Solving one’s own problems

On a two day tour of Dili, USA Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher Hill met with President Gusmao and PM Ramos-Horta to talk about challenges facing the Timorese government, including issues such as unemployment and the new United Nations mission. He was quoted on Radio Australia as saying that “at the end of the day, the people of East Timor need to solve their own problems and not the United Nations”.

For me this is like saying to a child who has been abused by strangers, neighbours, friends, and family, that it must immediately start functioning as a “normal” child or adult without any assistance (such as intensive counselling, financial compensation or welfare support) or legal justice for the abuse they experienced. Who would expect such a child to function “normally”, without ramifications for many years? How can the international community expect Timor, a nation of one million similarly abused people, to do otherwise?

Category: Timor-Leste (East Timor)