A Journey From East Timor To Naga City

AdNU’s Institute for International Exchange presented “A Journey from East Timor to Naga City” last January 8, 2008 at the Fernando Hall.  Dionisio (Dino) de Jesus Lopes, Antonio (Toy) Exposto and Domingos (Mor) Manuel Morreira, our East Timorese scholars proudly showcased the History, Culture and People of their newly liberated country, Democratica de Timor – Leste, popularly known as East Timor.

To most of the faculty and students who came to witness the presentation, it was a series of firsts: first time to learn important statistical details about this small country ;  first time to hear the National Anthem of Democratica de Timor – Leste; learn that four (4) languages (Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and English) are spoken in this small country of only over 100,000 people; that the “mighty” US Dollar is the medium of exchange or official currency in East Timor for the moment and first time to hear about the rich culture and tradition of East Timor.

Dino, Toy and Mor also sang a beautiful folk song and regaled their audience with their early impressions and experiences of Naga City, most of which were funny, some embarrassing, and a few painful moments as well. Their audience felt the fervour and intent of these three young men to help in re-building their country from the rubbles and ravages of a revolution and eventual victory from foreign oppressions.

The role of the Jesuits in this re-building effort was especially highlighted with the report on Casa de Producao Audiovisual (CPA) or the Jesuit Mission in Audiovisual Production Center. The CPA is a media production facility based in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, founded in 2002 by the Society of Jesus. One of the key objectives of the CPA productions is to provide information on pressing issues such as national history and the search for identity by fostering a culture of peaceful dialogue, discussion and active participation among its audiences.

Moreover, a very concrete proof of the Society of Jesus’ commitment to helping Timor-Leste in rebuilding a nation is the presence of Dino, Toy and Mor in ADNU. They are scholars of the Jesuit Society and are expected to go back to their mother country after completing their studies and eventually help in the rebuilding efforts. By the next school year 2008-2009, three more East Timorese are expected to arrive in ADNU.

[ Click here to open the Powerpoint presentation ]