BY JOSH TRINDADE
I was given a form by one of the Government agencies all in Portuguese. I didn’t understand how to fill it. Then, I've exploded. Furious! Angry!
How come I don't understand my official language in my own country? It’s not that I am stupid. It’s not that I don’t want to learn the language.
It is that the official language was chosen to favour an elite, just a few and to discriminate the majority of normal Timorese, like me, who was educated during the Indonesian time.
The adoption of the Portuguese as a language has the intention to eliminate people like myself to have access to power. This is not fair. This is not what Timorese fought for.
Because is written in the RDTL Constitution, the elites and some Portuguese in Timor can legally make discrimination against the non-Portuguese speakers in Timor.
Often the Portuguese said to me, “you must learn Portuguese because this is in your Constitution”, little bit different than saying, “you must learn Portuguese because I told you so, because I am the colonial and you are the colonized”.
It is also so colonial when they say, “Portuguese language is the Timorese identity”.
Maybe it is the identity of the elites who were part of the colonial regime during the Portuguese time. But definitely, Portuguese language was never part of my identity, the younger generation.
I have no connection whatsoever with Portuguese culture, although I appreciate Portuguese assistance during the resistance. But bear in mind that, what Portuguese people did during the resistance is to cover their past mistakes.
They need to pay my grand father when they forced him to work for them as a slave. Pay head tax to them. Create slaves among Timorese etc. Timorese don’t owe anything to Portugal, so please leave us alone.
If any Timorese want to learn Portuguese let it be their personal choice. Don’t hide behind the Constitution to hammer Portuguese language down onto Timorese heads.
Enough people force Timorese to do things against their will in the past.
IT IS ENOUGH! CHEGA!
.
29 comentários:
Dear JOSH TRINDADE
Enough of your ignorant to learn to language, importantly what shapes culture so know the root why portugues is chosen as the second language of our official language. those who chose that not a group of elite but all maubere people.
my message is, stop acting as if you are the only victim, lots (include me) felt resistance in the beginning. but then, I suffer even more when i reject, oppose by not learning the language. you got noting to lose by learning more. I do not speak well but little but i can see now that no harm in learning the language.
Mr. Josh trindade "IGNORANCE KILLS"
-notsoanonimo-
Please, let's just agree to disagree! Joshua is not an ignorant at all! I will remove the posts if the name calling continues!
Thanking You!
Zizi
Caro Trindade,
They need to pay my grand father when they forced him to work for them as a slave. Pay head tax to them. Create slaves among Timorese etc. Timorese don’t owe anything to Portugal, so please leave us alone. ????
Onde é que o seu avô foi obrigado a trabalhar como um escravo??
Onde é que voçê ouviu falar que Timor devia alguma coisa a Portugal??
Portugal nem tem dinheiro para mandar cantar um cego, quanto mais pagar ao seu avô que já morreu há uns anos. Portugal já deixou Timor em paz desde 1975, em Portugal a ultima vez que Timor foi notícia foi no 11 de Fevereiro de há uns anos atrás. Voçê deve ter algum complexo dificil de entender!!!
Os Portugueses estão mais preocupados, por lhes terem baixado os salários em 10%!!!
Lhe garanto que as preocupações dos Portugueses não passam por Timor. Para além de Timor, são mais 6 ex colónias, todas elas bem mais interessantes que Timor Leste, pelo menos em termos de raparigas bonitas.
Beijinhos da Querida Lucrécia
Well, Josh Trindade, I thought you were an intelligent man of this new generation...I was very wrong to think that about you. Dont learn any more languages, do the humanity a favour, get us rid of someone who favours not only the ignorance, but also the stupidity of liking the language of the criminals that invaded us, killed us, tortured us, left us without our brothers and sisters.You are not timorese...
Dear Josh Trindade - A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion. ~Chinese Proverb
Josh if you were smart enough to learn and master English the way you do even though the that language and culture has no historical links with Timor, then you are smart enough to learn Portuguese which is an official language of you home country and is connected to it for many centuries before you father was even born.
Stop being lazy and start using you energy into learning rather than complaining.
Josh which language would you have as the official language of East Timor?
English? Bahasa Indonesia?
Let us know where are you coming from or what are you trying to get at.
Josh ita iha exemplo barak ita nia familia laran kona ba aprendizagem lian portugues mesmo ema husi ita nia gerasaun rasik. Hau bele compreende ita nia frustasi kona ba Fretilin oh Portugues sira maibe problema uluk liu ona agora tempo atu adia ita nia nasaun. Ita iha direito atu exige tradusaun portugues ba tetum. Oinsa ita la husu?
Go to Laclubar, Bobonaro and other rural areas and ask the kids what language they want to learn most. They will tell you: "ENGLISH!!"
Instead the 'ema bots' shove down the throats of Timorese kids a language only spoken in poor countries. Yes, Portugal is not a rich country.
Alkatiri didn't ask the kids in the provinces before he and other 'ema bots' decided to force kids to learn Portuguese.
But when younger Timorese like Josh Trindade now speak their opinion, those 'ema bots' call him a pig.
SHAME!!!
ahaha...dear josh or whomever, don't get upset because you got a critics or suggestion from others.
Like others have said. If you were smart enough, you would have learned portugues too. but instead you chose to object/reject to learn portugus and master in english.
and after 10 years, you now come to see that, gosh UN is leaving, where am i going to go?! hhmm...i know the easy way out: why not looking for someone to blame for chosen portugues?!
why others can learn portugues but you can't? what do you call yourself, a smart guy?!
you should be ashamed of yourself for not understanding portugues after 10 years while I and the others who only learn by ourselves through reading and listening from TV and Journal (using dictionary and other source such as internet)can at least understand and still keep on learning bit by bit.
Dont blame others for your stupidity but blame yourself for being lazy and reluctant to change to better adapt to the market settings.
ps: good luck with your english only mastering
"maubere oan"
Dear All,
This is me Josh Trindade.
You can say anything you want, but i speak out my mind. I am not a loser who make comments anonymousy. For me as a person, i can learn Portuguese in 3 months. Easy. But then, how about my other fellow Timorese who are not as smart as I am? What about those who do not have the opprtunity and capacity to learn the language as quickly as i do? Where should i put them? Should i master Portuguese and look down upon them and said 'you poor Timorese stay where you are, keep learning Portuguse and don't learn anything else'. Is this what you called fair? Some of you perhaps upset because iinterpreted preciley that "the reason to choose Portuguese is to dissadvantaged Timorese like me (who don't speak Portuguse) to have access to power and other opportunities. This is discrimination. This is injustice. The decision favor the elites.
Some of you upset because, YES, you are part of the colonial regime during Portuguese Time.
if you speak Portuguese how you made such comments like "Portuguese language was not forced onto the Timorese, it was choosen by Timorese. It is in the Constitution". This is what i called legal discrimination against the non-Portuguese speaker in Timor. If you speak Portuguese, you can not make comments on behalf of those who do not speak the language! They don't share your oppinions and your romatic feelings towarrds Portuguese culture. For you, Portuguese is all easy and beautiful, but perhaps not for real Timorese in the FOHO who suffered both Portuguse and Indonesian occupation
Where do i stand? I am Timorese and Tetun should be the Official language. Whatever it takes, Tetun should be there. for me TETUN, TETUN,TETUN,TETUN,TETUN, .... can you imagine the support to develop Portuguese way more compare to Tetun?
And i am so sad to read some of you calling me stupid without looking at yourself in the miror. ONLY STUPID PEOPLE CALLED OTHER STUPID. It takes one to know one.
Anyway, thanks to those who support me.
I will not respind to any more comments psoted here. Thank you.
If you wish you can write to me at sakoko@hotmail.com
to clarify:
1. I am not against Portuguese language or Portuguese people.
2. I can learn the language, easy. I leatn English by myslf and if i want, i can learnd Portuguese too. But i don't speak for myself, i speak for other Timorese who do not have the same privilage as i am.
What i Don't like:
1. it is unfair to push Timorese to learn new language. They need to leanr IT, engineering, etc using the language they already master.
3. Leraning Portuguese, Indonesian and English should be optional for the Timorese. Or perhaps Timorese should master Tetun and 2 out of the other 3 languages.
Josh Josh Josh,
First of all let us dispel some myths that people like you have been repeating over and over again hoping that it might become a truth.
Portuguese disadvantages you from accessing "power and other opportunities".
What kind of "power and opportunities" have you missed because you don't speak Portuguese?
Are you saying that all people who work in the administration, ministries, courts, parliament are fluent Portuguese speakers? If that's what you are saying then get real because that is not the case whatsoever.
Most of these people working in the public sector didn't speak Portuguese but many have tried and are trying very hard to learn. GOOD ON THEM!
Then you say that people in the foho don't share the same romantic feelings for Portuguese, but in my experience those people you mention have no big issues with it and are quite happy to learn it if given the opportunity.
But then again it is not just a question of romantic attachment to Portuguese and if you care to write your next comments in Tetum (you can speak Tetum right?) and you will immediately understand that whether you like it or not the Portuguese language is intimately and irreversibly connected to Tetum language.
You don't have to believe me. I challenge you to write you comments in Tetum from now on to prove my point.
If you can learn Portuguese in 3 months that you are indeed a very smart person.
Pity that instead of using your intelligence to help develop methods and opportunities for other other less fortunate compatriots to learn to speak it, you choose instead to waste your energy campaigning against it.
That does not seem very smart use of you time and energy.
But I do kind of agree with some other commentators. I think this anti-Portuguese feeling is more personal than you people care to admit and is fueled by an anglo-saxon lobby who is more interested that East Timor falls under the English speaking sphere of influence.
That's understandable, but it is not and it should not be a major consideration for developing official policy regarding a sovereign nation's identity.
To preserve our sovereign independent identity English and Bahasa Indonesia are out of the question as official languages, and Tetun is not only not developed enough to serve that role by itself but also not spoken in any other country in the world.
So Portuguese will have to serve that role together with Tetum and you people have to make a bigger effort to learn both official languages. Ignore at your own peril.
Hau konkorda ho Josh. Ema bulak deit mak mehi dehan Timor ne gosta los Portuguese. Id edentidade Portuguese ne'e mistisu nian. Laso Timor nian.
for anyone who continues to say that 'the Timorese decided on these languages to be in their Constitution...' should stop making such long winded, overdrawn, sweeping statements. please. you are much more intelligent than that.
go back and check the parliamentary records, the UN's records, the newspapers, media outlets, talk to people who were involved in the nationwide consultation for the drawing up of the constitution during the time of the constituent consultative assembly (before any parliament was established - actually the records will show that the constituent consultative assembly automatically installed themselves as the new parliament without so much as consulting with the people or a proper democratic process). you will find that the whole exercise of consulting the people was an entire farce.
not a single word from the people was paid any due respect. the political elite and subsequent powers to be (and they continue to be so in their power hungry pathetic existence). not on language, the flag, national symbols, culture, religion, laws (both adat and introduced conventional/malae), traditional customs, and much much more of the peoples wishes. nothing! the aspirations of the people were totally disregarded. ignored. one particular political group did manage to fight for the change of one national symbol to be change and they eventually won - for those of you who may not remember all government letterheads changed to the current one. those wonderful representatives in the constituent assembly (majority Fretilin) already had the bag sown up. they already had their constitution drawn and not that (the constitution) of the people.
so dear people, think again - the entire constitution (and any laws, by laws, decrees, etc,... stemming from this) was and remains something forced upon the people. ergo the choice of language (official, unofficial, working, or otherwise) was and is forced on the people. just imagine for a minute what else has been forced and continues to be forced on the people.
My brother Josh TRINDADE,you just got it right, now days many people tend to forget where they came from or who they are by leaning to another culture or another identity and even whorst when they together with others to invade their own culture of origin. But i think for us timorese, its for our interest that we shall not forget our culture and identity coz it differenciate us from others.
One may think that Tetun is not whorth learing, but for me i think we are kind of in the same boat by learning portugues because it is not international business languages or to compare to english it is far behind. Not to mention, globalization that takes place right now and english is highly demanded. So,, what what's gonna happen if we try to ignore the change that happening in our sorrounding by learing Portugues alone or shall we shift it to english and there will be no losers and winners but we all in the same page, so HOW IT SOUNDS....???
SOARES-Kafe-Laran
'ONLY STUPID PEOPLE CALLED OTHERS STUPID'
I like that quotation. Maluk nebe gosta insulta no hatun ema seluk la uza argumentu positivu karik malae ka mestisu ruma, tamba ba sira sempre hateke tun; nee bai2n tiha ona. Sira nunka konsidera ema TL hanesan sira nebe iha dignidade igual.
Hare tok, mestisu ou malae sira iha ne'e haruka ema hanesan Josh Trindade tenke halo tuir deit sira nia hakarak. Kompri hodi aprende Portuguese. Mais ema hanesan Josh Trindade nebe la fo ulun ba sira, entaun sira bolu dehan BEIK TEN, IGNoRANTE, nsst. Ne'e hahalok kolonialista ninian nebe sira aprende husi sira nia avo sira nebe halo otan ba ema. Sira lakohi rekunihese ema matenek ruma hanesan Josh Trindade, matenek ho ran Timor Ona ninia. Hare deit sira nia argumentu iha ne'e, se Josh mak sira tau iha kategoria beik, entau sira beik liu ida beik... Sira iha beik nia okos.
Hasai tiha lingua Portuguese husi Timor. Ida ne’e lingua ema kiak nian. Hare tok Portugal laos rai kiak nebe agora deve osan tun-sae hela ka?
Ema sira ne'e (grupu elite) hakarak Josh Trindade aprende lingua Portuguese para Josh mos bele sai ema elite hanesan sira. Atu nune'e ema hanesan Josh mos bele haluhan tiha ninia abut. haluha tiha Timor nia kiak no terus.
Mais kuandu Josh la fo ulun sira nervosu.... Koalia at Josh. Ita persija ema barak tan hanesan Josh Trindade atu luta ba povu Timor nia kiak, laos ba defende fali grupu elit nia interese.
Nai ulun riku boot sira ohin loron riku soin oioin haluhu ona karik? Ami laran makerek tomak-tomak! Uluk hananu, hakilar, tuba rai metin. Hanorin ita hotu-hotu maibe ohin loron la fiar tan ona lia fuan hirak ne -
♪ ♫ Malae halo-halo ketak Timor oan tomak. Aman oan maun alin ... ♪ ♫
♪ ♫ Balu dehan o baruk, balu katak o beik, kolele mai. ♪ ♫
♪ ♫ Balu raak o baruk, balu katak o kiak, kolele mai. ♪ ♫
♪ ♫ Tansa Timor ulun sudur uai-uain? ♪ ♫
♪ ♫ Tansa Timor oan ata uai-uain? ♪ ♫
Relembro: «No Período da Ocupação indonésia (1976-1999) o ensino da Língua portuguesa foi banido e proibido em todo o Território, excepção feita ao Externato de São José. A Diocese de Dili, contudo, publicava os seus documentos (quer da Câmara Eclesiástica ou do paço episcopal) em Português. A guerrilha comunicava-se em Português. Nalgumas repartições do Estado, poucos timorenses, informalmente comunicam-se em Português. Houve casos em que um outro jovem foi esbofeteado por saudar o missionário com um “Bom-dia, senhor padre!” (…) Num mundo globalizado, o actual panorama da existência de 4 Línguas em Timor (Tetum, Português, Inglês e Bahasa Indonésia), é enriquecedor e vantajoso. Pois cada Língua é uma janela aberta para o Mundo. Por outro lado, subsiste o orgulho da preservação da própria identidade nacional. E aqui vale a mensagem do Poeta: “A minha Pátria é a minha língua” (Fernando Pessoa)». A Língua Portuguesa em Timor-Leste - Por D. Carlos Ximenes Belo, SDB - Antigo Bispo de Díli e Prémio Nobel da Paz de 1996.
Refiro também: « «a língua portuguesa foi aprovada, por unanimidade, como o quinto idioma oficial da CGE (Campanha Global pela Educação), na sua 4ª Assembleia, realizada em Paris, na semana de 22 a 25 de Fevereiro de 2011.
A Campanha Global pela Educação (Global Campaign for Education - GCE) é uma coligação internacional de organizações da sociedade civil e ONG de sindicatos do mundo educativo, centros escolares e movimentos sociais diversificados, comprometidos com o Direito à Educação. Representa cinco milhões de pessoas, em mais de 100 países. E o Português é, nesta esfera, uma língua internacional, presente em quatro continentes.»
Não é favor nenhum aprender línguas, pelo contrário, é uma honra e um benefício das pessoas que querem ser mais plenas num mundo de comunicação. Quem sonega essa possibilidade, essa riqueza, para mim, e sem querer ofender, deve ter algum problema psicológico. Eu nunca desistirei de aprender mais, por motivo algum, muito menos por razões de camuflada opressão política e cobiça territorial. Por isso, hoje falo Portugues, Francês, Ingles, entendo Espanhol, compreendo Italiano, percebo um pouco de Alemão, um pouco de Russo, sei palavras em Quimbundo e em Tetum...e quem me dera ter muitos anos de vida e tempo para aprender mais línguas e conhecer mais falantes das mesmas.
Tenho pena que alguém descrimine uma lingua, qualquer que ela seja, apenas por medo, estupidez, inveja e falta de lucidez.
Enfim...abram os olhos, reféns de ardis...
FORCA HALO REFERENDUM NASIONAL PARA TROCA TIHA/HATUR LOLOS LIAN NASIONAL IHA TIMOR LOROSAE,ITA TENKI APOIO ITA NIA GENERAL TAUR MATAN RUAK NIA LUTA NO IDEA MOS TANBA NIA MAK TIMOR NIA RAAN PURU HANESAN MOS LOBATO-REIS I SELSELUK TAN NIA HANOIN LAOS GUSMAO HO HORTA OU ALKATIRI SIRA NIA INTERESE HODI DEFENDE DEIT MISTISO SIRA NIA INTERESE IHA TIMOR.!!CHAO
Marromak, hau foin rona ida nee, RAN PURO IHA TIMOR, MAK LOBATO HO REIS SIRA. bE SIRA HOTU PURO HANESSA NEE MATENIK LIU SIRA HOTU BE LA OS PURO. Be sira estuda saida, Sira halo saida?????Hau hare balo be laos ran puro hanessa Xanana ho Horta, ho ema seluk tan mak luta makas ba sira hoin loron koalia ho ibun bot.
Ema nebe foti an ka halo an hanesan elite nee tanba sira nia karakter privadu maka hanesan nee duni. Laos tanba sira koalia portuges.
Ema balu hosi foho ba hela iha Dili bainhira sira fila fali ba sira-nia knua iha foho halo an dehan sira hatene koalia Tetum deit, haluha tiha ona sira nia lian lokal.
Bainnhira ita hotu kritika UNMIT dehan sira nee mesak ema elite halo an hanesan sira superior liu timoroan, la kahur ho ema Timor, maibe ema sira nee koalia Ingles.
Timoroan balu koalia Ingles mos foer hela maibe halo an hanesan sira diak liu maluk seluk nebe la koalia Ingles.
Hanesan deit, sa. Atitude halo an, foti an nee laos buat ida kusus ba sira nebe koalia Portuges.
O bele koalia Ingles, xines, franses, ka lian nebe deit mos importante maka o nia karakter nudar ema.
Take Portuguese language back to Portugal. Let TETUN flourish in the land of TIMOR. And let Timorese choose their language.
Josh Trindade indeed brave man. He speaks out his mind. Not like those loser who hide under their mum's armpit and critisize a brave smart men like Josh Trindade.
Dear Josh,
Do not worry. People dont like you because they are jealous of your intellengence. Keep up the good work. don't let the idiots stop you from speaking out the truth and injustice in TL.
Brother,
Do not blame your stupidity on Josh.
Josh did not say anything about Australia. He did not support english either. HE made it clear that he wants TETUN to be developped.
He did blame the Portuguese colonialism, that his rights, if he suffers from this, he has the right to make a complain, and you have no right to stop him from speaking out his feeling.
Again do not make 'your stupid interpretation of what Josh said as if it is coming from Josh'. You better go back to school and get some proper education before you engage in high level discussion like this.
Peace!
"Dear Josh,
Just a few questions:
How much do your fellow australians pay you to declare you opinions? Or they just "whisper" you some ideas, taking advantage of your (more than legitime) feelings, ideas based on so- called "facts"that you don't even dare to cross-check?"
...
Este comentário foi removido devido aos ataques ordinários e infundados a Josh Trindade. Em democracia, cada um tem direito de expressar a sua opinião e é óbvio que podemos discordar, mas de uma maneira civilizada, sem necessidade de insultos gratuitos.
Quando concordamos sempre, é sinal de que algo está errado, e a política do YES SIR, não tem lugar neste blogue.
Muito obrigada a todos os comentaristas pela vossa participação neste debate.
Maria do Rosário Pedruco
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