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East Timor Struggles to Build a Nation After Winning Independence

Aired August 30, 2000 - 6:21 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: One year after the people of East Timor voted to end more than two decades of often brutal Indonesian rule, they marked the occasion with somber ceremonies. Remembered were the hundreds who died in violence triggered by the independence vote.

CNN's Maria Ressa is in East Timor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One year ago, Engracia Casamera (ph) saw her husband shot by pro-Indonesian militia. She says she still remembers the faces of his killers.

Today, she says, "If I had tried to help him, I might have died that day. They would have killed my child."

She and her 6-year-old daughter built this small home next to the burnt ruins of their old house. She says the past year has been difficult.

"I don't have enough food, I don't have enough clothes, I don't have anything left," she says.

Joaquim Lopez (ph) says he escaped death by chance last year. His home, along with his neighbor's, was burnt to the ground. The militia killed dozens of people that day.

Here, he broke down after his wife was taken away by the Indonesian police. But his story has a happier ending. He found his wife and child. He rebuilt their home. But he says he wants justice.

"The government knows they should be punished," says Lopez. "They know how we feel about the militia and what they need to do to punish them."

Food, shelter, justice -- this is what many people here are asking for -- people who lost so much in the search for independence.

East Timor has become a laboratory for nation-building, with the United Nations at its head. And the task is daunting. More than 85 percent of East Timor's buildings were destroyed in last year's violence. Until today, more than 80 percent of its workforce remain unemployed.

(on camera): After more than 98 percent of its people voted for independence one year ago, East Timor continues its struggle today. This time, to rebuild its cities, to create its own political system, to develop its economy. All this under the constant challenge of trying to heal the deep wounds of the past.

Maria Ressa, CNN, Dili, East Timor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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