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Timor's growing pains
By CNN's Joe Havely
(CNN) -- Exactly one year ago a new nation was born. Under the dark indigo of the midnight sky, on a dusty field outside of the capital Dili, East Timor joined the community of nations. Heading up the ceremony, taking the role of proud father, was former rebel leader-turned president, Xanana Gusmao. It was, for once, good news -- something that tends to get overlooked by the world's media. "If it bleeds, it leads" is the rather cruel moniker that, while not often directly spoken, has a tendency to rule the way newspapers and news bulletins are put together. For once East Timor wasn't bleeding -- it was smiling. The world may not have given it much attention, but for East Timor's 800,000 people it was a day to celebrate, a day to remember, and a day to reflect. Under more than two decades of brutal occupation by Indonesia an estimated 200,000 East Timorese lost their lives. There are few families who did not lose at least one relative and the impact of that quiet but bloody war continues to rule East Timor today. When East Timor became the world's newest nation, it also started off at the bottom of the heap.
With an average annual income of less than $500, East Timor was also born as one of the world's poorest nations. Before the Indonesian invasion in 1975 East Timor was self-sufficient in food, and enjoyed a small but relatively lucrative income from coffee exports. Today, East Timor relies heavily on foreign food aid. Coffee exports are less than a quarter of the level they were in the early 1970s and almost half of the government's tiny $77 million annual budget comes from international donors. Independence for East Timor remains a notional concept. In reality it is heavily dependent on the outside world. There is, however, one big light at the end of the tunnel -- in the form of oil. Under a deal signed with Australia, revenue from oil and gas extracted from under the Timor Sea should begin flowing into government coffers next year. By 2013, according to some forecasts, East Timor could be taking in as much as $300 million a year. Wisely spent, that sum could turn East Timor around, funding much needed educational and health care improvements. In order for that to happen East Timor needs two things more than anything -- stability and patience.
Although few East Timorese expected independence to bring immediate and dramatic improvements in their lives, strains and signs of disaffection have begun to show. According to some figures, unemployment stands at around 80 percent. Among the ranks of the jobless are many former Falantil guerillas, those who took part in the fight for independence but who have struggled to find a role now that that goal has been achieved. Among this group, social problems such as domestic abuse and alcoholism have become particularly acute. Some of those former fighters were also blamed for the outburst of rioting that hit the East Timorese capital, Dili, in December last year. Several government buildings, including the prime minister's residence, were destroyed by the mobs. But fears that the rioting was the start of a new cycle of violence in East Timor have, so far, proved unfounded. That the rioting did not spread, despite the hardships endured by most of the population, is perhaps a sign that the majority of East Timorese are prepared to wait a little longer for the fruits of independence to mature. There are few, after all, who will say that life was better under Indonesian rule.
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