Mikrolets back at work

The “mikrolet” owners/drivers ended their strike today. It transpires that exactly two years ago, the government agreed to raise the fares from 5 to 10c for students and 10 to 20c for everyone else but that Timorese commuters refused to pay! So the government just reissued another directive which some of the “mikrolets” are now displaying in their windows, stating what the fare is and should have been for the past two years. We had no idea and feel a little guilty that we too have been paying half the fare. Both my Timorese colleague and Tetun teacher said that the Timorese are incredibly stubborn people, which explains the reason for not paying the increased fare (perhaps also they are poor and most have no jobs). This national characteristic certainly helps to explain why they so determinedly and successfully resisted the Indonesians.

Category: Timor-Leste (East Timor)