East Timor: Birth of a Nation
2002 · Documentary
A look at how a country is born, literally from the ashes, and how the East Timorese people are working to build a future. Each program in this two part series tells the powerful personal story of a remarkably resilient individual. In examining their experiences, the series explores the complex issues and difficult decisions that are involved in reconciling the past and creating a new and independent nation.
Episodes
▶1. Rosa's StoryRosa Martins was born in East Timor in 1974, the year before Indonesia invaded. Her father, a Fretilin delegate, was killed by Indonesian soldiers in 1978. Her mother died of starvation. Of eight siblings, only Rosa and her younger brother survived the occupation.▶2. Lu Olo's StoryFor more than 20 years, Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres was a guerilla fighter in the East Timorese struggle against Indonesian occupation. He is one of only a handful of Falintil commanders who was never captured by the enemy and the only original member of Fretilin to have survived in East Timor. Now, he has left the military to take up the position of President of Fretilin, the political party that led the resistance.