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.