East
Timor is the newest independent country in Southeast Asia. Its mountainous terrain is a
verdant forest that grew sandalwood,
the second most expensive wood in the world, next to African Blackwood (Kumar,
Joshi and Ram 1140). During the
Portuguese colonization, East Timor was a trading post for sandalwood. In 1975,
the Portuguese government gave up its territorial claims on East Timor. In the same year, the Indonesian army occupied
the former colony. The Indonesian occupation resulted to killings and displacement
of its population and further exploitation of the remaining sandalwood forests
(Wright 10). It was only in 2002 that
the United Nations recognized East Timor as an independent country, three years
after East Timorese voted in a referendum against the reintegration of the
former colony to Indonesia. Fourteen years after the country officially became
a nation; its government continues to pool the country’s human and natural
resources towards nation-building in an effort to ensure a sustainable economy
for its population. East Timorese are dependent on agriculture for their subsistence. Because of their animisticbackgrounds, natural habitats which are the primary sources of food have been maintained with respect. Deforestation, where farmers slash and burn forested areas in order to expand their arable lands, however, has resulted to soil erosion and degraded watersheds. As a result of the degraded watersheds, water quality deteriorates during the rainy season leading to childhood diseases and increased infant mortality rate. The widespread poverty that has been plaguing East Timor as a result of its neglect as a Portuguese colony for four centuries and the ensuing Indonesian occupation have left East Timorese to resort further into deforestation by cutting down trees for the logging industry and using the deforested lands for cultivation of cash crops for export like Arabica coffee beans. The newly independent country has yet to determine its maritime boundaries with its neighboring countries (Schofield 259). While East Timorese struggle in poverty, the country’s natural resources that include petroleum, marble and gold have yet to be tapped to benefit the country with infrastructures and its people with employment. Despite the country’s valuable natural resources such as petroleum and gold, majority of the country’s population are marginalized and impoverished.
Religion plays a significant part in the life of every Timorese. Ninety-six percent of the country’s populations belong to the Roman Catholic Church as a result of Portugal’s colonization since the seventeenth century. The Catholic Church, with its pastoral role, has taken to the education of people in terms of consciousness-raising. Weighed down by rampant poverty, East Timorese have taken to the guidance of Catholic priests and religious leaders to come together to bring about change in their communities and their economic situation. With the teachings of the Catholic Church running alongside animistic tendencies, East Timorese consider themselves stewards of their environment while subsisting on agriculture.
As pointed out to Irena Cristalis, the author of the book East Timor: A Nation’s Bitter Dawn, East Timor’s bid for independence was inspired by theories on liberation theology (Cristalis 75). Liberation theology is a people-oriented ideology with little religious bearings. The ideology originated in Latin America and discreetly conceals Marxist tendencies such as struggles for classless societies. Liberation theology inspired the insurgency and guerilla movements that clandestinely involved communities for support during the Indonesian occupation in East Timor. Today, thirteen years after East Timor became a republic, its leaders like the current President Taur Matan Ruak and his predecessors President Jose Ramos Horta and former Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao are still strongly associated with their participation in the guerilla movement that was instrumental in the country’s bid for independence.
Liberation theology covers not only the social, economic and political aspects but also the environmental concerns that are affecting every member of the community. In the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire, liberation theology is spelled out as a community organizing model that begins by defining liberation as a process of consciousness raising, dialogues and continuous analyses of the community situation (Freire 43). Banking on the self-determination of individuals and using the Freire model of community organizing, local East Timorese leaders continue to strengthen groups and communities remote from Dili, the nation’s capital. People’s organizations employ community organizing strategies that they have learned while struggling for the country’s independence. Working committees are formed to deal with community problems like farmland or property disputes among farmers. The national government, on the other hand, continues to collaborate with local leaders through dialogues or consultations regarding issues that have been affecting the community level which could be of a national concern.
Issues that embrace not only social, economic and political matters but environmental concerns are put on a larger scale and long-term perspectives at the national level. While keeping in touch with grassroots organizations from the community level, leaders at the national level constituting the East Timor government build alliances with other countries, other than Australia which has been East Timor’s closest ally and neighbor. In 2004, however, East Timor had a dispute with Australia regarding maritime jurisdictions over the petroleum-rich Timor Sea. Recognizing the need to avoid another protracted struggle, then President Xanana Gusmao resolved to strengthen ties with its allies, particularly Australia (Schofield 254). Gusmao’s response to the dispute showed a national leader’s dilemma between protecting his country’s domains and environment and strengthening ties with its allies.
Prioritizing environmental concerns in the hope of preserving natural habitats has been a big challenge for a nation who needs to move on and address more pressing tasks like strengthening social and political institutions and establishing a sustainable economy for its people. Recognizing the need to develop its human resource base to become more economically self-reliant, the government of East Timor continues to involve other sectors such as the Catholic Church, educational institutions, and international development agencies on its reconstruction and nation-building processes. Despite its rich natural habitats endowed with valuable resources, development has been coming at a slow pace for East Timor.
There is much to learn from the experiences of East Timor in the realms of human ecology. Feeling more like a participant observer rather than a researcher, I chose to look into East Timor like an exile would. For me, education and raising the consciousness of people regarding their situation and environment has been a powerful tool in empowering communities and fighting against foreign occupation to protect their domain. East Timorese however need not be so keen on protecting their habitats by protesting foreign investors who would build infrastructures for the mining and petroleum industry. Industrialization has been taking a toll on the environment of every country and East Timor will not be spared if it chooses to move on as a developing economy instead of just being a newly independent country. Continuing education and employing customary practices that have previously worked in protecting the environment however will always be helpful for a population who has struggled from the grassroots to gain the independence of a new nation.
Cited Works:
Arun Kumar, Geeta Joshi and Mohan Ram. “Sandalwood: History,
Uses, Present Status and the Future”. Current Science, Volume 103, No.12, 25
December 2012
Cristalis, Irena. “Timor’s Joan of Arc” East Timor: A Nation’s Bitter Dawn. Zed Books London/New York,
Second Edition 2009, 69-80
Schofield, Clive. “A ‘Fair Go’ for East Timor: Sharing the
Resources of the Sea” Contemporary
Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affair, Vol 27,
No. 2, August 2005, 255-280
Wassel, Todd. “Timor Leste: Links Between Peacebuilding,
Conflict Prevention and Durable Solutions to Displacement” Project Internal
Displacement, The Brookings Institution, 2014
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