At the time of independence in 2002, Timor-Leste had a seriously weak health system with only a handful of doctors in the country. In this context, the governments of Timor-Leste signed an agreement and the Cuban Medical Brigade started to train medical students and deploy them in the country, particularly in rural areas. While the initial massive shortage has now been minimized, there are concerns over more complex issues including facility functionality, rural retention, motivation, preferences and competence of health workers. The objectives of this survey were to understand the labor market dynamics among health workers, to learn more about the preferences and concerns of health workers, and to assess the skills, competence and motivation of doctors.
The collapse of the market economy and most employment opportunities that accompanied the withdrawal of Indonesia from East Timor in 1999 prompted the re‐emergence of customary exchange practices that were heavily attenuated during Indonesian rule (1975‐99). For many Fataluku‐speaking Timorese communities, the strict internal security regime that accompanied military occupation curtailed opportunities for enacting vital exchanges that inform and reproduce social relations between kin, affines, and ancestors. As they rebuild their lives in a now independent Timor‐Leste, a renewed attention to exchange and the reciprocal flow of gifts, goods, labour, and blessings is again engaging Fataluku households. In this context, ideas of obligation and mutual exchange become constitutive elements of socio‐economic and religious activity that is fundamental to the resilience of the community. The article considers the role of gift economies as expressions of human security from below and as strategies designed to mitigate economic uncertainty through ritual exchange and religious action.RésuméL'effondrement de l'économie de marché et de la plupart des possibilités d'emploi qui a accompagné le retrait de l'Indonésie du Timor‐Oriental en 1999 a suscité la réapparition de pratiques d'échange coutumières qui s'étaient fortement estompées sous la domination indonésienne (1975‐99). Dans de nombreux villages fataluku au Timor‐Leste, le régime sévère de sûreté intérieure accompagnant l'occupation militaire empêchait les populations de réaliser des échanges vitaux, informant et reproduisant les relations sociales entre parents, affins et ancêtres. À présent que le pays est indépendant et que les Fataluku reconstruisent leur vie, l'attention se porte à nouveau vers les échanges et la circulation à double sens des dons, des marchandises, du travail et des bénédictions. Dans ce contexte, les notions d'obligation et d'échange mutuel deviennent des éléments constitutifs d'activités socioéconomiques et religieuses indispensables à la résilience de la communauté. L'auteur examine ici le rôle des économies du don en tant qu'expressions d'une sécurité humaine « au ras du sol » et comme stratégies pour atténuer l'incertitude économique par le biais des échanges rituels et des actes religieux.
The collapse of the market economy and most employment opportunities that accompanied the withdrawal of Indonesia from East Timor in 1999 prompted the re-emergence of customary exchange practices that were heavily attenuated during Indonesian rule (1975-99). For many Fataluku-speaking Timorese communities, the strict internal security regime that accompanied military occupation curtailed opportunities for enacting vital exchanges that inform and reproduce social relations between kin, affines, and ancestors. As they rebuild their lives in a now independent Timor-Leste, a renewed attention to exchange and the reciprocal flow of gifts, goods, labour, and blessings is again engaging Fataluku households. In this context, ideas of obligation and mutual exchange become constitutive elements of socio-economic and religious activity that is fundamental to the resilience of the community. The article considers the role of gift economies as expressions of human security from below and as strategies designed to mitigate economic uncertainty through ritual exchange and religious action.
The collapse of the market economy and most employment opportunities that accompanied the withdrawal of Indonesia from East Timor in 1999 prompted the re-emergence of customary exchange practices that were heavily attenuated during Indonesian rule (1975-99). For many Fataluku-speaking Timorese communities, the strict internal security regime that accompanied military occupation curtailed opportunities for enacting vital exchanges that inform and reproduce social relations between kin, affines, and ancestors. As they rebuild their lives in a now independent Timor-Leste, a renewed attention to exchange and the reciprocal flow of gifts, goods, labour, and blessings is again engaging Fataluku households. In this context, ideas of obligation and mutual exchange become constitutive elements of socio-economic and religious activity that is fundamental to the resilience of the community. The article considers the role of gift economies as expressions of human security from below and as strategies designed to mitigate economic uncertainty through ritual exchange and religious action.
This article focuses on the concept of "fragility," which gained prominence in literature on conflict-driven countries and serves as an analytical tool for policy analysis. Using this concept, this article provides a review of Timor-Leste since its independence in 2002. The country has achieved high economic growth, though the economy has remained fragile in terms of its high dependence on external factors, namely oil revenues. This study suggests that foreign aid and investments do not automatically improve fragility in resource-dependent economies unless they help diversify the monoculture economy, based upon democratic consensus-building among stakeholders.
COVER -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES, TABLES, AND BOXES -- FOREWOFD -- ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION -- ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- 1 INTRODUCTION -- 1.1 Social and Political Characteristics -- 1.2 Economic Characteristics -- 1.3 Development Challenges -- 1.4 Gender and Development -- 2 EDUCATION -- 2.1 Overview of the Education System -- 2.2 Analysis of Gender Issues -- 2.3 Taking Action -- 2.4 Recommendations -- 3 HEALTH AND WELL-BEING -- 3.1 Overview of the Health System -- 3.2 Analysis of Gender Issues -- 3.3 Taking Action -- 3.4 Recommendations -- 4 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE -- 4.1 Overview of the Criminal Justice System -- 4.2 Analysis of Gender Issues -- 4.3 Taking Action -- 4.4 Recommendations -- 5 WORK AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT -- 5.1 Categorization of Work and Labor Force Participation -- 5.2 Analysis of Gender Issues -- 5.3 Taking Action -- 5.4 Recommendations -- 6 GOVERNANCE, INFLUENCE, AND DECISION MAKING -- 6.1 Overview of the Political System -- 6.2 Key Gender Issues -- 6.3 Taking Action -- 6.4 Recommendations -- 7 GENDER EQUALITY FRAMEWORK -- 7.1 Overview -- 7.2 Timor-Leste's Commitment to Gender Equality -- 7.3 Mechanisms for Achieving Gender equality -- 7.4 Recommendations -- 8 CONCLUSION -- FIGURES -- 1.1 Map of Timor-Leste -- 1.2 Industries Contributing to Non-oil Gross Domestic Product, 2011 -- 1.3 Gender Inequality Index: A Comparison of Countries, 2011-2012 -- 2.1 Trends in Net Enrollment Rates by Level of Schooling and Sex, 2008-2009 and 2010 -- 2.2 Proportion of Students Who Drop Out of School by Sex and Grade, 2010 -- 2.3 Causes of Dropout Given by Girls and Boys Who Dropped out of Grade 4, 5, or 6, 2011 -- 2.4 Repetition Rate (Proportion of Students Who Repeat a Grade) by Sex and Grade, 2010 -- 2.5 School Attendance of Children Age 10-14 by Sex and Vulnerable Groups, 2009-2010.
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The development challenge in post-conflict East Timor is making the transition from a military environment focused on conflict to a civilian administration facing complexity and uncertainty.
In 1999, after 24-years of violent military occupation by Indonesian forces, the small country of Timor-Leste became host to one of the largest UN peace operations. The operation rested on a liberal paradigm of statehood, including nascent ideas on gender in peacebuilding processes. This book provides a critical feminist examination of the form and function of a gendered peace in Timor-Leste. Drawing on policy documents and field research in Timor-Leste with national organisations, international agencies and UN staff, the book examines gender policy with a feminist lens, exploring and developing a more complex account of 'gender' and 'women' in peace operations. It argues that gendered ideologies and power delimit the possibilities of building a gender-just peace, and contributes deep insight into how gendered logics inform peacebuilding processes, and specifically how these play out through the implementation of policy that explicitly seeks to reorder gender relations at sites in which peace operations deploy. By utilising a single case study, the book provides space to examine both international and national discourses, and contextualises its analysis of Women, Peace and Security within local histories and contexts. This book will be of interested to scholars and students of gender studies, global governance, International Relations, and security studies.
"In 1999, after 24-years of violent military occupation by Indonesian forces, the small country of Timor-Leste became host to one of the largest UN peace operations. The operation rested on a liberal paradigm of statehood, including nascent ideas on gender in peacebuilding processes. This book provides a critical feminist examination of the form and function of a gendered peace in Timor-Leste. Drawing on policy documents and field research in Timor-Leste with national organisations, international agencies and UN staff, the book examines gender policy with a feminist lens, exploring and developing a more complex account of 'gender' and 'women' in peace operations. It argues that gendered ideologies and power delimit the possibilities of building a gender-just peace, and contributes deep insight into how gendered logics inform peacebuilding processes, and specifically how these play out through the implementation of policy that explicitly seeks to reorder gender relations at sites in which peace operations deploy. By utilising a single case study, the book provides space to examine both international and national discourses, and contextualises its analysis of Women, Peace and Security within local histories and contexts. This book will be of interested to scholars and students of gender studies, global governance, International Relations, and security studies"--
