Link up with a school from East Timor

CSPE Links

Timorese students, perhaps unlike many Irish students, are immensely eager to study and learn. They speak with pride about attending school or with disappointment that it was burnt down. This happened to many schools. The educational system has been destroyed and many schools are used as homes by refugees who have nowhere else to live. Education is only starting up again slowly and most schools have no books or pencils or paper.

During a recent visit to Timor, a member of our campaign met many students and visited a couple of schools that are still open. The students were thrilled with the idea of getting in contact with Irish students. The idea that there are Irish people who are thinking of them and supporting them means a tremendous amount.

On his return to Ireland, Oran began to give talks to schools in Ireland on his experiences. The response from the students and faculty was impressive. They wished to continue to support the East Timorese, particularly students their age.

In November, Oran returned to East Timor for three weeks and found a country devastated by the Indonesian military. 70% of all buildings in the country were destroyed. Even more frightening, more than one quarter of the population had been forced over the border into Indonesia at gun point by the military and their militias. These people were being held in camps, too frightened to return. Even now, at least 100,000 Timorese have still not returned and are being used as hostages for the militias' negotiations with the UN. He also met and consulted with different East Timorese students at third level and second level and other youth groups, including scouts. He found there was a great interest in links with youth in Ireland that would allow them to gain a better understanding of each other's culture and exchange ideas and gain friends in a far away country.

For an isolated school or scout group, the value of a link with a group in Ireland who care about their lives cannot be underestimated. Most schools are isolated from the bulk of the UN's impact on East Timor and many of the schools are in severe states of disrepair and lack teachers. Both schools and scouts are important sources of order and normality in the lives of young people during the insecure reconstruction phase in East Timor.

For the Irish groups, it offers them a meaningful understanding of East Timor's current and past problems and a practical understanding of the complexity of development issues. It is an opportunity to reach a class in each school with these ideas and through them more than 3,000 students in 11 schools in Ireland. It also offers responsibility to the youth involved that allows them to gain awareness that they can make a difference in the lives of children their age thousands of miles away.

If you want any more information call Oran in the office at (01)6719207.

School Links