95 internally displaced families have now moved out of poor shelter conditions from the IDP camp inside the only national hospital in Timor Leste, to the transitional shelter in Becora, Dili.
After a year living as IDPs in a poor shelter, with almost nothing, 95 families like Juvita Soares are now a little bit closer to a solution, even though the deep problems of Timor Leste are not easy to solve.
"I'm very happy to have a new home, even though it's temporary. Here we have more space and an outdoor place for children to play", says 24 year old Juvita Soares.
She is mother of Revalino, a nine month old baby, and three year old Novenia. Her son was born at their previous home, a small tent their shared with many others, inside the hospital of Dili. For a whole year, this was their home after destruction and violence affected civilians in the capital April last year.
The shelters are all constructed by the Norwegian Refugee Council with funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, NRC is building seven camps like the one where Juvita Soares is living, in order for several hundred families to move out of poor tents to temporary homes, while durable solutions are sought.
The present political situation in Timor Leste is volatile. Currently 100.000 IDP's, or 10 per cent of the population, are living in camps or with host communities. According to OCHA, about 30,000 people are thought to be living in camps in Dili and around 70,000 with host families and relatives throughout the districts. Government efforts to encourage the movement of IDPs from camps to safer transitional locations have made little progress.
"Things are changing for the better for many of the displaced in Timor Leste, although slowly. Return of the IDPs is difficult due to lack of safety and resistance in the communities, as well as unresolved land and property conflicts dating back to the Indonesian occupation", Country Director Alfredo Zamudio says.
Both the UN and the government assume that the current IDP situation will last at least until 2008. Provision of basic services, camp management, protection activities, replacement and upgrading of shelter in addition to utility infrastructure including water and sanitation are desperately needed.
It is estimated that approximately 5,000 families currently living in 62 camps in Dili and districts will require ongoing shelter support. It is important to note that current IDP figures are an estimate, pending a formalized registration process. The latest assessments show that 3,119 houses were destroyed, 2,242 were damaged and many more undamaged but occupied by others, leaving an estimated 25,000 people homeless.
The recent violence in Timor Leste is seen largely as rooted in fragile state institutions, weak rule of law, extensive poverty and food insecurity. Further complicating the picture is an annual population growth of 3.2%, resulting in an extreme young population with median age 18,2 years. There's a high level of unemployment and the educational system is unable to meet the needs created by numerous age groups.
"The underlying socio-economic and political problem in Timor Leste reflects both the fragility of the young nation-state and poses a serious threat to the nation's future development. In fact the present situation has the potential of sending Timor Leste on a dangerous downward development trajectory since unabated conflict makes it more difficult to address the country's existing problems. NRC warns that these unresolved problems might lead to further violence and instability", Zamudio says.
According to him, the most likely future scenario is predominant low scale violence and constrains in finding durable solutions, including those addressing the underlying socio-economical problems which are constantly fuelling the conflict. Improvements of the IDP`s situation will depend on progress made to increase the sense of security and safety in the population, the level of confidence in the judicial system, as well as the ability to stabilize the socio-economic situation and resolve the political crisis.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
