Divided Loyalties
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DIVIDED LOYALTIES: Displacement, Belonging and Citizenship among East Timorese in West Timor Andrey Yushard Damaledo A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University January 2016 I declare that this thesis is my own work and that I have acknowledged all results and quotations from the published or unpublished work of other people. Andrey Yushard Damaledo Department of Anthropology School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Page | ii This thesis is dedicated to my parents Page | iii ABSTRACT This thesis is an ethnographic study of belonging and citizenship among former pro-autonomy East Timorese settlers who have elected to settle indefinitely in West Timor. In particularly I shed light on the ways East Timorese construct and negotiate their socio-political identities following the violent and destructive separation from their homeland. In doing so, I examine the ways different East Timorese groups organise and represent their economic, political and cultural interests and their efforts to maintain traditional exchange relationships in the production and reproduction of localities, inscribing connection and informing entitlement in Indonesian Timor. East Timorese in West Timor have been variously perceived as ‘refugees’ (pengungsi), ‘ex-refugees’ (eks pengungsi), and/or ‘new citizens’ (warga baru). I argue, however, that these labels misunderstand East Timorese socio-political identities in contemporary Indonesia. The East Timorese might have had Indonesia as their destination when they left the eastern half of the island in the aftermath of the referendum, but they have not relinquished their cultural identities as East Timorese. These distinct and complex identifications have been effective not only in the place- making practices of the East Timorese but also in the way they rebuild and regain control over their lives in West Timor. My analysis of East Timorese ideas of origin, ancestry and alliance shows that locality remains a significant feature of belonging to a place. Another feature of belonging that informs East Timorese identity is their narrative of sacrifice. These sacrificial narratives elaborate an East Timorese spirit of struggle, suffering and resilience, a feature further exemplified in the transformation of East Timorese political activities within the Indonesian political system. From acting as state agents during the violent conflict and destruction of East Timor, East Timorese are now becoming agents of their own communities and seek accountability from the Indonesian government for their sacrifice. From their initial political mobilisation directed towards Timor Leste, East Timorese in West Timor have transformed, modified and re-directed their political activism towards an Indonesian politics of resource governance and service delivery. In spite of their seemingly successful integration, a common feature of East Timorese politics persists; they have never been able to escape the internal divisions that undermine a unity of purpose. Page | iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I write these acknowledgements in genuine recognition of generosity, encouragement and support I got from many people and institutions without which this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to extend my gratitude for the Australian Government for the PhD Scholarship. I would also like to offer thanks to Wayan Darmawa, Yudhistira Yewangoe and my colleagues at the Development Planning Agency (BAPPEDA) of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Provincial Government for facilitating me to pursue my research. My greatest debt however rests with East Timorese in West Timor without whom I would never have been able to learn such rich stories and experiences. I enjoyed every moment I spent with the Makasae people and this would not be possible without the great friendship and hospitality from Agusto da Costa, Fransico Ximenes (Sico), Igidio Sarmento (Tuan Takur), Thomas Cardoso (Mau Rade), Cristiano Ximenes (Professor), Bonifacio Ximenes and Father Jefri Bonlay. I owe a great debt to Mauricio Freitas who taught me a lot about the Waima’a people and their relationship with other Timorese groups. Armindo Mariano guided me into the cultural politics of the Naueti people and Katuas Lafaek, whom I met towards the end of my fieldwork, shared his knowledge of the Tetun Terik people and their relationship with Wehali. I want to thank Mario Vieira for his support of my work among the Fataluku people and his compelling stories of relationship between Fataluku and the Meto people. My work among the Idate people was made possible by the great support from Tio Sinuk (Jaoa Soares), Leopoldo Soares, Mateus Alves, Domingos Soares and Benyamin Emmy (Pak Guru). Among the Kemak people, I would like to thank my friend Mateus Guedes, whose endless company and support enabled me to trace different East Timorese groups in Belu. Sico Pereira (Sico Naruk), Jose Naibuti and Januario Moreira gave me the insights of the complexity and diversity of the Kemak people. I owe a great thank to Ignasius Kali, the Loro of Lamaknen for his personal archives and advice about cross-border migration helped me to learn the Bunaq mobility. My good friend, Stef Bere, has helped with the translation of Bunaq poetic narratives. Maternus Bere and Hermino Lopes has also helped me to understand the variations among Bunaq people and their cross-border relationship. I enjoyed some long discussions with the old Blasius Manek whose long experience and wide knowledge of Belu gave me insights into the political history of the region. I am Page | v also indebted to the Mambai people in Kereana village for their time and stories. My work in Dili has been made possible with a great support from Charles Meluk, Sister Monica, and Nug Katjasungkana. Basilio Araujo and Filomeno Hornay taught me the politics of pro-autonomy supporters. It is my hope that this thesis may contribute to a better understanding of the rich and diverse cultural identities of East Timorese and the recognition of their dignity as East Timorese in Indonesia. A special thanks to CIS Timor, for their support during my work in Kupang, Belu and Malaka. In particular, I want to thank Wilson Rondo for letting me be part of CIS Timor. I owe a great debt to my good friend, Anato Moreira for not only sharing his knowledge of the East Timorese but also his accommodation during my stay in Betun. Wendy Inta, Hence Bere and Yanti Lina never ignored me when I interrupted their daily work with endless questions about East Timorese in Belu. I thank Marry Djami and Umbu Rame for letting me taking part in their workshop at the border. Olkes Dodi Lado has been my great support since 2007 and I owe him a great deal for his inspiring work in the Lorosae Lian bulletin. At ANU my PhD program became a challenging but exciting, enriching and rewarding journey due to the great research environment and supportive collegial spirit among academic staff and fellow students. Since commencing my project, I have been inspired, encouraged and assisted by my supervisor, A/Professor Andrew McWilliam. Andrew supported my belief in the significance of this research project and he patiently guided me to bring this to a nice end. I learned a lot from his wide knowledge of both West Timor and East Timor. I also owe a great debt to my co-supervisor, Professor James J. Fox who taught me to think as an anthropologist and always directed me to consider my ethnography first. He showed me the significance of history and guided me to interpret my ethnographic material in a meaningful way. I want to express my gratitude to my advisor, Professor Kirin Narayan. Regardless of her late inclusion in the supervisory panel, Kirin has provided great support in terms of writing style and the way I present and structure my argument. I am also grateful to Dr. Diana Glazebrook for her understanding and patient assistance in copyediting. I am indebted to Dr. Phillip Taylor and Dr. Caroline Schuster for their critical comments and advice during the thesis writing group. Professor Alan Rumsey, Dr. Simone Dennis and Dr. Ana Dragojlovic have also shaped my understanding of anthropology through their theory and methodology courses. My learning process has also been rewarding with ideas and comments from other academics in the department including, Professor Kathy Page | vi Robinson, Professor Ken George, Dr. Matt Tomlinson, Professor Andy Kipnis and Dr. Assa Doron. I want to express my thanks to the friendship and support from all my colleagues at the ANU. In particular: Stella Hutagalung, Pyone Myat Thu, Darja Hoenigman, A’an Suryana, Paulus Liu, Kirsty Wissing, Umbu Reku Raya, Armindo Maia, Owen Edwards, Karen Tu, Aderito Soares, Michael Rose, Markus Bell, Rizki Fillaili, Erlin Erlina, Indri Sari, Miranda Tahalele, Gita Nasution, Fina Itriyati, Chris Park, Yani Taufik, Adlin Sila, Helen Abbot, Wahyuddin Halim, Erna Herawati, Umar Assegaf, Omar Pidani, Fitrilailah Mokui, Lamidjo, Evi Eliyanah, Bo Seo, Viet Quan Ha, Tiffany Cone, Roger Casas Ruiz, Visisya Pinthongvijayakul, Yen Le, Le Hoang Anh Thu, Liang Chen, Geng Li, Fransesca Mosca, Xuan Dong, Udeni Hanchapola Appuhamilage, Ros Hewett, Ben Hegarty, Maria Myutel and Channa Razaque. I wish to extend my appreciation to Jo Bushby and Michèle Segal for their great administration support. I would also like to thanks ANU-Australia Awards liaison officers, Gina Abarques, Molly Li, Rozana Muir and Elaine Ee, for their partnership and collaboration.