A future at the mercy of strangers

Life in Dili's refugee camps is as threatening as it is demanding. But Plan is determined to relieve the physical and mental strain on the people of East Timor as long as they have to stay there.

"I hope we can move out of the camp before she starts remembering all this," says Delfina, as she lifts her daughter, Alexandrinha, off the ground.

Alexandrinha's brother has just snatched her basketball, her most prized possession, and she is crying. Delfina picks her up while balancing on the small plastic chair inside her tent in one of Dili's many refugee camps. For the past 18 months she has lived here with her 2-year-old daughter, husband Manuel and their son, Alexandrinho. No one knows how long they will stay.

"We hear rumours of the government providing compensation money, so that we can return to our homes and rebuild them," says Delfina. "But there are so many rumours, so many words and promises."

In April 2006, 600 soldiers were dismissed, triggering political and social instability in Dili. More than 130,000 people lost their homes - Delfina's family among them.

"We had heard rumours of gangs threatening to burn people's houses down," says Delfina. "But it is hard to leave your home. Then one night we woke up. The house was on fire. We were able to get the children out and leave before the house came down. We went for the mountains, and brought nothing with us."

The family survived there for more than two weeks before returning to Dili and life in a camp. But they faced threats there too and moved to their present camp near the beach.

Delfina's story is typical, according to Jose Francisco de Sousa, the child rights advisor with Plan East Timor: "There was destruction of houses and property at the time of the crisis. Many people don't have a home to return to, and even if it can be rebuilt, they lack the funds to do it."

Others live with relatives in the country and it is hard to work out who is where. After decades of bad governance under Portuguese and Indonesian colonial powers, many people are reluctant to be registered and many properties are the subject of long-running ownership disputes that cannot be easily settled.

In the meantime, Plan is committed to helping those in the camps: "Our main working areas are water/sanitation issues, child protection and psychosocial activities for the children," says Jose.

A child protection network, set up by Plan with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, helps children in the short and the longer term. The network now incorporates the efforts of organisations such as Unicef, World Vision, CCF and Care.

"We know that violence and abuse is prevalent," says Jose. "Children living in camps experience that something as simple as going to school can be unsafe. Any individual case of neglect or abuse can be addressed in the child protection network, and we can act accordingly to stop the harm done to the child."

Alexandrinha is one of the luckier children. She is surrounded by people who love her and is relatively safe and happy. Her father, a nurse in a local hospital, brings in just enough money to put some food on the table. But even Alexandrinha suffers from her experiences.

"She is very sensitive to sounds," says her mother. "It scares me to see how she reacts to sounds like sirens, or something as simple as a clap of hands. She will start crying, and runs off to hide. She will often wake up at night crying."

Jose says children need grown-ups around them with whom they can develop a trusting relationship. "Through our child-friendly spaces in the refugee camps, our volunteers are able to interact with the children, play with them or read books to them. Some children like to draw - whatever they need to get time off from camp life."

Alexandrinha attends each week. Her mother says they try hard to forget the condition they are in and the child-friendly spaces provide a place where that is possible.

"You see, as hard as these living conditions are, we cannot plan ahead either," says Delfina. "We try not to make plans, or consider the future, because our future depends entirely on other people's decisions."

Alf Berg, photographer, Plan