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FROM THE FIELD

Norwegian Minister Visits IDPs in Dili
29 May 2008 11:20:00 GMT
 Source: Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) - Norway
Anne Soucy

Website: Website: http://www.nrc.no

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Mr. Solheim visits an IDP family living in the Becora Market transitional site. The site is built and run by NRC on behalf of the government of Timor-Leste.
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Mr. Solheim visits an IDP family living in the Becora Market transitional site. The site is built and run by NRC on behalf of the government of Timor-Leste.
Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Ramiro do Rego

Background

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The Norwegian Minister for International Development and the Environment, Mr. Erik Solheim, visited IDPs living in the Becora Market transitional site during a two-day visit to the country.

The Becora Market was built by NRC in March 2008 and is run by NRC on behalf of the government of Timor-Leste. The site consists of 137 shelter units, with an additional 27 units to be built in the upcoming moth. On May 20, Minister Solheim, accompanied by NRC, walked around the site, visited some of the shelters and conversed with IDPs regarding their new living conditions.

"Mr. Solheim was very attentive to the IDPs he met and very active in asking questions," says NRC Country Director Alfredo Zamudio.

Need for shelter The IDP families in Becora Market were previously living under bad conditions in the Dili National Hospital. They sought refuge here after violence and unrest erupted in April and May of 2006, forcing more than 100 000 people to flee their homes. The Becora Market was built in response to the need for adequate shelter for these IDPs.

The NRC team explained to Solheim the necessity of moving IDPs from the squalid conditions of the Dili National Hospital camp, both for their own health and for reasons of national interest as the Dili National Hospital is the country's main medical facility.

NRC has until now constructed a total 568 transitional shelters in Timor-Leste, providing greatly improved shelter condition to more than 3000 people.

Expressed concerns The NRC team also expressed several other concerns to Minister Solheim, including the need for a comprehensive and effective pre-movement dialogue and reconciliation process in Timor-Leste before any further IDP movement are undertaken. NRC has been advocating this for several months in the Protection Working Group chaired by the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Other issues raised were the need to address land and property rights for IDPs.

Following the crisis in 2006, extensive looting and burning of houses took place in the country. A survey of IDPs was undertaken to identify those whose houses had been destroyed or damaged. A total of 8 229 households in Dili and in three districts have registered claims indicating that their houses have been damaged or destroyed. Some cases are complicated due to the lack of documentation on land and property rights, making it more difficult to facilitate dialogue.

Minister Solheim listened attentively, asking many questions on the return process initiated by the Timorese government.

"Having Minister Solheim visit and receiving Norway's continued support is very important. Social stability is the best nutrition for the recovery of a country that has suffered as Timor-Leste. NRC will continue to support the good effort to provide humanitarian assistance in a way that seeks to do no harm," says Zamudio.

The construction and rehabilitation of the Becora Market Transitional Shelter site, as well as four other Transitional Shelter sites, was funded in large part by the Norwegian Government.

Minister Solheim was in the country to meet with the President, the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding between Norway and Timor-Leste.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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