Strength and Kindness

Every day for more than 10 months I drove past the site where eight East Timorese police were shot dead and another 20 or more people wounded in the worst atrocity of the 2006 unrest. The side road where they fell had been blocked off with stones and logs. Small shrines of candles and flowers were maintained by friends and relatives at the exact spot where each one died. No one disturbed the shrine or attempted to open the road. The strength and resilience of the survivors was amazing. Their suffering put many aspects of life in perspective. Perhaps as a result of witnessing such things you find yourself being less harsh on yourself about your own shortcomings, and trying to be kinder to and more understanding of others... 

Evacuate!

You are in a country where gunfire breaks out sporadically, the security forces are fighting each other, and rock throwing gangs roam the neighborhoods burning down houses. Your home government offers to fly you out on an airforce plane. What do you do? You take up the offer! This song depicts the feeling of driving flat out to the airport in army vehicles, while all the time wondering whether a stray bullet or rock is going to fly by, or an illegal road block prevent or delay you reaching your goal.

Sniper Patrol

When civil unrest broke out on a massive scale in Timor Leste in late May, 2006, Australian, New Zealand, Portuguese and Malaysian peacekeepers arrived to try to calm the situation. It was a common sight to see Australian soldiers patrolling the dusty streets of the city on foot. They would usually patrol in groups of four, strung out in single file, about 20 metres apart, presumably to minimize the potential impact of snipers. I imagine that it was tense, tedious and nerve-jangling work. This piece reflects the pulsating and suspenseful feeling I think many of those young soldiers felt as they patrolled unfamiliar streets in a volatile, unpredictable environment.

Buff Enough at the Caz Bar

When we lived in Dili we used to hang out on the weekends at the bars and eateries at the beaches east of the city. The place was hugely popular with the expatriate population, even when the security situation was precarious. We found one group particularly entertaining - the buff, fit men from the various peace keeping forces who paraded around in their budgie smugglers playing soccer and volleyball and generally relaxing in the sun. This song is for them with gratitude for all their efforts.