The Embassy has removed the video with the following note in tetun and english: U.S. Embassy - Dili, Timor-Leste

Ami hasai ona ami nia video ida husi #Loron16Dalan16 tanba konfuzaun iha nia konteudu relasiona ho objetivu kampaña nian. Ami husu deskulpa ba dezentendimentu ne’e. Opiniaun ne’ebé fo sai iha video ne’e la reflete opiniaun Estadus Unidus ka governu Timor-Leste nian. Iha tinan lima ikus ne’e nia laran, Embaixada Estadus Unidus finansia ona ONG Timoroan sanulu resin tolu ne’ebé servisu iha area violensia bazeia ba jeneru iha Timor-Leste. Infelizmente, peskiza hatudu (bit.ly/2AmvK9H ) problema ne’e kontinua eziste iha ne’e no iha nasaun barak inklui Estadus Unidus. Intensaun ami nia video serie ne’e atu fo’o oportunidade ba Timoroan sira hotu atu fahe sira nia idea konaba saida mak ita bele halo hodi solusiona problema universal ida ne’e. Ami sei kontinua servisu hamutuk ho parseiru sira iha Timor-Leste hodi buka solusaun efetivu sira hodi kombate violensia bazeia ba jeneru iha Timor-Leste.
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We have removed one of our #16Days16Ways videos due to confusion about how its content related to the purpose of the campaign. We apologize for any misunderstanding. The views expressed in the video do not reflect the views of the United States nor those of the Government of Timor-Leste. In the last five years, the United States Embassy has funded grants to thirteen Timorese NGOs working to address gender-based violence in Timor-Leste. Unfortunately, as surveys show (http://bit.ly/2AmvK9H) the problem remains widespread here and in many countries, including in the United States. The intent of our video series was to give Timorese citizens an opportunity to share their ideas about what more can be done to address this pervasive problem. We will continue to work with partners in Timor-Leste to find effective solutions to combat gender-based violence in #TimorLeste.

Grupu Feminista iha Timor-Leste: Letter to U.S. Embassy about their FB video on gender-based violence

The following letter was sent to the U.S. Ambassador in Timor-Leste on 12 December, in reference to a video posted on the Embassy Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/USEmbassyDili/videos/1677294572292682/. The Embassy responded by offering to meet with some of the signers.

Dear U.S. Embassy in Timor-Leste,

We are a Feminist group of people in Timor-Leste and we are writing to express our dismay at the disgraceful video that was posted on your Facebook page last week as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. This post runs directly counter to decades of evidence-based work to end violence against women and children and we request that you take it down immediately and issue an apology to the women and children of Timor-Leste.

By suggesting that girls should change what they wear in order to prevent gender-based violence, the speaker in the video is overtly victim-blaming. As a group who is committed to promoting gender equality and ending all forms of discrimination, we will not accept public messaging which blames victims for the violence that others perpetrate against them. Victim-blaming directly contributes to a culture in which violence against women and girls continues to be tolerated. We are working hard to build a culture of equity, respect, and zero tolerance for all forms of violence. We would have hoped that the U.S. Embassy's values were aligned with ours in this respect.

The video's messaging about boys' use of alcohol, drugs, and smoking being linked to perpetrating gender-based violence is also misleading. We would be interested to learn about any evidence supporting these statements, as we are not aware of such links in the Timor-Leste context.

We understand that the views expressed in the video are those of an individual representing the Timor-Leste Ministry of Education and Culture and not those of a U.S. Embassy staff member. However, by posting this on the U.S. Embassy's Facebook page, and by adding your logo, this implies that the Embassy supports the opinions expressed in the video. Posting the video on the Embassy's Facebook page also disseminates these victim-blaming and erroneous views to a broad audience in Timor-Leste and abroad. This indicates that the staff of the Embassy would greatly benefit from gender sensitivity training, as well as training on the causes of violence against women and children. We would be happy to put you in touch with people who can provide such training.

Clearly, a similar, but separate, approach is needed with the individual in the video expressing such views, and with the Ministry of Education and Culture. While we will be discussing this with relevant sectors of the Government of Timor-Leste, it would be an illustration of goodwill for the U.S. Government to offer to cover the costs of gender sensitivity and violence prevention training for all MEC staff, as a matter of urgency.

We look forward to receiving your response soon.

Yours sincerely,

Grupu Feminista iha Timor-Leste,

represented by:
Pamela Sexton, US Citizen
Jonathon Yorke, US Citizen
Charles Scheiner, US Citizen
Jill Sternberg, US Citizen
Deborah Ximenes Katzman, US Citizen
Curt Gabrielson, US Citizen
Nurima Ribeiro Alkatiri, East Timorese Citizen
Flora Brytes, East Timorese Citizen
Helder da Costa, East Timorese Citizen
Berta Antonieta, East Timorese Citizen
Alita Verdial, East Timorese Citizen
Luis de Oliveira Sampaio, Director, Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP), East Timorese Citizen
Flora Soriano Menezes, Advocacy & Training Coordinator and Gender & Sexual Harassment Focal Point, JSMP, East Timorese Citizen
Santina Soares, East Timorese Citizen
Ana Mendes Pinto da Silva, East Timorese Citizen
Dulce da Cunha, East Timorese Citizen
Sophia Cason, The Asia Foundation Nabilan Program, Australian Citizen
Xian Warner, The Asia Foundation Nabilan Program, Australian Citizen
Anna Yang, The Asia Foundation Nabilan Program, Australian Citizen
Inga Mepham, Australian Citizen
Cecilia Fonseca, East Timorese Citizen
Helen Hill, Australian Citizen
Maria Veronika Moa da Costa, The Asia Foundation Nabilan Program, East Timorese Citizen
Johana Paula Shinta Dewi, The Asia Foundation Nabilan Program, Indonesian Citizen
Ana Paula Sequeira, East Timorese Citizen
Antonio Soares, East Timorese Citizen
Johny Viegas, East Timorese Citizen
Marianne Kearney, Australian Citizen
Maria Agnes Bere, East Timorese Citizen
Felix Maia, East Timorese Citizen
Tanushree Rao, Australian Citizen

SUPPORT ETAN IN 2018!

Timor-Leste selebra aniversáriu proklamasaun independénsia da-42; ETAN rekoñese no enkoraja ninia demokrasia ho dame

Pamela Sexton, Inglés no Tetun, 670-7744-9793, pamelabeth.sexton@gmail.com
Charles Scheiner, Inglés no Tetun, +1-914-473-3185
John M. Miller, Inglés, +1-917-690-4391; john@etan.org (English)

Nova Iorke, loron 23 fulan-novembru 2017

Tersa semana oin, 28 fulan-novembru, povu Repúblika Demokrátiku Timor-Leste sei selebra aniversáriu Proklamasaun Independénsia ba da-42. Durante tinan 26 ikus, Rede Asaun Timor-Leste no Indonesia (the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network - ETAN), ne’ebé baze iha Estadus Unidus Amérika (EUA), suporta sira-nia luta ba autodeterminasaun. Ami hamriik iha solidariedade ho povu Timoroan tomak, no ami la hali’is ba partidu polítiku ka lider ida.

Agora Timoroan sira hasoru  tempu difisil, bainhira koalizasaun opozisaun iha parlamentu dezafia governu atuál nia direitu atu governa. Ami enkoraja ema hotu tenke tau interese nasionál aas liu interese indivíduu nian ka partidu nian, no tenke tuir Konstituisaun, lei no prinsípiu sira demokrasia nian. ETAN fiar ba kapasidade instituisaun demokrátika Timor-Leste nian no mós ba Timoroan sira hotu nia kompromisu ba estabilidade, demokrasia no justisa.

Bainhira polítiku-na’in sira no komentadór sira iha Dili debate kona-ba interpretasaun legál sira no hadau malu ba podér, 99% husi povu Timoroan sira hotu koko atu moris husi loron ba loron. Sira depende ba servisu públiku hanesan edukasaun, saúde no seguransa. Ema barak seidauk hetan serbisu di’ak no ai-han natoon. Ami enkoraja sira-ne'ebe iha Governu, Parlamentu no partidu polítiku sira atu dezeña, hadi’a no hala’o programa sira hodi hametin no haluan Timor-Leste nia ekonomia, hamenus kiak, dezempregu no malnutrisaun, hamenus dezigualidade no halakon korrupsaun.  Hatán ba dezafiu sira-ne’e sei sai xave ba estabilidade nasaun nian durante tempu naruk. Ami mós enkoraja kada ofisiál, funsionáriu no sidadaun atu atende ba sira-nia moris no família, sein hetan distraídu ka paralizadu ba lia-anin, hahalok hali’is partidu ka sentimentu kona-ba polítika.

Prezidente Repúblika hala'o papél fundamentál ida atu rezolve impase polítika ne’e, ne’ebé ami espera bele rezolve lalais. Ami agradese maneira kalma ne’ebé nia hala’o ninia servisu tuir Konstituisaun, no ami espera katak nia sei kontinua atu promove diálogu entre lider polítiku sira, ema ne’ebé eleitu, sosiedade sivíl, sidadaun baibain no sira seluk tan atubele hetan solusaun di’ak liu ba nasaun. Foin daudaun, ami kontente haree enkontru Prezidente ho lider feto rurál sira, no espera lideransa polítika bele inklui feto sira barak liu iha diskusaun polítika hotu, hanesan mós iha nivel aas liu.

Ema barak iha Timor-Leste sei iha memória forte no trauma husi okupasaun indonézia ne’ebé brutál, no mós husi konflitu entre Timoroan sira iha tinan 2002 no 2006. Maibé, ema aprende ona husi istória ne’e, hanesan ita haree husi dékada ikus ne’ebé kuaze ho dame. Ami agradese katak kuaze sidadaun tomak no polísia no militár Timor-Leste tomak iha moderasaun, kontrola an, no halo tuir lei. Ami fiar katak ne’e sei kontinua. Maski ko’alia polítika dalaruma bele konfronta malu ho hirus, maibé la to’o violénsia fíziku. Ami hein katak lider sira no povu Timoroan kontinua hatudu sira-nia kompromisu ba prosesu sira nasaun soberanu nian ne’ebé pasífiku no demokrátiku.

Durante tinan 500 ikus ne’e, nasaun ki’ik Timor-Leste hetan hanehan, manipulasaun ka esplorasaun husi atór internasionál sira. Ami husu podér estranjeiru sira tenke husik ema Timoroan mak serbisu atu rezolve rasik sira-nia problema sira lahó interferénsia husi li’ur, tempu hanesan ami hatudu ami-nia solidariedade liuhosi enkoraja Timor-Leste atu tuir dalan ne’ebé pasífiku, justu no demokrátiku.

Ohin loron, maioria ema iha EUA selebra Thanksgiving, loron ida atu agradese ba ema no buat hotu ne’ebé di’ak iha ita-nia moris. Ami mós hanoin-hetan istória kolonializasaun europeia, ne’ebé halo ami moe, liuliu jenosídiu povu nativu Amerikanu sira.  

ETAN agradese soberania, demokrasia no dame ne’ebé povu manán ona iha Timor-Leste. Ami mós la haluha no moe bainhira hanoin-hetan kolonializasaun no okupasaun husi invazaun li’ur, balun ne’ebé hetan suporta husi governu EUA, no halo kanek boot ba povu Timoroan. Ami reforsa ami-nia kompromisu atu hadi’ak prátika demokrátika sira iha EUA no atu serbisu ba polítika sira ne’ebé bele asegura direitus umanus, hakotu impunidade no atinje justisa sosiál no ekonómika ba ita-nia povu hotu. Timor-Leste halo progresu barak liu durante tinan 42, kompara ho EUA iha tinan 241, maibé ita-nia rain rua hotu sei iha dalan naruk ba oin, no ETAN kontente atu kontinua hamutuk iha dalan moris ne’e.