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Arrival in Maliana!

ByDaniel Micu

Setting foot on Timorese soil, We set out to discover a new reality. We quickly realized that we had landed in another world.!

We were so eager to get in touch and get to know this people who suffered so much, because, years ago, we accompanied, through the mass media, several massacres to which he was subjected in the struggle for the long-awaited freedom…

Timor is a country full of children and young people, because many adults died, at this time. Many children were orphaned, because freedom cost this people dearly; about two hundred thousand people died.

everything was very different: The houses, people, to food, the costumes…

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We were also looking forward to where my wife would be working., as she is a teacher and is part of a cooperation project between the Portuguese and Timorese government.

in the end, she was told that she should teach in Maliana, a city located in a municipality at 140 kilometers away from Dili, a capital. It looks close isn't it? But, in reality, the road was not in our favor and it took us about 4 hours on the way, when the day was sunny.

in the rainy season, torrential tropical rains uproot trees and displace immense rocks that sometimes weigh hundreds of kilos, being projected by the slopes, in such a way that the road is completely blocked and many times hours are waited before the journey can be continued..

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Maliana is a calm town, very green, filled with rice fields and situated at the foot of a beautiful mountain.

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Many animals walk the streets relaxed: cows, pigs, buffaloes, goats, chickens, chicks, Ducks. We saw some deer and monkeys, but unfortunately in captivity.

Whenever we went out on the street, we heard the expression: Malae, Malae (abroad)! Initially we didn't like this expression very much, but with the passage of time we realized that it was not uttered in a prejurative sense and we got comfortable…

The children's smile was something that immediately won us over., as well as the simplicity and joy of the people, living without many pretensions.

We made some friendships that we will always remember with nostalgia and pleasure..

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