Bringing order to the chaos of East Timor

After more than 400 years of occupation, East Timor is readying itself for independence. New Zealanders are helping the Timorese to go it alone, as JOHNATHAN SCHWASS reports.

The port in Dili, East Timor, is one of the town's most frenetic spots. Amid clouds of swirling dust, United Nations soldiers and local dock workers manoeuvre forklifts and cranes at high speed in and out of stacked containers. A constant stream of trucks move in or out, loading or unloading cargo connected with the huge international mission that is restoring peace and stability to East Timor and readying it for independence.

Amid the noise and apparent confusion, the customs shed is an oasis. A small team of East Timorese is patiently checking through poorly loaded boxes containing bottles of some unidentifiable liquid, looking for contraband.

Their supervisor is Tauranga customs officer Mark Farrington, who has swapped the peace and order of home for a UN mission in one of the world's trouble spots. He is one of 18 New Zealand customs officers who have served in East Timor since 1999.

Their work is financed by New Zealand Official Development Assistance (NZODA), the Government's aid agency, which has allocated $2.1 million to East Timor in 2001-02. Those funds support projects in education, community development, natural resource development and good governance - a category in which $150,000 is budgeted this year to help New Zealand Customs build a border control service.

"I can honestly say this is the most rewarding experience I have had in 31 years of customs work," Farrington says.

"There's a bit of everything to do and a lot of professional pride from being able to implement new systems and help bring the local people to a point where they can do this work themselves."

In East Timor there is the challenge of developing a Customs system from scratch.

It's a big job. For 400 years East Timor was a colonial outpost of Portugal, before being invaded by Indonesia in 1975. There have been few opportunities for the East Timorese to learn management skills or run infrastructural services and facilities.

Soon that will change. A 1999 referendum comprehensively rejected Indonesian rule and was followed by violence and destruction from pro-Indonesian gangs. An international military operation and subsequently a UN transitional administration and peacekeepers have stabilised the territory. Now East Timor is on the path to independence - a goal most observers think will be reached early next year.

So there is some urgency about making sure the East Timorese have the skills they need to take over from the UN. Farrington is helping to make sure the shift of control is a success, and it's a mission he takes seriously.

"The East Timorese want to learn and there is tremendous satisfaction in working with people who appreciate what we're trying to do. They value having regained East Timor [from external control] and understand the internationals are here to help them move to independence as soon as possible in a sustainable way."

After four rotations of New Zealand customs officers through East Timor, and help from other nations, Farrington believes the East Timorese are well on their way to being able to run a basic but efficient border control service.

Already reliable systems are in place in areas such as cargo accounting, cargo movements, people movements and revenue accounting, he says, but more work is needed in some categories that need either special skills or equipment.

For instance, ship searches, where considerable technical knowledge and good safety gear is required, wharf patrols (the East Timorese tend to be "a bit shy about challenging people"), and intelligence coordination.

Farrington has had his three-month mission extended so he can work on these outstanding issues.

Comptroller of Customs Robin Dare says Farrington and fellow officer Trevor Wilson, of Auckland, will be staying on until Christmas.

"East Timor is a tough posting and our officers there have the support of all their colleagues back home. We're all very proud of the work they're doing," Dare says.

Farrington's extension means another four months' absence from his wife Glenis and two adult children, all of whom, he says, are supportive of what he is doing in Dili.

It will also mean another four months living in conditions that many New Zealanders would shrink from. He, Wilson and Wellington customs officer Kevin Morel share a former veterinary clinic alongside a dirt road on the outskirts of Dili.

The neighbours' rooster starts crowing at 4 am, and pigs, dogs and chickens wander outside. Inside, the clinic is not unlike a rough student flat. It is hot because the air conditioning doesn't work. The water is cold and the electricity is erratic. Farrington has to sleep on the floor inside a mosquito net. And he loves every minute of it.

* Jonathan Schwass visited East Timor on behalf on NZODA.

Feature: Indonesia

CIA World Factbook: Indonesia (with map)

Dept. of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

Antara news agency

Indonesian Observer

The Jakarta Post

UN Transitional Administration in E Timor

East Timor Action Network