Timor marches to its own beat

.

Gleno is a bustling coffee-growing village 90 minutes from Dili. Picture: Lindsay Moller

Gerard Barry - The Australian - March 26, 2011

THE INCIDENTAL TOURIST

THE road to Ermera does not suffer fools. The hills are steep and the road is narrow.

You will share it with goats, pigs, chickens and cows as well as people young and old, walking, pushing carts, carrying bundles, carting water or selling from stalls along the way.

But give it the respect it demands and it will lead you into a wonderful coffee-growing region in the hills south from Dili, capital of East Timor.

Thirty minutes out of the capital the road offers breathtaking views back across the water to the island of Atauro. Press on for another hour and the road drops into the valley where Gleno, the district capital, is located.

Thursday is market day in Gleno and by 7am bustling commercial activity is already in full swing. Vendors have come from near and far. Traditional woven cloth, or tais, is available at an excellent price but you won't be hassled to buy. This is a market primarily for locals.

And no matter what day you're in Gleno you can buy Timor's best bread rolls at Francisco's bakery, but buy early because Francisco is a local treasure, not a local secret. He has baked bread through Portuguese, Indonesian and now Timorese times. Francisco's friendly smile and sparkling eyes suggest a joyful engagement with life characteristic of so many Timorese.

The mountains beyond Gleno feel like a gigantic coffee plantation. Huge trees have been planted to provide a canopy for the coffee plants.

They add grandeur to a country that offers spectacular scenery at every turn in the road. Ermera Kota, once the district capital, is the next town on from Gleno. With a little help you can find the local path connecting the two towns. In less than two hours you can experience the sort of country Australian soldiers moved through during World War II.

Pedro runs Radio Cafe, a small community radio station in Gleno. He talks proudly about his father who died a few years ago aged 98, lucid, respected and fluent in five languages.

One day in Ermera we meet two Gippsland farmers, brothers whose father survived the war with the help of such Timorese as Pedro's father, many of whom lost their own lives in the process.

You can catch a local mini-bus, or mikrolet, from Ermera back to Gleno. There is likely to be a goat or a pig or both on the roof and a crowd inside, but the journey is not so uncomfortable. Besides there is a great deal to observe in such a situation and although it might not extend to the chicken near you, a quiet and respectful courtesy always prevails among the passengers.

Bamboo decorations along the road mark the many transits of the statue of Mary during the year. The associated processions will involve large numbers of school children and adults and are celebrated with colour and song. The Timorese have an expectation that religious or civic events will take time and no one complains.

When President Xanana Gusmao visited Gleno, his arrival was preceded by a band with traditional instruments and dress that marched around the streets for two hours. It was like a scene from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. When he finally arrived, Gusmao shook hands with many of those who had lined the streets and then participated in a lengthy traditional welcome ceremony.

I suggest to Carlos, a Timorese friend, that an Australian prime minister in such a situation would have drawn a tomato tossed from the crowd. But as you will discover if you visit this country, just an hour from Darwin, Timor has its own way of doing things.
.