East Timor and Unforgettable Visual Memories

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

Dili residents enthusiastically wait to vote at a polling station in Bemori elementary school, Dili on Sept. 30, 1999.

East Timor has been part of the journey of the Indonesian nation. East Timor became the 27th province of Indonesia in 1976 and later became an independent state by the name of Timor Leste in 2002. The region located on Timor Island has many stories, including the process of East Timor residents’ referendum to decide on either remaining part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) or choosing to be self-governing. The referendum in 1999 was in the global spotlight and emerged as the identity of an important journalistic event.

For Indonesian photo journalists in the 1990s assigned to East Timor, they have unforgettable memories. The journalists who were in East Timor during the referendum underwent highly uncertain conditions. They had to take pictures of whatever they encountered while striving to protect themselves from fatal happenings. As they were working, they also witnessed agonies before their eyes, watching fellow countrymen who would be separated as a consequence of differing states.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

An inscription of heroes’ names at the Seroja Heroes Cemetery complex, Dili on Nov. 1, 1999.

Kompas photographer Eddy Hasby on Monday, 30 August 1999, had already been in Bemori State Primary School, Dili, since that morning. On that day, residents were lining to cast their votes in connection with the referendum. Eddy Hasby chose a high angle to record the moment. He borrowed residents’ ladder to reach the roof of a house where he was going to snap the event. Photos of the queuing residents for voting constitute one of the nation’s memorable pictures depicting the last instant of East Timor as part of Indonesia.

“The East Timor photos have visually disturbed by psychological condition. I feel sad to see my fellow citizens stepping even farther away. When the pictures were compiled into a book, Long and Winding Road, East Timor, I asked the curator of the book, Oscar Motuloh, to make a neutral sequence of the photos, which wouldn’t disturb my sleep anymore,” said Eddy Hasby as a speaker in a Kompas photo discussion program, “A Story of 1999 East Timor Referendum Coverage”, via Zoom that was also broadcast on the Kompas Daily’s YouTube channel on Sunday (28/8/2020). The East Timor coverage by Eddy Hasby has now become photo archives of high value for Kompas as well as the Indonesian nation. Behind the forceful photos, while in East Timor, Eddy Hasby observed two sides of life, which were the joy of residents in determining their choice and on the other hand the anguish of disputes, scorched cities and slain inhabitants in the conflict.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

The riots could not be avoided after the pro-independence camp won the polling result on Sept. 26, 1999.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

The crew of KRI Teluk Banten perform Maghrib prayers on the deck of the ship, which anchored at Dili Harbor on Oct. 30, 1999.

A photographer of America’s news agency, Associated Press (AP Photo), Dita Alangkara, also felt very emotional when he was in East Timor. It was Dita’s first assignment as a photo journalist of AP Photo. At the time, as a youth, he had to witness the separation of his nation. His winding journey in order to enter East Timor has also become an unforgettable recollection.

The tumultuous condition in post-referendum East Timor threatened the lives of all people in that region, including journalists. Andi Riccardi, a cameraman of APTN, recounted that his dwelling place in Dili in the evening was a target of gunshots by a group joining the city scorched-earth mission. In a cornered condition, his gut instinct got a boost. He put on the symbolic attribute of the scorched-earth group previously given to him by the group’s leader and then with a loud shout he managed to send the mob off so as to stop shooting his home. The next morning, Andi found his action had saved not only himself, but also hundreds of women and children who had been hiding in the badminton field right behind his house.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

Dili residents wait in line for food distribution at Dili Stadium on Oct. 15, 1999.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

Interfet troops are seen in Dili in October 1999.

East Timor has not just left memories of sadness. Senior photo journalist Oscar Motuloh reminisced about East Timor as a beautiful place. Its population’s character, hospitality and cultural history served as appealing objects of photography. The natural beauty and cultural grace of East Timor contributed to the Indonesian nation’s diversity much to be proud of.

On his East Timor journey, Oscar recorded the curves of brownish yellow hills as well as the sincere smiles of local people dressed in regional costumes they took pride in.

The photos of East Timor represent stories that will always remain in the minds of those who have ever been present there. Sad or happy stories make up the process of maturity of a nation.

KOMPAS/EDDY HASBY

Kay Lara Xanana Gusmao behind the walls of the Cipinang Prison, Jakarta

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Timor Leste citizens celebrate the national independence ceremony in a field in Dili, Timor Leste, on May 19, 2002.

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Timor Leste children sit around peacekeeping personnel from Portugal in Baucau, Timor Leste, on May 9, 2007.

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Peacekeepers from Australia inspect residents at a security checkpoint in Dili, Timor Leste, on April 10, 2007.

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Timor Leste children look at a rainbow in Dili, Timor Leste, on April 7, 2007.

OSCAR MOTULOH

A book titled Last Timor A Photographic Record, which was published in 1992.

OSCAR MOTULOH

Integration Monument 1992

OSCAR MOTULOH

Los Palos, 1992

OSCAR MOTULOH

East Timor waters, 1992

OSCAR MOTULOH

Maubisse, Timor Timur, 1992