An act of solidarity...Fairfax staff support East Timor newspaper Diario Tempo

Jose Belo is a handsome man with a startling joyful smile. Belo runs the East Timorese newspaper Diario Tempo, which Fairfax staff have been supporting through donations.

Jose Belo, the director of Diario Tempo

Two weeks ago, Belo messaged to say that the printing company had run out of paper. "I am stressed but still struggle to keep the paper alive," he wrote. He thanked Fairfax staff for their kindness in donating money to help the paper.

The Fairfax project has now delivered its first aid, a computer for layout and a printing plate, after the rental company took back the main computer at Christmas. Union Aid Abroad staff, who are overseeing the project, gave up holiday leave and helped save data, buy the new computer and draft an agreement for the paper's development in Dili.

But Belo, the director of Diario Tempo, has not always run a newspaper. For years during the occupation, he fought with the resistance against the Indonesian military. The journalist John Martinkus describes some of Belo's experiences: "As a young boy he had fled to the mountains when the Indonesians invaded [in 1975]. In 1978 he was captured ... He had been forced to watch as they raped, and then killed, his elder sister. During the next 17 years, Jose was arrested by the Indonesian authorities seven times and jailed for a total of nine years. Each time, he was beaten and tortured.

"When he was arrested at a demonstration at Dili University in 1995, three Australians witnessed the beating he received. 'They were beating him so hard the police truck was rocking wildly, like a washing machine,' one of them said ... That time he was not given food or water for four days. His arms and legs were bound and he was hung upside down overnight. He was then beaten severely with truncheons, cigarettes were extinguished on his chest and arms, and electric shocks were administered to his genitals."

Now, in the free East Timor that Belo dreamed of in jail, his newspaper works to keep the Government honest. Nine East Timorese who work on the paper - including Belo - own 90 per cent of it. The rest of the staff own the other 10 per cent.

Fairfax staff have contributed through a raffle which raised $1400 (first prize, dinner at a three-hat restaurant, went to Matt Collins on the Herald), and the workplace giving program Fairfax More Than Words. Donations total more than $4000. The aid is distributed as the money comes in. The paper's urgent needs include computers, staff training in business management and journalism, cameras and motorbikes for reporters.

The Fairfax journalist Paul McGeough said in reference to this project: "If people in post-conflict societies can set up newspapers that are independent and not locked in with local political parties or interests, it's a huge asset ... To get openness, to get newspapers working as they have to work to play their part in a democracy, they need to be funded - they need money, they need resources, they need guidance, they need training."

A five-minute film has been posted on http://media.fairfax.com.au/?rid=17926 and describes the work of the newspaper.

Last year, during a visit to Diario Tempo's office, Belo said of Fairfax: "We really need your support." Last week, Belo wrote thanking us again, saying: "Our hope is very much with you."

Staff working for Australia's greatest newspaper company, are uniquely placed to help and support Diario Tempo as it strives to buttress East Timor's emerging democracy.

You can support Diario Tempo by making a donation today , simply select East Timor Newspaper Diario Tempo on the drop down menus of the secure donation form

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.
Site proudly produced by Social Change Online

Last Modified: Thursday, 02-Feb-2006 15:05:59 EST
This page: http://apheda.org.au/news/1138834395_27233.html