Positives in the Midst of a Crisis, a response to Jose Antonio Belo’s article
The original article appeared in Tempo Timor: Positives in the Midst of a Crisis
May I begin by congratulating Jose Antonio Belo on his wonderful article. Although I now live in Sydney, I lived in Timor-Leste for 20 years when I was establishing our business, East Timor Trading. Based on my experience, you have captured the essence of the nation at this turning point for Timorese democracy.
I don’t mean to sound dramatic by saying this is a turning point, but I believe it is. Timor-Leste is entering a phase where it finds its own feet. And that is very exciting.
This political situation is not a life-threatening crisis. There is no violent response to the political frustrations from politicians or the people. Timor-Leste is now a society that steps back, discusses and understands there will inevitably be differences of opinion in a functioning democracy. This quiet, measured response is a sign of confidence and a fundamental belief in Timor-Leste’s leadership and the processes set in place to run the country.
As a committed long-term investor in the country, I stand beside Mr Jape Kong Su, Lay family of Dili Hilton, the Batik Group, the Pelican Paradise Group and many other local and international investors. We all know that Timor-Leste is fundamentally strong.
I am Pakistani by birth. To put Timor-Leste’s achievements into some context, we can compare it to Pakistan, which achieved independence in 1947. Admittedly it has a population of over 200 million people, but 73 years after the independence it is still a political, social, economic and environmental mess. Timor only achieved independence in 2002 – 18 years ago as we enter 2020 – and look at what it has achieved!
Figures from the United Nation's Human Development Index below gives you a quick look:
Country Rank/Value (ASEAN or Portuguese Speaking)
Indonesia – 111 / 0.707 (ASEAN)
South Africa – 113 / 0.705
Vietnam – 118 / 0.693 (ASEAN)
India – 129 / 0.647
Timor-Leste – 131 / 0.626 (CPLP)
Bhutan – 134 / 0.617
Bangladesh – 135 / 0.614
Congo – 138 / 0.459
Lao – 140 / 0.604 (ASEAN)
Myanmar – 145 / 0.584 (ASEAN)
Cambodia – 146 / 0.571 (ASEAN)
Nepal – 147 / 0.579
Pakistan – 152 / 0.560
This week I attended a Guardian Australia newspaper event in Sydney titled #Guardian2020, where Guardian journalists discussed how Australia should look forward to the next decade. The key message was that we should look ahead with hope, because without hope there is nothing – their catchphrase on the sticker that was handed out said: ’hope is power’. I love that perspective, and it is so true.
As Mr Belo points out, the younger generation in Timor-Leste hold the older generation of leaders in high regard and still hold out hope that this is a small glitch.
When I hear our staff describe what they feel about their country’s direction I have always heard overwhelmingly that it is on a positive path. Their lives are good, that they see a good safe future for them and their families. Life, now, is better than in the past and they do not wish to put that at risk. It is all a matter of degrees. Most of us have never faced the brutality and hardship the Timorese people have faced over decades. When viewed from that perspective, what we see today is merely a minor political squabble, one that surely needs to be sorted out, but nevertheless it is minor.
I have great confidence that the Timorese people will hold on to hope and remember The Guardian’s words, that Hope is Power.