Special Libraries
Nica Correja, Library Coordinator in Alola Foundation’s Library |
Nica Correja with the reference collection |
“The Alola Foundation was established in March 2001 by Kirsty Sword Gusmao, First Lady of East Timor. The name “Alola” is the nickname of Juliana dos Santos, a 14 year old girl who was brutally kidnapped during the violence and destruction of September 1999. She is still held in West Timor by her abductor. The Alola Foundation’s initial focus was on raising awareness locally and internationally about the problem of sexual and gender based violence experienced by the women and girls of East Timor but has since then expanded to responding to the needs of the East Timorese in education, maternal and child health and economic independence. The Foundation works in direct partnership with local East Timorese women’s groups and seeks to assist survivors of violence and their families.” (Alola Foundation pamphlet)
Current programs include advocacy, economic empowerment, education and literacy, maternal and child health and humanitarian assistance. The Foundation’s website www.alolafoundation.org is an excellent source of detailed information about the programs and includes practical ways in which interested groups or individuals can assist with the Foundation’s work.
The Library was set up in September 2001 as part of the establishment of the wider organisation. The workers recognised the importance of providing access to information about the issues which Alola Foundation seeks to address. Although it has been included here as a special library it is in fact open to the general community and could well sit in the public library section. I have chosen to include it here due to the special focus of the collection.
On my second visit to East Timor I dropped in to ALOLA again and found that they had developed an additional project called Hadomi Timor Oan (Love East Timor’s Children). The project idea was developed by Kirsty Sword Gusmao and it seeks to promote children’s rights as well as addressing the stress and trauma suffered by children. The project includes provision of an outreach library program where books about children’s rights, conventions on children, human rights and children’s books are available through local community centres. The library service is organized alongside other activities as part of the wider project including drama performances raising awareness about children’s rights and celebrations for children.
Address: Avenue Bispo de Medeiros, Dili P.O. Box 3 Mascarinhas, Dili, East Timor
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Telephone: +670 332 3855
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Library type: Special Library supporting the work of the Alola Foundation
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Physical area: 120m²
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Manager/Contact person/s: Nica Correja, Program Officer for the National Women’s Resource Centre and Breastfeeding Association.
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Funding: Donations of funding through the Alola Foundation and donations of collection materials. Active in sourcing no cost materials including government reports and international NGO reports. The UNDP funds some Alola Foundation capacity building programs but not the library service.
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2. Bishop Belo Centre for Peace and Development Library
Part of permanent exhibition detailing East Timor’s struggle for independence
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Students using study facilities
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Collection and study area
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The Bishop Belo Centre for Peace and Development is a not-for-profit organisation under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Dili. Established as a “concrete manifestation of the local church’s desire to support Bishop Belo’s commitment and efforts at forging a culture of peace within the context of East Timor’s turbulent society”. Pamphlet, Bishop Belo Centre for Peace and Development.
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3. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste (CAVR) Library
"We want to learn from the lessons of the past so that we will be able to prevent similar tragedies in the future. At the same time, we wish to open the door of forgiveness and acceptance to those who were caught in the vicious cycle of violence." José Š Ramos Horta, January 2002
"The Commission provides an historic opportunity for the people of East Timor. It will give a voice to the victims who have been silenced through years of oppression and violence. For them, the Commission may help to restore their dignity and heal their wounds. It will create a record for this and future generations of the East Timorese people. That record shall stand not only as a warning not to fall into the abuses of the past but also as an encouragement to show that evil can be overcome and that good can conquer bad." Archbishop Desmond Tutu, January 2002
"To achieve true healing will be difficult. First, it will require strength and openness from victims who will called upon to re-tell often distressing accounts of traumas they have experienced. Second, and just as important, it will require those who caused the trauma to publicly acknowledge the part they played and to accept responsibility for the effects of their actions. We now await the telling of stories, the reconciliation of communities and the reforms that must prevent such violations in the future. The commitment and enthusiasm that many inside and outside of East Timor have already shown for the Commission augurs well for the success of its work." Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
January 2002
"Sometimes I get so angry I could go crazy and what I want most of all would be to have all the perpetrators killed. And then, at other times, I think: but my husband is dead, nothing can bring him back, not even revenge." Widow from Bobonaro .
The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) is an East Timorese Institution headed by seven East Timorese National Commissioners based at the former Comarca Balide Prison now CAVR National Office in Dili. It is an independent, statutory authority established by law during the UNTAET administration following a CNRT commitment to reconciliation.
The Commission commenced its core work in April 2002 and exists to establish the truth about human rights violations committed on all sides of the political conflict between 1974 and 1999, to facilitate community reconciliation and to report on its work, findings and recommendations. As well as the task of establishing the facts regarding human rights violations a key activity is to deliver personal and national healing through a truth seeking process. In the course of the Commission’s inquiry the following activities have been completed:
- 7 national hearings
- 257 community victim profiles (3999 participants)
- 7927 victim statements
- 1048 research interviews
- death toll research including and retrospective mortality survey
In addition CAVR has facilitated over 200 community reconciliation events throughout East Timor for 1403 deponents. Deponents were typically low level perpetrators responsible for less serious crimes during 1998-99 and who came forward voluntarily in a desire to make amends for their offences and restore relations with victims and their communities. The Community Reconciliation process is widely credited with making a significant contribution to grassroots peace and stability in East Timor and reducing the burden on the court system.
CAVR is due to complete its work in July 2005. There remains the legal obligation of preserving its records and archives for future reference. These are voluminous and precious, and work is currently underway in the CAVR Library and Archive to organise and preserve these records. They include original and secondary information in many forms. Discussions are currently taking place with the President and Government of East Timor about the possibility of converting the present CAVR national office into a Human Rights Museum covering the period of its mandate 1974-1999. The museum will include:
- Human Rights memorial
- Documentation Centre (including library and archive)
- Monuments to victims
- Seminar facilities
- Bookshop and coffee shop
- Administration
For further information about the Commission and its important work please see www.easttimor-reconciliation.org
Part of the library collection |
Jose labels recordings of testimonials for inclusion in the archival collection |
AVI Volunteer and Archivist Delene Cuddihy |
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4. East Timor Student Solidarity Council Library
Visitor browsing the collection
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Volunteer Chris Vertucci, Council member Natalino de Jesus Gusmao Soares and friends |
Much of the library collection sits in these boxes.
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The East Timor Student Solidarity Council was established in 1998, 17 days after Soeharto’s resignation. The Council was focused on representing the views of University students, academics and secondary schools students and the approach was about empowering “ordinary” East Timorese in political and community development.
Since the ballot of 1999 and the devastation that followed, members have been involved in various activities including teaching, capacity building projects, and rebuilding secondary schools. The struggle for independence was difficult but achieved, though the Council now feel there is another struggle to be fought – youth participation in the future of East Timor.
The main objective of the Council today is to help students develop with a perspective of returning something to society. They are committed to non-violence with an interest also in environmental issues. Main activity at present of the Dili based members of the Council is teaching English to students. Some members of the Council question the choice of Portuguese as the official language and feel English provides more options for young people nationally and internationally. They believe as East Timor is located geographically in the Asia Pacific region that the future is with the English language not Portuguese.
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5. Lao Hamutuk Resource Centre
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The following information is from the Mission statement outlined in Lao Hamutuk’s 2004 mid year report.
“La’o Hamutuk (“Walking Together” in English) is a hybrid East Timorese-international organisation that monitors, analyzes, and reports on the principal international institutions present in Timor Lorosa’e (East Timor) as they relate to the physical, economic, and social reconstruction and development of the country. La’o Hamutuk believes that the people of East Timor must be the ultimate decision-makers in this process, which should be democratic and transparent.
La’o Hamutuk is an independent organisation and works to facilitate effective East Timorese participation in the reconstruction and development of the country. In addition, La’o Hamutuk works to improve communication between the international community and East Timorese society. Finally, La’o Hamutuk is a resource centre, providing literature on development models, experiences, and practices, as well as facilitating solidarity links between East Timorese groups and groups abroad with the aim of creating alternative development models.
La’o Hamutuk does not accept financial or other support from the principal institutions with interests in East Timor – United Nations agencies, international financial institutions, major donor governments, international businesses operating here. This is essential to our role of providing objective analysis and criticism of those institutions. We rely on funding from private foundations, NGOs, governments of small countries, and individuals.
La’o Hamutuk was initiated by East Timorese activists asking for help in understanding and interacting with the multitude of international institutions which arrived in East Timor after the Indonesian military and militia violence of 1999. Working together, East Timorese activists and international solidarity activists started the organization in mid-2000.
From the beginning, La’o Hamutuk has tried to follow a model of equitable cooperation between East Timorese and foreign activists, setting an example not often seen in the United Nations or the foreign governments, international NGOs, or multilateral agencies operating here. Our collective staff structure, with everyone sharing responsibility equally, is virtually unknown here.
We are both a national (East Timorese) and international Non-Governmental Organization, participating in coalitions and networks with both types of NGOs – a role unique in this country. Most of our materials are published both in English and Indonesian in order to be accessible to various constituencies; our radio program and popular education materials are in Tetun.”
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Funding: $5,000annually for library and information resources
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6. Nakukun ba naoman (Darkness to Light) Library
The following information was collected by Fiona Meadows from the State Library of Queensland who was in East Timor from June to August 2004 as a volunteer worker based at Xanana Gusmao Reading Room.
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7. REDE Feto (Women’s Network) Resource Centre
Sonia Boavida, Netta Maia and Emily Roynestad outside the REDE Feto Headquarters
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The beginnings of a Resource Centre
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Sonia Boavida and Netta Maia with a display prepared especially for the 2 nd East Timor Women’s Congress
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Founded in 2000, Rede Feto Timor-Leste (Women’s Network) is a national network connecting, informing, and mobilizing people and organisations committed to improving the lives of women and girls, achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights in Timor Leste. Rede Feto’s mission is to strengthen the institutional capacity of its members to increase women’s participation in the development and peace-building process as well as to advance gender issues through advocacy at the local, national and international levels.
Rede Feto has 22 members-18 organisations and 4 individuals. It is an independent network, with members from diverse sectors of civil society, including mass-based popular women’s organisations such as the ALOLA Foundation, Fokuppers, and GFFTL Young Women’s Group, as well as women’s ngos, church organisations, and a men’s association.
East Timorese women have been actively involved in helping to rebuild their country. Their desire for real participation in political life after the events 1999 resulted in the formation of Rede Feto before the first National Women’s Congress to serve as a platform for advocating for women’s issues and a network for strengthening women’s organisations in East Timor. Two National Congresses have been held to date resulting in comprehensive call for action in the areas of education, economics & employment, health, culture, justice and government, transport, media, communication.
Rede Feto’s members work on a diversity of issues, including programs on women in politics, women’s health, shelters for women, gender-based violence, orphans services, literacy and education, training in the districts for women’s leadership and small business development, marketing of women’s products, and masculinity and domestic violence from a men’s perspective.
The resources produced by the network and those that are acquired continue to grow resulting in the need for a plan to be developed and implemented regarding the resource centre. The collection is significant and at present is not catalogued or organized in a systematic way. The collection contains books, reports, conference papers, articles, newspapers, periodicals and audiovisual materials. Items are available for loan and recorded in a log book.
The network hope to expand the resource centre’s holdings, organise and catalogue the collection and make it available for their members and others interested in women’s issues. A complication is the need for information to be available to all members across East Timor. Rede Fete will consider whether there is a need to establish a number of resource centres around the country and particularly in the more remote areas. This is fraught with complexity especially as financial resources are incredibly scarce.
It is planned that the Resource Centre will be included on the agenda for discussion during a Rede Feto Strategic Planning Workshop to be held early 2005. Specifications regarding requirements for the resource centre will be developed.
8. World Bank Representative Office Timor Leste - Public Information Centre
Sildonia Sarmento
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Part of the collection
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Students access the Internet and word processing facilities
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Information Technology | Two public Internet and personal computer terminals. Free access and heavily booked throughout the day. Software on pcs currently includes publisher, Microsoft Office Suite and Internet Explorer. Planning to purchase printer in near future.
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