People were killed in East Timor, others killed at sea, many more in West Timor and further afield. Graves are still being investigated. Teresa Monteiro is in her last year of high school in Dili and saw both her parents killed in Dili in September 1999. Timor Aid has happily paid for Teresa'a final year of schooling, as it has done with Suzanna Maia and Adoli Pinto, who are 1999 orphans and also in their final school year. Sadly though, when Teresa asked if we could help her with university fees, starting mid 2001, we had to say no.
Orphanages keep popping up.
Celestino Pereira and his wife are looking after 21 children aged between 3 and 10. A debate goes on about whether these places should be allowed to exist. But, housed in a minute room with 5 to a bed, there is much to be done. Celestino is a good guy, but he needs a lot of funds. Their toughness in the face of adversity and poverty is something Westerners admire, but probably not enough.