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My name is Joana dos Reis I live in Tasiri village,
Zumalai sub-district, Covalima.
 In
this story I want to tell you about the difficulties
that I have been faced with over several months in 1999.
The trouble came from the militia. As an East Timorese,
I wanted to give my contribution to to the rebuilding
of this nation but instead I became a victim. The militia
detained and punished me for several months in the Mahidi
jail in Belaku. They hit me then cut my hair off until
I was bald. They placed a chair over my toes and then
sat down on the chair. At night they made me sleep with
them. That's the kind of torture I was subjected to.
As women we want to be able to work within society,
as well as have a voice within the Constituent Assembly.
We want liberation for East Timor as well as for all
women. I think that men must recognise the contribution
of women in the struggle, whilst at the same time giving
women the opportunity to participate in nation building.
I think that women must be granted an equal opportunity
to contribute.
We hope that in the future the women of East Timor will
retain their culture through their religion. That's
the one thing that we hope and expect.
My message comes on behalf of all the widows and orphans
in the Covalima District. They expect assistance in
the form of education for their children and with day
to day survival. We also expect the Constituent Assembly
to create a good Constitution for the nation and to
ensure that our people have no reason to cry anymore.
October, 2001
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