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PrintTimor-Leste: After the violence
Oxfam is using trucks to distribute water supplies to internally displaced people. Photo: OxfamAUS
Outbreaks of violence in 2006 have continued sporadically over the past two years, creating an ongoing humanitarian emergency in Timor-Leste.
Around 150,000 people – a large number of them women, children and the elderly – were forced to flee their homes at the onset of the violence and move to makeshift camps in Dili or return to their home districts to take refuge. At the beginning of 2008, it is estimated that some 100,000 people are still displaced, with about 30,000 people living in camps in Dili.
The violence erupted out of a disagreement between elements of the armed forces in the west of the country and those from the east. This disagreement descended into open violence, drawing in the involvement of police and various criminal and political groups. While the violence has subsided, the humanitarian crisis remains.
Hygiene promotion with children in Dili camps.
Photo: Mary Patience/Oxfam
Oxfam's response
We are working with the Timor-Leste Government (the ministries of health, social solidarity, agriculture and fishery, and infrastructure) and other agencies to monitor the situation and the movement of people who have been displaced as a result of the violence. Oxfam is working in Dili, Liquica, Oecusse and Covalima districts.
Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion
We are:
- Supporting the Department of Water and Sanitation to co-ordinate water, sanitation and hygiene activities in the camps in Dili
- Working closely with the Ministry of Health on hygiene and health promotion and monitoring any increase in illness in the camps
- Supporting local partners and organisations in Liquica with water and sanitation activities
Support for safe and sustainable return of internally displaced people
We are:
- Partnering with national non-government organisations and the Timor-Leste Government to promote and support the safe and sustainable return of internally displaced people
- Supporting human rights monitoring and the promotion of human rights to mitigate conflict
- Providing input to the government's strategy for the return of internally displaced people
Food security and nutrition
In Oecusse and Covalima districts, Oxfam is working together with other organisations to address food insecurity which has developed as a result of the crisis. People fleeing Dili have moved in with families in the districts, increasing pressure on food stocks in homes, particularly given existing food shortages.
In collaboration with partner organisations, we will continue to scale up our programs aimed at improving people's nutrition and food security situation. We are currently working in 60 communities comprising some 15,000 people.
Humanitarian co-ordination
Oxfam, together with the Government of Timor-Leste, the United Nations and other agencies, is helping to provide a co-ordinated response to internally displaced people and the safe return of these people to their homes.
Oxfam is supporting the East Timor NGO Forum (the umbrella organisation for national non-government organisations), providing leadership in a range of areas related to the conflict including conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, human rights monitoring and policy development.
Protection and peace-building activities
Oxfam is working with partner organisations and the Government of Timor-Leste to ensure the rights of all East Timorese are protected.
We are:
- Supporting partner organisations to conduct community-based mediation to identify underlying issues relating to the conflict
- Supporting a community radio program aimed at promoting peace and the safe return of displaced people to their families
- Supporting local organisations to monitor and report on issues relating to human rights and justice and to promote human rights for all