Timor Leste to Australia

Guest speakers for this week were Jan Trezise and Teresa Fraga who talked about the book Timor-Leste to Australia, which was launched at Bunjil Place on Sunday 24th June.
 
The book is a collection of stories about seven East Timorese families currently living in Melbourne, having escaped the horrors of their war torn homeland.
 
Jan explained that the initial interviews of the shy family members were conducted over several months by Year 7 students from Gleneagles Secondary College in Endeavour Hills.  The students were coached on what questions to ask and they then documented the stories, providing a raw manuscript.  
 
More extensive interviews were then conducted by Jan, who went on to develop and edit the manuscipt.  In all, it has taken two and a half years to develop the book
 
Jan provided a brief background to the stories stating that:
  • Timor had been colonised by the Portuguese for 400 years.
  • It was invaded by the Japanese in 1942.
  • Eventually abandoned by the Portuguese in 1974, which led to a civil war from 1974 -1975.
  • The country was invaded by Indonesia from 1975-1979
  • In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory. 
  • East Timor gained their independence in 2002
It is estimated that the number of deaths from famine and violence during the Indonesian occupation,  was between 90,800 and 202,600 and 70% of the violent deaths were caused by Indonesian forces.
 
The stories of the seven families focus on their struggles and tragedies through these times, before coming to Australia.
 
Teresa Fraga summarised her family's experiences.  Teresa is the seventh of eight children and speaks Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesian and English. 
 
When the Indonesian forces invaded East Timor, her family fled to the mountains. 
 
Teresa's father was a nurse and was killed while helping others, leaving Teresa's mother to look after the eight children.  They do not know where their father is buried.
 
After several weeks in the mountains, the family surrendered to the Indonesian forces and were placed in a concentration camp.  They managed to escape in 1979 and in 1982, they left East Timor for Portugal.
 
Teresa explained that as a refugee, you are continually thinking of safety.  She emphasised how strong her mother was in holding the family together and looking after their wellbeing and safety.
 
The family arrived in Melbourne on 24th July 1985 and were placed in the Enterprise Migrant Hostel in Springvale, where they were made very welcome and received a lot of support, particularly from the Timorese Association.  As a result of her experience there, she is keen to give back to the community. 
 
Teresa currently lives in Berwick and finished her story by saying that all refugees, regardless of colour, religion or background have a "Right to dignity and respect".
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