Memories terrify Timorese

The ghosts of 1999 are driving the terror of East Timor's civilians in 2006, says the New Zealander heading the Red Cross delegation in the troubled country.

Red Cross aid workers led by Warwick Inder have in recent days had to cope with a rush of civilians fleeing to Dili seeking refuge from gunbattles between rival army factions.

More than 20,000 people are sheltering within Red Cross, aid agency and church compounds. In such close quarters, rumours were rife and spread quickly, Mr Inder said.

"Rumour here has been going around saying Dili is going to be attacked and all sorts of things are going to happen. A rumour was going around last night that in our region the rebels were going to come through and kill all the men, and so the men all banded together because they were really scared that this would happen."

Mr Inder said memories of 1999 were fresh in the minds of most East Timorese. That year, as they prepared to vote in a referendum which resulted in independence from Indonesia, between 1200 and 1500 people were killed in widespread violence. There had been shooting in some camps and a UN compound had come under attack on Thursday night, but Mr Inder said he felt "relatively" safe in Dili.

The sense of safety had increased with news that Australian, New Zealand, Portuguese and Malaysian forces were on their way, and being able to see an Australian warship out his office window was reassuring.

The East Timorese were not in a typical refugee situation, because many had cooking utensils and bedding and there was food to supply 50,000 people for the next six weeks.

Another Red Cross worker, Grant Hargreaves, from Rotorua, is flying to Dili today to join Mr Inder in coordinating relief supplies for the displaced people living in camps and temporary shelters.