Dear leftlink members
Nelson De Sousa Carvalho Belo is currently visiting Melbourne as a delegate
of the East Timor Student Solidarity Council (ETSSC).
ETSSC is a national student organisation which was an important part of the
clandestine network working for independence during the Indonesian
occupation. It played a pivotal role during the UN Ballot, coordinating
information dissemination in Dili and all regional centres and, as a
result, was often the target of violence by the Indonesian military and
militia before and after the Ballot. In 1999, the Norwegian-based ISFIT
awarded ETSSC General Secretary, Antero Benedito da Silva, the inaugural
International Student Peace Prize.
ETSSC is now playing a crucial role for students and young people in East
Timor. In the absence of an education system, it is organising "capacity
building workshops" and "community study groups" for young East Timorese in
Dili and regional centres. This is allowing tens of thousands of East
Timorese to continue their education. It will also provide language skills
and other training which will ensure that East Timorese can find employment
with the United Nations and the many NGOs currently in East Timor.
Amongst the many resources which ETSSC urgently requires are books. In the
violence which followed the UN Ballot books were often targeted for
destruction.
An urgent appeal for books, second hand or new, is under way.
Donations can be left either in the designated box, at the Freetimor
Campaign Office, Trades Hall, Lygon Street, Carlton, or in the Farrago
Office, 1st Floor, Union House, Melbourne Uni.
Any books in English are useful to some degree, since many students are now
learning English.
In particular ETSSC requires books on the following subjects:
-Teaching English as a second language, English Grammar, English
Dictionaries, English-Bahassa Dictionaries, English-Portuguese Dictionaries;
-Mechanics, electrical and motor,
-Tourism
-Conservation, the Environment, Environmental Sciences;
-Women's Issues;
-Politics;
-History
-Health
-Education, all levels;
-Law, Human Rights, International law;
-Agriculture;
-Small Business skills;
-Economic Development;
-Conflict Resolution;
-Architecture;
If you have other goods that you would like to donate, please contact the
Freetimor campaign on 9639 7688, or visit its website www.freetimor.com
The email address for ETSSC is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Any contribution that you can make to this appeal will be valuable and
greatly appreciated.
Yours sincerely
Tom Nicholson
Freetimor campaign
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