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Timor-Leste

100,000 driven from their homes in East Timor

CAFOD partners are providing mosquito nets, soap and food to people forced from their homes by the recent violence in East Timor.

By Anna Sussmilch, Caritas New Zealand

Over 100,000 people have been made homeless by the violence in the capital city of Dili, where fighting erupted in April between rebel soldiers and military loyal to the government.

People are sheltering in Catholic churches, schools, colleges and Mosques around the city.

Abel Fatima and his family have taken refuge in a college, where the Cannossian Sisters are running a camp for people driven from their homes. His family, including twelve children and grandchildren are sleeping in one of the classrooms.

Many of the 6,000 people staying in the college return to their homes during the day, but Abel's home was completely destroyed.

"Everything is lost, my home was burnt and my pigs and goats have been taken," he said. "I now need tools and materials to be able to start again."

Local CAFOD partner Caritas Dili and sister agencies Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Australia have distributed mosquito nets, soap, women's kits and food to people staying in the camps.

Keeping busy

In another part of the city, Father Adriano is running a camp in Dom Bosco college, one of the largest camps in the city originally established during the violence in 1999.

"One of the reasons for the unrest is the high state of unemployment in the country with around 70-80 per cent of young people being without a job or any prospect of future employment. They need something to do, to be kept busy," he said.

With this in mind, he has organised a number of jobs in the camp and has set up a temporary school so that children can continue their education.

"I've formed a group to take care of camp maintenance. They will be in charge of cleaning the latrines, digging new ones and cleaning the compound. It could be quite some time before people can return home so it's important to work on building peace in the camps before people return to their neighbourhoods."

CAFOD's partners have provided wheelbarrows and spades and latrines have been supplied by the New Zealand embassy in Dili.

CAFOD has been working with Caritas Dili for years on long-term development in East Timor and is currently talking to partners and assessing their needs.