Mouth-watering Papaya

Tweet We're in the middle of papaya season and this one is considered a "normal" sized fruit. I've seen bigger, but no fun toting them around at the market. This guy cost about one dollar. The bananas in the background were 50 cents a bunch.

The inside of the papaya looks like this:I start the day with a bowl of papaya, bananas, fresh tangerines and oranges and raisins mixed with locally-produced honey. Stir it up and enjoy. Delicious!

Commuting Past the Mango Tree

Tweet I'm lucky. I have a very short commute to work. I walk outside my front door and directly in front of me is the picture you see above. A tree loaded with mangoes. I climb down the stairs and duck to miss the mango trees' leave and mangoes. Like I said, I'm lucky. My office is directly below my flat.

As you can see, the mangoes aren't quite ripe yet, but my colleagues tell me that by June or early July -- we'll have to pick quickly or the neighborhood kids will climb the tree and make off with them -- which is ok, too.

Remembering Springtime in Tajikistan

Tweet Springtime thaw is incredibly beautiful in Tajikistan. Snow on the distant peaks and new life in the valleys.
These photos were taken in northern Tajikistan in May 2007, during a roadtrip from Khujand to Dushanbe, the capital. It became a three day trip after the road washed out.This beekeeper worked his hives without wearing any protective clothing -- the same as my dad. He always says "if the bee senses fear, it will sting, so don't be fearful when working with bees.

Dropping the Flag

Tweet During the closing ceremony of the Independence Day celebration in Dili yesterday, an honor guard lowered the Timorese flag in front of the Government Palace when suddenly as the flag was being folded -- one of the honor guards dropped part of the flag onto the ground.

There was a collective gasp around me.

By the look on his face, the honor guard was in shock, himself -- and no doubt deeply embarrassed. A few seconds after the incident, he kissed the flag.

I had not realized the significance of the incident until I talked with my colleagues.

Many Timorese are superstitious and that includes issues concerning the flag. Some believe what happened yesterday is a bad omen -- signaling trouble ahead.

I was quickly reminded this morning by colleagues that on May 20th, 2002, when the flag was raised for the first time at Government Palace over an independent Timor-Leste -- the flag did not flutter. Within months, they said, new violence broke out.

The photograph of yesterday's incident appeared on the front page of one of the major newspapers, The Timor Post, with a short description of what happened.
One of my colleagues said his neighbor who saw it happen on television -- ran out of her house -- sobbing. He said she told him -- we are not going to be safe.

The reaction to yesterday's incident shows just how on edge people are -- it was just over a year ago that an assassination attempt was made on the president.

The main opposition political party is already attempting to politicize the incident by declaring that the ruling party is in trouble.

By the middle of the afternoon today, the President and Prime Minister were holding high level meetings to discuss how to handle the whole thing.

Independence Day in Timor Leste

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Seven years ago today Timor-Leste became an independent state -- the first nation of the 21st century. The anniversary was marked with parades, speeches and concerts.Below: Members of the band, resting after a long march on a hot day!The anniversary celebration concluded with a series of performances -- including two songs by a Japanese soprano. It may have been the first time many in the audience had heard opera.

When she hit her first few high notes -- many people in the audience tried to imitate her -- it didn't appear to be in a mocking way, but in a way that suggested they'd never heard singing in that form before. After each song, she received tremendous applause.

The Sacred Crocodile of Timor-Leste

Tweet The map of Timor-Leste looks something like a crocodile -- the small lake near the eastern tip serves as the crocodile's eye.

My Timorese colleagues tell the story of how, many, many years ago, a small crocodile lived in a swamp in a far away place. He dreamed of becoming a big crocodile, but since food was scarce, he left to find the sea. However, the weather became increasing hot and still far from the sea -- the little crocodile began to dry out and lay down to die.

Along comes a little boy who takes pity on the little crocodile and carries him to the sea. The crocodile, forever grateful, tells the little boy "you saved my life, if I can ever help you in any way, I will be at your command."

A few years later, the boy goes to the sea and calls on the crocodile, who is now big and strong. The boy tells the crocodile that he has a dream. "I want to see the world," he says.

The crocodile says "climb on my back" and then asks "which way do you want to go?"

"Follow the sun" says the boy.

So they set off for the east and they travel the ocean for years and years, until one day the crocodile turns to the boy and says "we've been traveling a long time, but now it has come time for me to die. In memory of your kindness, I will turn myself into a beautiful island, where you and your children can live."

As the crocodile began to die, he grew and grew and the ridges on his back became the mountains and his scales the hills of Timor.

Today, when Timorese people swim in the sea, when they enter the water they say "Don't eat me crocodile, I am your relative."

Under the Coconut Trees

Tweet Not a good idea to sit under coconut trees especially if the coconuts are ripe and ready to fall. Periodically, I read stories here about people who have parked under coconut trees and wind up with broken windshields! Below is a photo of a beach I visited for the first time today. Lots of fishing boats, but almost no one on the beach.

This is a traditional fishing boat. This is what most fishermen use.
These boys put on a show for the camera.
From the beach, off in the distance is Atauro Island. It's a two hour ferry ride.
This beach is not easy to find -- drive off the main road onto a dirt road, pass the school and around behind the church and to the right side of the graveyard. As you exit the coconut grove, this is what you see.

Rain on the Roof

Tweet Darkness is descending on Dili.

The remnants of the red clouds to the east have just faded to gray as the sun dropped over the western horizon.

Hints of fog can be seen in the distance -- on the surrounding mountains.

It's raining there.

It's also raining here -- hard at times. The big drops are pounding the roof -- intermittently eliminating the traffic sounds on the street below.

It is calm.

The gray clouds have disappeared in the darkness.

Group Punishment

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A friend told me the other day that her mom, in Baku, Azerbaijan, had no water in her apartment. When I asked what happened, she told me that several people in the building had refused to pay their water bills. So, the state-run water company cut off everyone's water until those who had not paid, paid up.

The technique is effective, but not before everyone suffers -- including, of course, those who pay on time. My friends' mom had to do without water for nearly three weeks before her delinquent neighbors finally paid up.

While everyone has his or her own water meter in their apartment, there is only one cut-off valve -- a holdover from Soviet times -- when water was very cheap.

Remembering Tajikistan

Tweet Sundays were often spent hiking in the mountains and valleys of Tajikistan -- usually within 50-60 miles of Dushanbe, the village-like capital. Sometimes there would be bridges -- often made of twigs, but other times you'd have to pull your boots and socks off and wade. In the spring, the water could be quite cold since it was coming off a glacier.

Below is a picture of the big market in Khujand, Tajikistan's second largest city. The market is always a fun place to visit and a great place to bargain.


And this is a shot taken in Dushanbe in 2007. He was my local baker. For about 25 US cents you could buy a bread loaf.

World Press Freedom Day - Day 2

Tweet More than a hundred journalists came together in Dili, Timor-Leste on Sunday to mark World Press Freedom Day. The event was held at Hotel Turismo -- a fitting location -- in that many international journalists bunked there while covering the tragic events in 1975 when the Indonesian occupation began -- and they stayed there again in 1999, when Timor fought for its independence.

Sunday's event was held in the hotel's beer garden -- with a canopy of cocoa trees providing cover from the afternoon heat.

Otelio Ote, the president of one of the five journalism associations in Timor-Leste, noted that no journalists are jailed in this country. He urged all the journalists present to make sure they make themselves heard when the latest draft of the Media Law is revealed. He said the document must contain input from journalists to ensure the law doesn't hinder their ability to their jobs. Journalists were able to get defamation out of an earlier draft -- that could have potentially sent those convicted of defamation to jail.

It's exciting to be living in a new country (seven years old on May 20th) that is still crafting its laws. Timor-Leste has a chance to create the best media law in the world -- one that journalists would help write. Who better to help craft the media law than journalists? After the speeches, journalists danced in the rain to reggae music.

World Press Freedom Day

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World Press Freedom Day is tomorrow and I've been trying to recall how I spent the day last year. I honestly can't remember and I think it is because it passed quietly. I was living in Azerbaijan - a place where journalists aren't really able to write or say anything that might be critical of the government.

World Press Freedom Day activities began today here in Timor-Leste and I couldn't help comparing the differences with Azerbaijan. Here in Dili, journalists began gathering around 9 a.m. at the street named Freedom of the Press Avenue -- where they then walked almost the entire length of it. In Azerbaijan, a gathering of this sort would have been banned. If a small group had gathered in Baku or any other Azeri town or city, the police would have shown up and asked everyone to move on.

Today's event in Timor-Leste drew about 75 journalists -- who distributed free bumper stickers and newspapers. The main reason for this particular event was to remind merchants and motorists that the street was named Freedom of the Press Avenue -- nine years ago. Some people are apparently unaware of that and continue to call it by its old name.

I joined the journalists on their walk along Freedom of the Press Avenue -- which begins near the city center and ends at the foot of the hills -- a distance of several kilometers. We didn't actually get to walk the entire distance. About 200 meters short of our goal -- local police stopped us and asked us to turnaround. They were very polite, but said we should have had a permit.

Tipping Point in Azerbaijan?

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Today in Baku, one day after the senseless shooting at the prestigious oil academy that left 13 people dead, students took to the streets demanding answers. The government has released very few details of what happened. Based on video shot today at the demonstration and placed on www.top7.az, it looks like thousands of students demonstrated near the school -- they came to demand that the government give them answers and to demand that the government observe a day of mourning for the students. This appears to be totally impromptu and amazingly the police did nothing today -- unlike the last demonstration that was held in Azerbaijan -- in 2005. At that time, protesters took to the streets after the sham presidential elections -- dozens of people were beaten.

Today, police and the Aliyev government appear to have been caught completely off guard by the demonstration. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Students are vowing to continue their protest until they get some answers.

In March, in a staged referendum by the presidential apparatus, the current president was given the right to serve as long as he likes.

Many Azerbaijanis, perhaps most, were angry over this rigged referendum. Perhaps, Thursday's senseless shooting by a gunman in the oil academy is the spark that will force the government to be accountable to the people -- for once.

Sunset in Dili, Timor-Leste

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Remembering Uzbekistan

Tweet When I was in Uzbekistan a few years ago, I stopped in Bukhara for a few days and happened upon this rather strange event. It was a fashion show featuring Bukharan and Russian models inside the Nadir Divanbegi Medressa. They wore a mix of traditional and modern clothing and were dancing to traditional Tajik music. The models' runway attitude and walk were straight from the Fashion Channel.

The 154 foot high Kalon Minaret was built in 1127 and stands in the heart of old Bukhara. Chinggis Khan was apparently so impressed with it when his Mongol forces arrived in 1219 that he ordered that it be spared. The Kalon Minaret used to be the tallest structure in Central Asia. It is also where a number of unfortunate souls lost their lives. When they angered the ruler, they were sometimes tossed from one of the minaret windows in a sack.