Timor-Leste

Special Feature- Field Story

OECUSSI-AMBENO COMMUNITY ACTIVATION PROGRAMME (OCAP)

The enclave of Oecussi-Ambeno is isolated from the rest of Timor-Leste. Completely surrounded by a land border with West Timor (Indonesia) and a rugged coastline, the only way to travel to Oecussi is on a UN holicopter or a 12 hour ferry trip from the capital, Dili.

Oecussi Enclave from the air (photo by Kate Heuisler)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently commenced a 5 year rural development project called the Oecussi-Ambeno Community Activation Programme (OCAP). Implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with funding from the European Commission, the programme aims to work directly with local government and communities in finding solutions to restore sustainable livelihood opportunities, to develop new skills and knowledge to enhance food security, and to contribute to the National Development Plan's over-riding goal of Poverty Reduction.

The Media Unit recently visited Oecussi to assist the programme staff to develop an outreach campaign for OCAP. Sebastian Urresta, a UNDP intern attended the field trip to learn about the community side of communication in Timor-Leste. Below, you can read about his experience in Oecussi.

For more information about OCAP, please contact the UNDP media office or download this fact sheet.

 

Sebastian Urresta - UNDP Media Office Intern June 2005

I never thought I would have the opportunity to travel from the other side of the world, in South America to Timor-Leste in Asia. It is a three day trip with five connecting flights but definitely worthwhile. My name is Sebastian Urresta and I am from Ecuador. I have been an intern for UNDP in the media unit for the past three weeks and will be here for another month and a half. Being an intern in this organization has been so far a great experience because of the many learning activities in the office in Dili and my first visit to Oecussi.

Last week, the media unit went to Oecussi and it was fascinating. At first, I wasn’t very excited about being in this very small town that didn’t have all the facilities outsiders are normally used to (such as electricity!), but then we moved around and started to meet people and I realized that human warmth was more than enough to be comfortable in a place like this.

Renato Da Costa translates a community meeting for Sebastian (photo by Kym Smithies)

We met with some people from Lifau Post (the only local newspaper), the local radio station, and some local organizations working in Oecussi. All of them made us feel at home. It was amazing to see how people live and work with so little but still they are full of optimism. After a while I also realized that the three hours of electricity we had at night were very welcomed and proved to be enough considering the circumstances. After all, the sun goes down at 6:30 p.m. (which is when the power is connected) and then most people fall asleep at 9 p.m. When they wake up the sun is up again and it gives them all the natural light they need. Although it may be hard at times, it is also a much simpler and less stressful life. Being there for a week made me see how lucky some of us are and how we should not complain about minor things (in comparison) that happen in our communities; the main thing the people of Oecussi want are basic services, such as water that is not contaminated, hospitals and access to information.

Our team analyzed the situation of communication in Oecussi and found many problems associated with it. The many different languages local people speak are only the beginning of the problem. It was surprising to learn that many people cannot communicate with the people of Dili (the capital) because most of them don’t speak Tetun, they speak Baiqueno (a local dialect only spoken in Oecussi). Some people (around 40%) speak Bahasa Indonesian. The local journalists are volunteers and the news they give to the people is somewhat outdated because it takes several days to print the layout in Dili and then sell the copies in Oecussi.

While in Dili the Timor Sun is distributed at no cost and there are several newspapers at a reasonable price, people in Oecussi don’t have easy access to newspapers. They do not have enough money to buy the local newspaper and so they receive little information. The local radio has a low frequency that doesn’t reach the entire enclave, and they only have electricity each evening, for short periods of time.

Perhaps an alternative solution is for people to receive information in public gatherings such as church, the market, with a summary of news on posters, etc. It may be useful for local officials to take some time to give the people some important information about main events in the region so they know what happens around them.

Children in Malelat (photo by Kym Smithies)

We shared some nice moments with the people of Oecussi while working and during the breaks we had. We joked around and enjoyed the friendliness of the children and the people in general. We also got serious when we realized the problems and challenges in this community. You can see different stories by only looking at the eyes of the elderly, and a lot of hope in the eyes of the children.

Oecussi is another part of East Timor that should be visited and that should be helped by the government and the international organizations. Before I leave for my country I would really love to explore the rest of East Timor and go back to Oecussi one more time at least.

Woman in the market (photo by Kym Smithies)

Oecussi Market Day (photo by Kate Heuisler)