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Spent round

12 gage shotgun shell
I found this spent 12 gage shotgun shell while walking alongside the road in Comoro near the Landmark Plaza on Oct 27 2006.
Stabilized bean bag empty shotgun shell.

I don’t know if it means anything but it was 2 days after a big stone throwing riot in the same area.
One of the rioters [...]

Hook darts
Hook darts are a common weapon used in Dili in the gang fighting. The good doctors Killian and Matteausz have an arrow removal service at the clinic when they are not delivering babies and diagnosing malaria and tuberculosis.
This is one that the good doctor Matteausz removed from a patients shoulder in Dr. Dan’s clinic [...]

Bad Things

Violence in Dili
There were only 2 baked chicken stands open along the beach tonight. That is a sign that things are not well and there is trouble brewing in Dili.
There is still quite a bit of gang violence in the streets at night (aug2006). The Australian police and army keep a lot of it at [...]

From the east

GNR
I don’t speak Portuguese or Tetum so sometimes I can’t quite figure out what is going on, but these are my observations.
Thursday 29 June – a group of protesters from the east arrived in town. Some were pro-Alkatiri supporters.
They had been held up aprox 15 kilometers out of town for a couple of days while [...]

east – west friction

27 June 06 – today’s photos.
Near riot. It is amazing how fast these shop owners can close down and board up their shops when trouble is approaching.
50 to 75 guys came running up the street in Colmera, a shopping district in Dili. The shoppers ran and the shopkeepers and their staff feverishly put up boards [...]

Alkatiri goes

Alkatiri
Alkatiri has indicated that he intends to resign.
The crowds at the palace and throughout Dili were celebrating in the streets.
There was supposed to be a rally at the airport that did not amount to much.
Most of the protesters stayed in town.
The people in the refugee camps watched from a distance rather than gather around the [...]

Big Day in Dili

Unhappy campers in Dili
It was another big day for demonstrations in the capitol.
The momentum for change seems to be growing.
There are demonstrators camped out all over town.Some have been here for 3 or 4 days not counting the refugees that have been here over a month.
There are a few refugee shelters in town. One [...]

Protest Rally in Dili

Protest Rally in Dili 2006
Here are a few shots from yesterdays (Saturday’s) demonstration.
The rallys have been peaceful and seem to gain momentum every day.
The energy at these protest rallys is something else.
It is a privilege in a way to be a part of it and be able to record a bit of history.
The people seem [...]

Aussies in Timor 2006

Australian Soldiers in Dili East Timor (june2006)
The Australian soldiers are keeping things under control in East Timor.
Here are a few pictures. (june 2006)

Dili 2006

Protest Parade 2006

Energy
Exciting times are unfolding in East Timor right now.
I just got back from a big demonstration in front of the palace.
The crowd is fired up chanting GO ALKAIRI! GO ALKATIRI! GO ALKATIRI! Meaning go away, get out of here, resign from office.
(English is not widely spoken here and it almost seems that they are cheering [...]