Making poverty history in East Timor

Eugenio Lemos, environmentalist, singer and campaigner [CAFOD]

Eugenio Lemos, singer, campaigner and environmentalist from East Timor explains the impact of agricultural inputs from industrialised countries on East Timorese farmers, the environment and the economy.

He says the main challenges for the country are to prevent East Timor being forced into opening its markets and falling into debt to international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.

“The main challenge is that East Timor is only just independent three years ago but our government and some of our people are trying to push our country to go into the free market. That’s a big challenge for us,” says Eugenio.

“Also some industrial countries through international agencies like the World Bank, IMF and ADB are trying to push our government to borrow money from them. But luckily our government hasn’t taken any decision to take the money.

“But it depends on who runs the government. If they’re weak and borrow the money of course East Timor will go into debt in one day.”

His message to the G8

“How can we reduce poverty in a way that is relevant, fit and appropriate to each country in the world so that they don’t need to give debt to a small country to make them poorer and poorer and use the reason that they want to reduce poverty.

“…the poorest countries and the small countries – please just leave them alone. They know how to deal with their own country. If the industrialised countries want to support them then they are welcome. But don’t try to control the country or the people or to make them follow whatever industrialised countries want them to do.

“In East Timor, for example, during the occupation we didn’t use money to liberate the country but we used the spirit of the people. So we’re not asking for money, we are only asking for the spirit, for moral support.”

East Timor is a tiny country, just 14,000 km sq, where 80 per cent of the people live in rural areas. The basic economy is based on agriculture and half the population is illiterate.

“I grew up in very small family,” says Eugenio. “ – they were farmers. I was also working on the farm. Now as an environmentalist and also because I’m very concerned about people’s lives I’m trying to use my my intelligence to work, to represent some of our people and to encourage them to empower each other.

“We don’t want to repeat the same mistake as other countries.

“I’ve seen lots of news from other countries that have suffered a lot and are very poor It’s motivated me to do what I can to share my experience.”

Sustainable economy and environment

Eugenio works mostly in the countryside training communities but as coordinator for the Network for Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in East Timor, he also deals with the government on policy and decision making. The network has 31 member organisations.

“We are trying to reduce the amount farmers spend on external inputs which farmers have to buy or have to credit from other companies – and those inputs have to be environmentally friendly. This is for economic and ecological reasons – and of course both have to be sustainable,” he explains.

Despite lobbying from international consultants from industrial countries, the government is starting to listen to civil society, he says. The agriculture department has already drafted a food security policy adopting some of their ideas for sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.

“Sustainable agriculture is very important to empower people not to adopt modern technology too quickly if it is just destroying the environment,” says Eugenio, “but to encourage them to choose very carefully and selectively better modern technology appropriate to the country.”

Campaigning with music from the heart

As a singer Eugenio uses music to spread his message: “When I do training with a community the first point of entry to the community is to play some music.

“In East Timor music is a very good tool for campaigning. During the occupation it was very important in the struggle.

“To send a message we write a message in the songs and we just sing and make people have fun. But as well people get the message.

“So very quickly people start to sing the song, the messages go and stay in their brain and go to their heart to encourage them to struggle, to give them energy to fight for their country.

“So for make poverty history I think music is also a very popular tool to use for the campaign.”

… and will we make poverty history?

“ I’m very optimistic for the future," says Eugenio. “I think we will overcome.

“I can see the world, the society, is changing.

“I can see so many people in the world are starting to get concerned in the life of people in other countries. So we can see people not only care about themselves, but they start to care about other people as well.

"The amount of people involved is also increasing so quickly. So I am very optimistic that we can make poverty history.

“My message to CAFOD supporters is that we really need your support not only materially but your moral support to empower our people to come out of poverty.

“One revolutionary song we used to sing to give people energy while we struggled to liberate East Timor was called 'Before we were slaves'. Some of the words are: “Before we were slaves, now we are liberated. So, we want to be free.”

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