GENERATION OF CHANGE

Born into war and violence, Timor-Leste’s millennials are shaping the new country’s future.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHIL JARRATT

THIS IS A HUGELY significant year in the history of Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor), one of Australia’s closest neighbours and one of the world’s newest nations. It marks the 20th anniversary of the Popular Consultation, the independence referendum that took place on 30 August 1999. On that day the Timor-Leste people exercised their right to self-determination and voted overwhelmingly for independence. This year also marks 20 years since Australian troops were deployed to Timor-Leste as part of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET), the peackeeping task force that from 1999 into 2000 addressed the humanitarian and security crisis facing the country. INTERFET was led by Australia with (then) Major General Peter Cosgrove at its helm, involved 21 countries and made an important contribution at a critical time in Timor-Leste’s…

You're reading a preview of

Australian Geographic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2019

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.