FOR as long as they can remember, the people of Timor have never lived life the easy way. Their journey throughout history is tarnished by endless exploitation: by merchants of wood, invasion and division by European imperialists, occupation by neighboring countries, long periods of unrest, civil strife, and a geopolitical outcome that tore the island in two—all have left scars on Timor’s face.

Adding to their demise, the land offers no reli