Although nearly forgotten by the international community, about 10 percent of the population of East Timor remains trapped in squalid refugee camps in West Timor. That's the report from Winston Neil Rondo, chief executive for the Centre for Internally Displaced People's Services, a humanitarian agency based in West Timor. Concerns include the participation of the military in the registration process, the lack of international observers and the pressure on the refugees to resettle in Indonesia rather than return to their homeland, Rondo said. East Timor remains under a transitional U.N. administration.
Full independence is scheduled for early next year.
Rondo, a native of West Timor, has worked with East Timorese refugees there since September 1999. Cooperating with international agencies, his organization has provided humanitarian assistance, worked with women victims of violence, investigated human rights abuses and supplied accurate information about the situation back home. Begging is common for refugee children. They have no education. Refugees have had difficulty returning home because they have been separated from their families and because the camps are surrounded by militia groups that exert control and spread misinformation.