In search of work
I had nothing to do last night so I took The Scorpion out for a spin and ended up in my old neighbourhood around Santa Cruz. I paid some of my Timorese friends a visit to see how they’ve been getting on.
It had been a while since I’d seen them and things were more or less the same. The burned-out car on the side of the road was gone – perhaps part of Ramos-Horta’s drive to make Dili a beautiful city.
Within half an hour there were about 10 people, two litres of tua sabu, one small can of Coca-Cola, three packs of cigarettes and two packs of instant noodles. It was just like old times.
The conversation soon turned to work. One of the most common things Timorese people tell me is about how they have friends who work in England. I’ve heard it so many times.
A lot of people seem to be aiming towards getting a Portuguese passport and going to work in England. I hear it time and time again: there’s no work, Timor-Leste is no good, England is good, it has work, you can make money.
My friend, Joao, told me that he will go to England next month – to Manchester actually. I really hope it goes well for him over there. He has friends working there already, although I’m not sure if he has a job lined up or is just going to get to Manchester and see what happens.
Anyway, it’s food for thought. I’d be interested to hear how many Timorese people are in England, legally or otherwise.
yes they never khow the value of what they have
Well, they don't have jobs, which is the root of the problem.