New challenges for E Timor and its people

Thousands of candles lined streets in East Timor in honor of those who died following the independence referendum two years ago

By Lynn Lee
Special to CNN

DILI, East Timor (CNN) -- They were the nameless faces in East Timor's push for independence two years ago -- the student activists who mobilized thousands to call for an end to 24 years of Indonesian rule.

In the days leading up to the referendum on August 30, 1999, images of their rallies graced newspapers and television screens the world over.

We saw their banners and heard their slogans urging the East Timorese to reject autonomy within Indonesia.

For their efforts, most of the activists were harassed by the Indonesian military.

Sebastiao Gutteres remembers the day a soldier shoved one gun into his mouth, and another against his stomach.

Gutteres says he survived only because he was working for the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) at that time.

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"I managed to get my U.N. radio out of my pocket and talk to my boss. I told him I was in trouble," Gutteres said.

"I then told the soldier that he could kill me but if my boss found me dead, the Indonesian army would be in trouble. They let me go."

Such stories are commonplace in East Timor.

Joao da Silva Sarmento, another activist, says he won't forget the day a militiaman pointed a homemade gun at him and threatened to shoot.

"To this day, I still don't know how I escaped. To this day, I still feel traumatized. But I never gave up campaigning for what I believed in," he said.

New battle lines

But if the fight then was for independence, the battle lines are a little different now.

The world is again watching as East Timor awaits the results of its first democratic elections held last week.

The activists of 1999 are quieter, more subdued, but still passionate. Many realize the story doesn't simply end at independence.

They know the challenge now is survival.

As East Timor stands on the cusp of independence, there is much to do.

Gutteres has since returned from the Kimmage Manor Development Studies Center in Dublin. He received a scholarship to study there and now has a degree in development studies.

Sarmento is completing his economics degree at a local university.

Several of their counterparts are working for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.

Many have been recruited to join the Foreign Service.

All are too aware that post-independence, survival will be an uphill battle. With a poorly educated population, and most of the territory still in ruins, East Timor will be reliant on foreign aid for many years to come.

Serving their homeland

The turnout to last Thursday's poll was huge

But there is hope among the Timorese, like Gutteres and Sarmento, who say they are committed to serving their homeland.

Gutteres returned despite numerous opportunities for him to remain in Ireland.

He says he wants to use his newly acquired knowledge to help build a new country.

"How can we not work hard after all the sacrifices we have made?" he said.

"We now have something more valuable than anything else in the world -- freedom. We have to make sure we succeed."

History too, has shown the East Timorese to be nothing, if not a determined people.

They've fought and won a 24-year battle for independence. And they surprised the world at their first democratic elections -- election monitors report no major disturbances and a voter turnout of more than 90 percent.

So while skeptics draw attention to the countless obstacles facing this country-to-be, for the activists who risked their lives two years ago, the challenges are surmountable.

Says Sarmento, "For so many years, freedom was a shadow, a dream. But we always believed we would one day be independent. Now, we are facing a different reality. Many people say we won't survive. But we will overcome."