Headlines using these or similar words appeared on multiple occasions as two Timorese students sent to Canada on Indonesian government nominations defected to Canada, applied for refugee status, and accepted a long period of poverty in order to campaign for their country’s independence. Abé Barreto Soares and Bella Galhos both became representatives to Canada of the Timorese resistance coalition CNRM (National Council of Maubere Resistance). Based in Vancouver and then Ottawa, Bella Galhos delivered dozens of speaking engagements across the country that gave many Canadians a sense of direct connection to East Timor.
Abé Barreto Soares also delivered multiple speeches but most often used his words in the form of poetry or music. Teaming up with a Guelph-based musician Aloz MacDonald under the name Abé ho Aloz (Abé and Aloz), the duo released an album and toured widely – including in Norway in the run-up to the Nobel Prize awarded to Timorese leaders Bishop Carlos Belo and José Ramos Horta in 1996.
Abé Barreto Soares is today a respected poet based in Dili, Timor-Leste. Bella Galhos directs the Leublora Green School in Maubisse, Timor-Leste. Both have worked in numerous roles including for the Presidency of Timor-Leste.
Images: Bella Galhos speaks at Toronto protest; cover story on Bella in Toronto peace movement newsletter and suburban daily newspaper; Abé ho Aloz in performance. All images ETAN papers.
Canadian solidarity with East Timor 