Back in Action

Hooray, back from holiday! No, that's not sarcasm....it's merely expressing happiness over the fact that I can now look forward to my next one!
Being away from Dili can, at times, be like getting over the flu:
Once you have it, you're not sure if you can deal with it any longer and it feels like it's never going to end; then, when it's over, you can hardly recall what the fuss was about at the time and you just look forward to getting on with life...exactly how it feels when I'm on holiday.
All the stuff that had bugged me for weeks, the at times unbearable circumstances here, it all fades into a pleasant cloud of distant memories as soon as that plane takes off and you realize you're actually leaving for a while...

Then, as you arrive back things don't actually seem that bad for a moment or two (ok, for a few days, really); but especially this time I was surprised:

There is a lot more color around, stemming from advertising banners, newly painted shop fronts and restaurants. There are construction projects everywhere and lots previously occupied by rubble and shrubs are slowly being transformed into residences, shops and small businesses.
A lot more students are around now, too, and some of the education projects which started off with not much more than a tent have truly thrived...try walking around Comoro Rd near landmark between 3 and 5 in the afternoon and you'll know what I mean: hundreds if not thousands of students on their way home!!!!

Malaes are more and more walking through the local neighborhoods, chatting to locals, incidents of rock throwings are on the decline and, apart from the odd theft or burglary there isn't much to speak of in terms of offending against foreigners.

IT ALL SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, RIGHT?!

Well, it kind of is:
People "in the KNOW" say that this is what it used to be like in 2005, less than 12 months before ET went up in flames....and guess what:
the signs that history may repeat itself are already there and not much different from the ones which preceded "2006-round-1" either.
Trouble within the Police force over various issues; an increasing East-West divide over who should be the next PNTL commander; Fretilin organized and threatened Peace marches being publically labeled as Coup attempts by parts of the current government if held as planned;
pay quarrels over PNTL wages; pre-existing and ever-lurking tensions between F-FDTL and PNTL over tasking and charter issues....the list goes on and on...

Where will it lead? Only God knows, with Fretilin, PNTL, the current Government and the rest of us to find out in due course.

Let's hope it doesn't indeed play out into "2006-round-2". The country truly doesn't deserve this; but as is so often case: a country's population/government is often it's own worst enemy.

The signs are there and as I see it it's a clear fork in the road; never have the two paths been laid out so obviously: one leads to peace and longterm prosperity, the other to utter distruction of hope and any progress achieved.

I dare anyone to make an accurate prediction!

I, for one, hope we will all at least have another peaceful Christmas this year....