ETAN has done tremendous work in its 20 years! I have personally learned so much from being a part of ETAN and am very proud to be a part of this amazing network.

I was 24 years old when I joined ETAN. I had just returned to the U.S. from several years in Yogyakarta, Indonesia where courageous, radical, young activists taught me about U.S. foreign policy (my high school and college education taught me comparatively nothing in that realm), and so much more. They challenged me to act in solidarity with them and the poorest people living under the Suharto regime. I remember watching a clandestine viewing of the Santa Cruz massacre in a college basement in Yogya together with a group of Indonesian activists. Together, we cried and committed ourselves to doing all we could to stop the brutalities in East Timor.

Solidarity implies friendship and alliance across difference and a deep commitment to equality and mutual assistance. It means working toward greater humanity for all; it means listening and learning from one another, and always seeing the tremendous amount we have to learn from one another. For any contribution I or we in ETAN gave to the Timorese struggle for self-determination, human rights, and justice, we gained at least as much.

I returned to the U.S. with a deep commitment to put what I had learned into action, and within weeks, I was part of ETAN (Thanks, Dale Lovett). I was repeatedly amazed by the intelligence, passion, and love that the ETAN activists I was working alongside possessed. Ben Terrall, John Chamberlain, Luis Kemnitzer, Joe Nevins, Alan Nairn, Lynn Fredrickson, John M. Miller, Charlie Scheiner, Amy Goodman and so many others were my early mentors and I am so grateful to them. Our actions in front of the Indonesian Consulate in San Francisco were particularly memorable and meaningful. There was a symbolism and spiritual strength to them that was very empowering; it also empowered us that such a small group could shut the Consulate down so quickly.

While political actions inspired me, I know that the speaking tours really sustained my commitment to East Timor. I met Constancio Pinto, Agio Pereira, Emilia Pires, Bela Galhos, the “young diplomats” group, and Fernando de Araujo thanks to ETAN, and their stories and courage helped keep me focused and strong in my involvement. It was such a privilege in 2003 to accompany Ze Luis de Oliveira on his U.S. speaking tour and see this people-to-people solidarity building in action.

My first visit to East Timor in 1997 gave me more personal encounters that shook and inspired me; I am especially grateful to Manalu for embracing me and ETAN through me, to Ze Luis for connecting me with Fokupers, to Pedro and Joanna Leite for their courage and insights about who to trust or not trust. I remember Licinio Branco, then English student at the University in Dili, coming up to me during a forced integration day “celebration”. He took a picture of Bela Galhos out of his wallet and asked if I knew her. I said yes, and he said something to the effect that he knew it, that I looked like a solidarity activist; he took us into his home and led us through the hills of Maubisse, a dangerous activity at that time. There was an assumption at that time that if you were a foreigner outside of the official government circles, you were a journalist or activist. It was an act of courage to speak to someone like me, and I listened carefully and learned so much. For me, ETAN exists because of the immense courage of so many Timorese.

Independence brought a new kind of courage, new challenges, and new opportunities for solidarity. As one of La’o Hamutuk’s first staff members, I know the critical role played by a few ETANers, especially Joe, Charlie and one-time ETAN Executive Committee Member Aderito Soares de Jesus. I also know that ETAN has worked hard to identify its role post-occupation, to identify its strengths, to understand current needs in Timor, West Papua, Aceh, and throughout Indonesia; and to determine how, with limited resources, to continue effective solidarity.

The “Network” in ETAN is key; we need to continue to work across borders and languages. Through ETAN, I have had the privilege of working with solidarity activists from many different countries, especially during IFET and the 10 year anniversary celebration of the referendum. I know ETAN is a youngster compared to some of the other Timor solidarity groups, and because of them, we could start strong. Specifically, I remember ETAN passing out an ETISC publication with photos of human rights abuses in East Timor to each member of the U.S. Congress.

I learned so much through my work with ETAN, and one of the most important relates to this massive word “solidarity”. Solidarity implies friendship and alliance across difference and a deep commitment to equality and mutual assistance. It means working toward greater humanity for all; it means listening and learning from one another, and always seeing the tremendous amount we have to learn from one another. For any contribution I or we in ETAN gave to the Timorese struggle for self-determination, human rights, and justice, we gained at least as much. For me, solidarity must continue on because it is not about short-term goals; it is about working together to make the world a more just and peaceful place.

Pamela Sexton
Watsonville, CA

December 10, 2011