced prostitution. In addition, men and boys from Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand are subjected to forced labor, including on fishing boats operating in Timorese waters; they occasionally escape their traffickers and swim ashore to seek refuge in Timor-Leste. The placement of children in bonded labor by family members in order to pay off family debts was also a problem. Timor-Leste may also be a source country for women or girls sent to Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia for forced domestic work. Some migrant women recruited for work in Dili report being locked up upon arrival, and forced by brothel ‘bosses’ and clients to use drugs or alcohol while providing sexual services. 

Nós vamos morrendo como povo e como nação

CARTA AO SECRETÁTIO-GERAL DAS NAÇÕES UNIDA, PÉREZ DE CUELLAR.

Diocese de Díli-Timor Oriental

Dili, 6 de Fevereiro de 1989

                                                      Sua Excelência Dr. Perez de Cuellar

                                                      Dig.mo Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas

                                                      New York - USA

A year from elections—and where are we?

By Fidelis Magalhães[1]

Dili is a truly political town.  As soon as I landed at the Nicolau Lobato airport after my almost two years of studying abroad, the first words I heard were elections, sustainability, democracy and corruption. There was neither the typical British small talk about the weather nor the Portuguese litany of small talks about the underperformance of football teams—not so much in my case as I am a fan of the strongest team: Benfica.

In what at first appeared to be a primordial quotidian habit of the Dili residents, I also noticed some changes.  The typical politically loaded small-talks carry new traits. Now people seem to be able to discuss politics without thinking of it as a matter of life and death. The pre-occupation with who governs is no longer an existential anxiety.

The Dili Village Telco

By David Rowe and Lemi Soares

A Village Telco is a DIY telephone company that uses mesh Wifi and VOIP to build telephone networks without infrastructure like cell phone towers or land lines. The goal of the Village Telco project is to provide affordable telephony for people in the developing world. It is built entirely with open software and hardware.

The Dili Village Telco is the world's first roll out of Village Telco technology. We are deploying 100 Mesh Potatoes to implement a free local call telephone network in Dili, the capital city of Timor Leste, one of the poorest countries in Asia. Mobile and fixed phone service is available in Dili but simply too expensive for the average Timorese.

Indonesia speeds up border negotiations with neighbors

Desy Nurhayati - The Jakarta Post, Benoa, Bali - Fri, 06/24/2011

Indonesia will hold several meetings in the coming months to settle unresolved border problems with Malaysia, Vietnam and Timor Leste, an official said here Thursday.

Indonesia has concluded almost all of its territorial sea and continental shelf boundary agreements with its neighbors, with the exception of those with the three countries, as well as with Singapore, the Philippines and the Republic of Palau, director of regional politics and security Rachmat Budiman said.

Timor: Where Has All the Aid Gone?

Money has been pouring into Timor-Leste, but it has not translated into meaningful development.

By Guteriano Neves

When Indonesia withdrew from Timor-Leste (TL) in 1999, governments all over the world expressed their sympathy for the Timorese. Donor governments promised to assist TL to build a viable state, with lasting peace and stability. Early on, the United States also committed to help TL move toward a democratic society. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently reiterated this commitment in her meeting with TL’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. The United States, she said, wants “to continue to provide U.S. support for this incredibly important transition and transformation.” Timorese, who have suffered from Indonesian military occupation and the double standards of the United States and other Western countries for 24 years, listened very carefully to this political rhetoric, hoping that the future of the children would be better.

After 11 years, the rhetoric is still the same. But the reality on the ground has not changed much.

Partido DEMOCRÁTICO (PD) Iha Dever no Responsabilidade Moral atu Valoriza FRETILIN-Movimento Libertasaun Nasional

Hosi : Victor Tavares*

Partido Democrático nu’udar forsa politika ida iha nasaun RDTL, ne’ebe konstitui hosi militantes no simpatizantes no mos povu eleitores PD nian, em jeral ho nian background maioritariamente ema hosi rezistensia, iha nian dever no responsabilidade moral atu hahii aas valores istorikus hotu iha prosesu libertasaun nasional, em particular PD valoriza no hatur aas movimento libertasaun nasional.

Ne’eduni, mais que justa, lider maximu PD Senhor Fernando La Sama de Araújo, ho apoio tomak hosi diresaun nasional Partido Democrático nian, hanoin, tetu no ho konsiensia tomak atu fo omenajem boot ba erois matebian sira ne’ebe mate tanba konsekuensia hosi movimentu libertasaun nasional ne’e rasik.

Basaa, FRETILIN-Movimentu ne’e patrimoniu istoriku luta ba independensia nasaun no povu Timor-Leste tomak nian. FRETILIN-Movimentu la’os propriedade ema ida ka rua nian, la’os grupu A ka grupu B nian, maibe ne’e instrumentu luta ema barak nian. Ema barak mate iha Movimentu Libertasaun Nasional nian laran tanba hamahon an iha movimentu ne’e nian okos hodi defende ukun rasik an.

Israel and Timor-Leste

Amira Arnon

Ambassador of Israel to Timor-Leste

A lot in Common

The first breathtaking view which unfolded to my eyes from above, while still on the plane to Dili, was the white, beautiful and untouched beaches. I could not wait for the opportunity to enjoy those beaches and to touch the deep blue water of pacific. In deed, on my first visit to Timor-Leste I took a swim among corals and the little colourful fish, in the warm and crystal clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. No doubt, this is one of the advantageous adventure Timor-Leste has to offer foreign investors who are searching for new potential Pacific resorts and hideaways for tourists.

Kita Adalah Embun di Bawah Matahari

Monika Nia Liman

“Aku tak akan meninggalkanmu,” katamu setiap kali kita menyudahi percumbuan. Aku tertawa. Sebab aku tak percaya. Sebab kau laki-laki. Sebab kau kira perempuan selalu senang digombali.

“Kau bohong!” kataku melepas pelukanmu. “Kau hanya mempermainkanku.”

“Aku tak memaksamu untuk mempercayaiku. Tapi aku sayang padamu,” kau remas jemariku seperti memelas kepercayaan. Aku tertawa lagi.

“Ahh. Kau tak benar-benar sayang padaku. Kau hanya datang padaku di sisa waktumu. Aku ini hanya sebuah dermaga kecil tempat kau menambatkan kelelahan hiruk-pikuk hidupmu.”

Suatu Malam di Jakarta

Jalan menuju bandara Soekarno-Hatta

Saya tidak tahu-menahu ini jalan apa dan itu jalan siapa. Semua begitu asing bagiku di perjalanan malam itu. Tiba-tiba supir taxi mengatakan bahwa jalan menuju Mall Ambassador macet total. Saya terkejut dan bertanya-tanya dalam hati, apakah jalan benar-benar macet ataukah supir taxi memainkan aksinya karena mengetahui saya tidak tahu apa-apa soal Jakarta. 

Tanpa saya meminta, supir taxi menawarkan untuk menurunkan aku di Plaza Semanggi, yang menurut pak supir juga sangat lengkap, tidak kalah dari Mall Ambassador. Saya ragu, tetapi tidak nampak keraguanku. Saya lebih memilih kembali ke hotel Atlantic tempat aku menginap, tetapi saya sudah tidak punya uang rupiah, dari mana untuk membayar taxi dan bagaimana biaya transport besok pagi-pagi buta ke bandara. Sementara pulsa mobile aku zero, bagaimana bisa memanggil temanku. Malam kian larut. Aaah ini supir taxi pandai beraksi, pikirku dalam hati. 

Life Work Balance (Sebuah Motivasi)

"The only people that you really have, that I learned, are your family, because they love you no matter what"

Miley Cyrus

Suatu hari Dody yang tengah menanjak karirnya tetapi merasa hidup ini tidak bahagia. Istrinya sering mengomel-ngomel karena merasa keluarga tidak pernah ada lagi mendapat waktu dan perhatian yang cukup dari Dody sebagai suami juga seorang Ayah. Orang tua dan keluarga besar, bahkan menganggapnya sombong dan tidak lagi peduli kepada keluarga besar. Tuntutan pekerjaan membuatnya kehilangan waktu untuk keluarga, teman-teman lama, pun saat merenung bagi dirinya sendiri semuanya menjadi hilang.

Kata Mutiara Cinta

Entah suka datang menghiasi hari

Atau duka yang menghampiri

Cinta adalah berbagi

Karena sungguh ....

Meski disemayamkan dalam dua raga

Sepasang kekasih hanya punya satu hati

===o0o===

TIMOR-LESTE: On the way up but still a long way to go

BANGKOK, 16 June 2011 (IRIN) - As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a stable political system and improving education infrastructure, Timor-Leste is gradually raising its profile in the region, leaders say. 

The fledgling nation’s candidacy for the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marks a milestone in its post-conflict recovery, but widespread social issues continue to hamper a country still recovering from decades of Indonesian rule. “We have made tremendous progress in the past nine years of our independence since 2002. The country today is at peace as never before,” President Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta told IRIN. “We are on the right track, and when we join ASEAN, I am certain that we will be an asset, and not a burden.” 

Timor-Leste: Rekonsiliasaun no Fila Hikas Mai husi Indonézia

The full report is available in  English.

Status ne’ebé seidauk rezolvidu husi eis refujiadu rihun ba rihun ne’ebé mak halai sai hodi hakur fronteira depoizde votasaun ida ba independénsia nian iha tinan 1999 sei sai nafatin nu’udár dezafiu ida ba Timor-Leste nia estabilidade prazu naruk nian. Sira barak mak nunka konsege integradu didi’ak ba iha komunidade lokál nia laran no fila hikas ona liuhosi fronteira iha númeru ne’ebé ki’ik maibé aumenta ba beibeik iha relasaun ho estabilidade ekonómiku no polítika nian iha estadu foun ne’e nia laran. Repatriasaun hirak-ne’e tenke enkorraja husi nasaun rua ne’e nu’udár oportunidade di’ak ida atu promove rekonsiliasaun entre komunidade rua ne’ebé mak haketak husi fronteira. Hodi halo ida-ne’e sei hatudu kustu sira husi impunidade ba violénsia ne’ebé mak akontese durante referendu tinan 1999 nian no mós realsa fallansu atu implementa rekomendasaun prátika sira ne’ebé mak mai husi ninia komisaun rua, CAVR no Komisaun ba Verdade no Amizade nian. Timor-Leste nia lideransa bele desidi katak forma balun husi amnestia nian mak meiu ne’ebé di’akliu ba oin nian, maibé nasaun ne’e labele ona atu atraza tán diskusaun ne’ebé luan kona-bá solusaun sira.

Timor-Leste: Rekonsiliasi Dan Kepulangan Dari Indonesia

The full report is available in  English.

Status menggantung dari ribuan eks pengungsi yang keluar Timor-Leste dan menetap di Indonesia setelah referendum tahun 1999 masih menjadi tantangan bagi stabilitas jangka panjang negara asal mereka. Banyak dari pengungsi ini tidak dapat berbaur dengan masyarakat setempat dan sejumlah kecil yang angkanya terus meningkat tertarik untuk pulang ke Timor-Leste yang situasi ekonomi dan keamanannya mulai relatif stabil. 

Kepulangan mereka ini seharusnya didukung oleh pemerintah Timor-Leste maupun Indonesia sebagai kesempatan bagus untuk memajukan rekonsiliasi diantara kedua masyarakat yang dipisahkan oleh perbatasan itu. Apabila ini terjadi, harga impunitas yang harus ditanggung atas kekerasan yang melingkupi jajak pendapat tahun 1999 akan terungkap dan kegagalan dalam mengimplementasikan rekomendasi-rekomendasi praktis dari kedua komisi kebenarannya, yaitu Komisi Penerimaan, Kebenaran dan Rekonsiliasi atau CAVR serta Komisi Kebenaran dan Persahabatan atau KKP, akan tersorot. Para pemimpin Timor-Leste mungkin belum memutuskan untuk memberi semacam amnesti sebagai jalan keluar yang terbaik, tapi negara ini tidak bisa terus menunda pembahasan mengenai solusi atas persoalan ini.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

BY JOSH TRINDADE

http://timorhauniandoben.blogspot.com/

I was given a form by one of the Government agencies all in Portuguese. I didn’t understand how to fill it. Then, I've exploded. Furious! Angry!

How come I don't understand my official language in my own country? It’s not that I am stupid. It’s not that I don’t want to learn the language.

It is that the official language was chosen to favour an elite, just a few and to discriminate the majority of normal Timorese, like me, who was educated during the Indonesian time.

THE FORCING OF THE PORTUGUESE LANGUANGE IS AN IMPEDIMENT FOR THE YOUNG TIMORESE

BY JOSÉ KAI LEKKE SOUSA-SANTOS

http://timorhauniandoben.blogspot.com/

The forcing of the Portuguese language on Timor is an impediment for the majority of young Timorese, Timorese studied during the occupation, who finished or are undergoing tertiary study in Indonesia.

They are forced to learn a whole new foreign language if they want to continue their studies or even work for the government in their own country.

Just For You (Afternoon Joke)

Pada suatu sore yang indah, para 'cleaners' bercerita ramai di sebuh sudut dekat toilet. Ada yang serius berbagi cerita, ada yang serius mendengarkan, ada yang senyum malu-malu, ada-ada saja. Angelina hanya diam di sudut itu, dia masih marah dengan kejadian pagi tadi, akhirnya dia mau bercerita juga. 

Beatification of John Paul II - Miracle Picture

We don't know why John Paul II wanted to hide this picture for years. The Vatican published this picture recently, for first time. This picture was taken by one of his security guards just when the Pope was attacked and was falling down in his Papamobil. You can see the pain in his face.

Nós não sabemos por que João Paulo II quis esconder essa imagem durante anos. O Vaticano publicou esta foto recentemente, pela primeira vez. Esta foto foi tirada por um de seus guardas de segurança apenas quando o Papa foi atacado e foi caindo em sua Papamobil. Você pode ver a dor em seu rosto.

Kisah Tepi Jurang (1) - Percakapan Orang Penting

Ini cerita tentang sebuah kedai kopi yang kosong di pinggiran pulau terpinggir dari Indonesia. Beberapa orang hebat tiba-tiba saja bertemu untuk sekadar bersenda-gurau di sana. Yesus Kristus (yang juga dikenal dengan Isa Al Masih) sambil menyerutup kopi mulai mengajak Nabi Muhammad, Sidharta Gautama dan Musa untuk mengelilingi satu-satunya meja di kedai kopi tersebut.

Bahaya Laten Soehartoisme

Sebelum KANGEN itu Membunuh

Panik. Mungkin ini sedikit tepat menggambarkan suasana Indonesia saat ini di tengah berbagai gejolak ekonomi dan politik yang tiada bertepi. Reformasi yang dilahirkan paksa dan prematur akhirnya membentuk sebuah kubangan yang kian besar. Reformasi seperti ini juga yang melahirkan perkawinan tak senonoh antara generasi pembaru dan mereka yang bergantung mutlak pada konservatisme, status quo ante dan kebiadaban yang tak disadari. Radikalisme yang sebenarnya mutlak diperlukan ketika menyusur tengahan 1998 ternyata digembosi oleh dedengkot-dedengkot Orde Baru yang otomatis akan mempertahankan warna khas Soeharto.

Kepanikan di antara memilih Revolusi atau Reformasi ketika itu akhirnya menyudutkan bangsa ini kepada pembiakan semakin banyak generasi yang terdistorsi oleh kooptasi kekuasaan tunggal. Di level ini saja secara umum Reformasi sudah ‘gagal’ apalagi dalam praksis menjalankan tata pemerintahan yang kritis. Mentalitas kultus menjadi warna tunggal birokrat yang diisi oleh kroni-kroni tak kompeten dan legislator yang lebih banyak hanya menjadi kelompok oligarkis, yang sudah pasti melulu mendahulukan kepentingan kelompok dan massa penjilat mereka.

Xanana Gusmao: ‘Ahmadinejad’ dari Timor Leste?

Sebelas tahun lepas berpisah dari Indonesia, Timor Leste termasuk yang tak pernah selamat dari pedang kritik bangsa-bangsa yang menganggap diri lebih beradab, maju dan tahu banyak soal demokrasi dan nasib bangsa lain. Tapi di sana, ada Perdana Menteri Xanana Gusmao dan untuk itu, orang Timor Leste nampaknya patut bersyukur.

Di Dili awal pekan lalu, tepat di hari kemerdekaan, dia berbicara tentang sesuatu yang menjadikan negaranya sukar dipandang sebelah mata lagi; sebuah suara kritis yang mungkin mengingatkan orang pada nada-nada perlawanan atas ketidakadilan global yang kerap terdengar dari sosok Mahmoud Ahmadinejad di Iran dan Hugo Chaves di Venezuela.

Kata Kantor Berita AFP, Xanana melepas kritik bersulfur pada Persatuan Bangsa-Bangsa dan pada unit kerja badan dunia itu di Timor Leste yang menurutnya telah “menginjak-injak kedaulatan negara”. Sebelumnya, dalam sebuah dokumen yang kemudian bocor di media, unit kerja PBB di Timor Leste mengkritik kepemimpinan Xanana, menyebutnya sebagai “penghambat” gerak maju “demokrasi”.

Kata Xanana, justru PBB lah yang semestinya memperbaiki diri.

Dari 2000 hingga 2008, katanya, “komunitas internasional” telah membelanjakan US$ 8 miliar di Timor Leste yang luasnya tak seberapa. Hasilnya: “tak ada pembangunan fisik yang berarti dan kemiskinan justru kian menjadi.”

Mari Pulang, Belum Terlambat!

BERSAHABAT dengan TEKNOLOGI [JANGAN SALING MENAKLUKKAN!]

Oleh: Ermalindo Albinus Joseph Sonbay

Pernahkah anda berpikir sejenak untuk kembali ke dekade sebelum 1990-an? Masa di mana gejolak komunikasi virtual dan digital belum merebak. Masa di mana tulisan tangan, surat yang dikirim via pos, ucapan-ucapan pada peristiwa dan perayaan besar terasa asli dan alami. Masa di mana rutinitas harian tidak terganggu oleh bunyi dering dan getaran benda-benda super modern, kecil namun isinya seluruh dunia.

Yah, mada itu telah lewat, bahkan tidak lagi memiliki tempat yang utuh di ingatan apalagi kerinduan. Masa komunikasi asli yang mungkin saja merupakan titik tertinggi komunikasi antar-manusia. Jaman itu, orang bisa menghabiskan sepiring nasinya plus segelas teh mungkin tanpa diganggu dering gadget. Rasa nasi nikmat dan sempurna. Tidur malam menjadi penuh tanpa panggilan masuk apalagi dari sales kartu kredit yang menawarkan jasa layanan dengan keuntungan bla bla bla.

Esperanças Rasgadas - Xanana Gusmão (Poema)

Timor
Jazigo de uma alma
Que não pereceu
Nas névoas
De uma história que se perdeu
Na distância das lendas

Tukar Guling Oecussi-Belu Hak Pusat

Tukar guling wilayah enclave di Distrik Oecussi, Timor Leste dengan kabupaten Belu merupakan hak pemerintah pusat. Pendapat itu agak sulit dilakukan karena Oecussi memiliki sejarah kehadiran Portugis yang sulit dilupakan.